Tagged: architecture

Can the Taj Mahal Be Saved? New Measures To Preserve India's Wonder

The Taj Mahal remains the most convincing argument that Agra, the northern Indian city where the marble mausoleum stands, was once something like a paradise.Gazing at Shah Jahan's…

What to Do in Aruba When You're Tired of Sunbathing

For many, the allure of a vacation in Aruba has to do with sun, slot machines, and shrimp dinners. If that’s you, we get it. Life is hard; sand is soft. Still, some of us prefer to…

The Leaning Tower of Pisa Is Leaning Less

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is standing a little straighter these days. Engineers say that the tilt of the Italian icon has reduced by about 4cm (1.6 in.), according to news reports.More…

Underground Luxury Hotel Opens in a Quarry

Bringing new meaning to the term "money pit," the recently opened, mostly subterranean InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland is a ritzy, multimillion-dollar resort with 16 of its 18…

A Preview: Hudson Yards in New York City

Ambition is skyscraper-sized in New York City. And sometimes it involves big ole glass-and-steel towers, or in the case of Hudson Yards, a whole litter of 'em. Hudson Yards, when…

A Brand New V&A Design Museum Opens This Week

The world-famous V&A museum, founded as an offshoot of the Great Exhibition of 1851, is one of London's most popular attractions, bringing in about 4.4 million visits a year. This…

Huge Projections and New Architecture Center Added to Chicago Riverwalk

The Chicago River has had about as strange a career as any waterway in North America, starting with its namesake city's decision in the late 19th century (enacted in the early years of…

10 Storied Libraries Worth Checking Out

We don’t often think of libraries as tourist destinations. Most are neighborhood, not international, treasures. But there are libraries whose buildings, histories, artwork, and of…

Route 66 and Puerto Rico Among USA's Most Endangered Historic Sites

Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Route 66 all appear on 2018's "Most Endangered Places" list, the National Trust for Historic Preservation's annual roundup of important…

A Makeover and New Museum at Gateway Arch in St. Louis

A multiyear, multimillion-dollar project to gussy up the grounds of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis culminates this summer in the July 3 opening of an expanded museum that tells the tale…

Things to Do in Munich, Germany

To pick up the buzz and beat of Munich, the first thing you want to do when you get to town is to wander through Marienplatz (St. Mary's Square) in the heart of the Altstadt (Old…

Seattle's Space Needle Gets a Glassy Makeover

A $100 million update to Seattle's skyline-defining Space Needle is just about finished. But don't worry, purists: The 605-foot retro-futuristic tower still looks like something…

Paris Day Trips Beyond the Ordinary—And Without the Crowds

There are so many incredible places to visit in Paris, and you're not the only one who knows it. In high season, you'll definitely have company lining up at the Eiffel Tower,…

Skip Versailles and Go to These Amazing Castles Near Paris Instead

When Louis XIV summoned the French court to his sumptuous new palace at Versailles in 1682, he certainly didn’t foresee that three centuries later this call would be answered by 10…

What to See in Toronto When You Don't Have Much Time

In Margaret Atwood’s novel Cat’s Eye, a Toronto native reflects on the changing nature of her formerly staid hometown: “Once it was fashionable to say how dull it was. First prize a…

Franconia: Germany's Land of Wine, Wurst, Wagner, and WW2 History

Technically, the region of Franconia in south-central Germany has been part of Bavaria for about 200 years. Locals haven’t quite warmed up to the idea just yet, though. They’ll tell…

New Looks for Two of London's Most Important Art Museums

Fans of art and architecture already have a lot to keep them busy during stays in London—and with free admission at most of the top cultural institutions, the city's treasures are easy…

Paris' Grand Palais Getting a Grand Makeover

The Grand Palais in Paris is getting its largest refurbishment since opening for the Exposition Universelle in 1900, when the mammoth hall on the Champs-Élysées was used to show off…

In Curaçao, a Wondrous Cathedral Constructed Out of Thorns

The island of Curaçao has soft sand beaches and sapphire Caribbean seas, but much of the land is dry and scrubby. The prevailing vegetation? Thorns. And not the dainty briers of the…

Experience the Subterranean Beauty of India's Lost Stepwells

Journalist Victoria Lautman is the author and photographer of The Vanishing Stepwells of India (Merrell Publishers). India’s unique subterranean stepwells are an endangered…

Upper Levels of Rome's Colosseum Reopening for Tours

The upper tiers of the Colosseum in Rome are reopening to the public for the first time in four decades. The renowned architectural marvel—which dates to the first century A.D. and is…

What to Do in New Orleans If You Don't Have Much Time

If you only have one day in New Orleans, you'll want to spend it in the vibrant, 300-year-old French Quarter, with its endless eyefuls of florid architecture, copious cultural…

Visiting Chicago? You're Doing It Wrong

Here’s a typical tourist's sightseeing itinerary for Chicago: After some shopping on the Magnificent Mile, you snap your photo next to "the Bean" in Millennium Park, drag yourself…

Scaffolding to Cover Taj Mahal During Yearlong Restoration

The Taj Mahal in India is undergoing a large-scale restoration that officials say will ultimately leave the marble beauty a brighter shade of white.In the meantime, however, the…

Trump Tower a Delicate Matter for Chicago Tour Guides

You can add Chicago tour guides to the list of people made miserable by the 2016 presidential election.The city’s popular architecture cruises drift past a number of pioneering…