Category Archives: Cities

Norway Views: Bergen’s ‘Gingerbread Town’ (2022)

DW Travel – An entire city made of nearly 2,000 gingerbread houses? Yum! Every year, right around Christmas, the residents of Bergen build this sweet city out of the traditional European Christmas pastry on the southwest coast of Norway. It can be enjoyed up until the end of December. Have you ever tried gingerbread?

Bergen is a city on Norway’s southwestern coast. It’s surrounded by mountains and fjords, including Sognefjord, the country’s longest and deepest. Bryggen features colorful wooden houses on the old wharf, once a center of the Hanseatic League’s trading empire. The Fløibanen Funicular goes up Fløyen Mountain for panoramic views and hiking trails. The Edvard Grieg House is where the renowned composer once lived.

Walking Tours: Prague In The Czech Republic (4K)

Tourister (November 2022) Prague, Czech Praha, city, capital of the Czech Republic. Lying at the heart of Europe, it is one of the continent’s finest cities and the major Czech economic and cultural centre. The city has a rich architectural heritage that reflects both the uncertain currents of history in Bohemia and an urban life extending back more than 1,000 years.

The physical attractions and landmarks of Prague are many. Among the finest is the Charles Bridge (Karlův most), which stands astride the Vltava River. The winding course of the Vltava, with its succession of bridges and changing vistas, contrasts with the ever-present backdrop of the great castle of Hradčany (Prague Castle), which dominates the left-bank region of the city from behind massive walls set high on a hill.

The narrow streets and little taverns and restaurants of the older quarters contrast with the broad sweep of Wenceslas Square and modern parks and housing developments, while the great 18th-century Baroque palaces have their own elegance and splendour. Seen from the surrounding hills, the many church towers make up a unique perspective, giving Prague its description as the “city of a hundred spires.”

This architectural harmony was enhanced by post-1945 planning, which preserved the ancient core of the city as a major monument and carefully supervised all modern building. In 1992 the historic city centre was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Walking Tour: Seattle In Northwest Washington

HP Walking ToursSeattle, chief city of the state of Washington, U.S., seat (1853) of King county, the largest metropolis of the Pacific Northwest, and one of the largest and most affluent urban centres in the United States. A major port of entry and an air and sea gateway to Asia and Alaska, Seattle lies alongside Puget Sound, a deep inland arm of the northern Pacific Ocean, and is at the centre of a conurbation that is defined roughly by Everett to the north, Bellevue to the east, and Tacoma to the south.

Video Timeline: 0:00:00 INTRO 0:00:46 Seattle Waterfront 0:04:07 Seattle Aquarium 0:06:20 Miner’s Landing 0:07:51 Seattle Great Wheel 0:10:39 A view towards the city skyscrapers 0:12:25 About Seattle (Open CC) 0:21:45 Seattle Art Museum 0:27:16 The Gum Wall, Post Alley 0:29:30 Pike Place Market 0:30:50 Fish throwing tradition at Pike Place Market 0:39:03 The First Starbucks at Pike Place Market 0:42:57 Post Alley 0:55:25 Seattle Public Library 1:00:00 The Sanctuary Seattle 1:01:34 Sky View Observatory at Columbia Center

The city was settled on November 13, 1851, at what is now West Seattle. It was relocated the following year to a site across Elliott Bay near a Duwamish Indian village. It owes its name to the Native American leader Seattle, chief of the Duwamish, Suquamish, and other tribes of the Puget Sound area. Areas of great natural beauty, including the densely forested Olympic Peninsula and the Cascade Range, surround the city. Its urban centre, dominated by tall skyscrapers that overlook Elliott Bay and enhanced by the city’s abundant parks and neighbourhoods, also offers a handsome prospect.

Paris Views: A Walk In The Ile de la Cité – Nov 2022

Lots of tourists swarm the main island in Paris, the Ile de la Cité, home of the Notre Dame Cathedral. But far too many overlook its delightful little sister, the quaint Ile Saint-Louis, which is just a few steps away in the Fourth Arrondissement.

This small island is like an oasis from the rush of the city. It’s almost as if someone dropped a small French village into the center of Paris. It contains everything you would want from your neighborhood: markets, bakeries, fromageries, and cafes. While much of Paris has modernized over the years, this island remains romantically frozen in the 17th century. It is remarkably the same as it was centuries ago.

The Ile Saint-Louis is connected to the rest of Paris by four bridges to both banks of the Seine River and to the Ile de la Cité by the Pont Saint-Louis.

Cinematic Travel: Sights And Streets Of London

London, city, capital of the United Kingdom. It is among the oldest of the world’s great cities—its history spanning nearly two millennia—and one of the most cosmopolitan. By far Britain’s largest metropolis, it is also the country’s economic, transportation, and cultural centre.

London is situated in southeastern England, lying astride the River Thames some 50 miles (80 km) upstream from its estuary on the North Sea. In satellite photographs the metropolis can be seen to sit compactly in a Green Belt of open land, with its principal ring highway (the M25 motorway) threaded around it at a radius of about 20 miles (30 km) from the city centre.

The growth of the built-up area was halted by strict town planning controls in the mid-1950s. Its physical limits more or less correspond to the administrative and statistical boundaries separating the metropolitan county of Greater London from the “home counties” of KentSurrey, and Berkshire (in clockwise order) to the south of the river and BuckinghamshireHertfordshire, and Essex to the north.

The historic counties of Kent, Hertfordshire, and Essex extend in area beyond the current administrative counties with the same names to include substantial parts of the metropolitan county of Greater London, which was formed in 1965. Most of Greater London south of the Thames belongs to the historic county of Surrey, while most of Greater London north of the Thames belongs historically to the county of Middlesex. Area Greater London, 607 square miles (1,572 square km). Pop. (2001) Greater London, 7,172,091; (2011 prelim.) Greater London, 8,173,941.

Filmed and edited by Jack Lee
Music credit to Lexin Music

Travel Guide: What Most Tourists Like About Berlin

What to do in Berlin? Fine dining or doner kebab? Strolling around or a guided tour? Visiting museums or famous landmarks? We show you what tourists love most in the German capital of Berlin! Have you ever been to Berlin?

Berlin, Germany’s capital, dates to the 13th century. Reminders of the city’s turbulent 20th-century history include its Holocaust memorial and the Berlin Wall’s graffitied remains. Divided during the Cold War, its 18th-century Brandenburg Gate has become a symbol of reunification. The city’s also known for its art scene and modern landmarks like the gold-colored, swoop-roofed Berliner Philharmonie, built in 1963.

Autumn Walks: Naples In Southwestern Italy (4K)

Naples, or Napoli for Italians, is a major port city in the south of Italy in the Campania region. With 4.4 million inhabitants (‘Neapolitans’), it is the third largest city in Italy. The chaotic city has everything for an inspiring city trip because of the rich history, the Italian cuisine and especially in the field of art and culture, the city has a lot to offer. In addition, a short distance from the city of Naples are famous places of interest such as PompeiiHerculaneum and the Vesuvius volcano. South of the city lies the colorful and beautiful coastal strip of the Amalfi Coast and you can easily reach the beautiful islands such as Capri off the coast of Naples by ferry. 

Winter Walks: Streets In Södermalm, Stockholm

Stockholm Walks – Massive amounts of snow covered Stockholm this Monday morning late in November, 2022. Temperatures around +1 Celsius.

Södermalm – also called Söder – has developed into one of Stockholm’s hottest neighborhoods. The atmosphere is relaxed, creative and trendy, and the neighborhood offers a myriad of vintage, fashion and design shops.

Walking Tours: Little Havana In Miami, Florida

Little Havana is Miami’s vibrant Cuban heart, with Latin American art galleries and busy restaurants. Cafes with walk-up windows sell Cuban coffee to cigar-smoking patrons. On Calle Ocho (SW 8th Street), locals discuss politics over dominoes at Maximo Gomez Park, dubbed Domino Park by locals. The historic Tower Theater screens independent and revival films, while the area’s clubs host live Latin music.

Engineering: Why Mexico Has So Few Tall Buildings

The B1M – TAKE a look at Mexico’s cities and you might spot some similarities.

You’ll see it’s a country that clearly knows a thing or two about urban sprawl, with hardly a skyscraper in sight. But look closely and you’ll find that skyscrapers do exist, just not really in any great numbers.

That’s because it’s one of the toughest places on Earth to build tall and engineers must grapple with the extremes of the elements, unforgiving ground conditions, congestion and the absence of some key resources.

Now though, after decades of building outwards instead of upwards, skyscrapers in Mexico are seriously on the rise and construction crews are managing to meet some immense challenges.