Category Archives: Historic Sites

Guide Tour of Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy

The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence, Palazzo Vecchio has been the symbol of the civic power of Florence for over seven centuries. The Palazzo Vecchio overlooks the Piazza della Signoria, which holds a copy of Michelangelo’s David statue, and the gallery of statues in the adjacent Loggia…

Guide Tour of Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, Italy

Duomo di Firenze, formally the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, is the main Florentine church, symbol of the city and one of the most famous in Italy. The cathedral complex, in Piazza del Duomo, includes the Baptistery and Giotto’s Campanile. These three buildings are part of the UNESCO…

Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, Italy

Guide Tour of the Borromean Islands of Lago Maggiore, Piedmont, Italy

The Borromean Islands are a group of three small islands and two islets in the Italian part of Lago Maggiore, located in the western arm of the lake, between Verbania to the north and Stresa to the south. Together totalling just 50 acres (20 hectares) in area, they are a…

Guide Tour of the Borromean Islands of Lago Maggiore, Piedmont, Italy

Guide Tour of Isola Bella of Lago Maggiore, Piedmont, Italy

Isola Bella (means ‘beautiful island’ in Italian) is one of the Borromean Islands of Lago Maggiore in North Italy. The island is situated in the Borromean Gulf 400 metres from the lakeside town of Stresa. It measures 320 meters long and 180 meters wide and is largely occupied by the…

Guide Tour of Isola Bella of Lago Maggiore, Piedmont, Italy

Guide Tour of Louvre Museum, Paris, France

The Louvre is the world’s most-visited museum, and a historic landmark in Paris, France. The Louvre Museum is a Parisian art and archeology museum housed in the former royal palace of the Louvre. Opened in 1793, it is one of the largest and richest museums in the world, but also…

Guide Tour of Louvre Museum, Paris, France

Guide Tour of the Palais-Royal district, Paris, France

The Palais-Royal district is a high place for tourism and commerce, also for culture with the proximity of the Louvre museum and the Opéra Garnier. Quartier Palais-Royal is dominated by the Palais Royal, and contains the larger part of the busy cosmopolitan Avenue de l’Opera. Discover Palais Royal gardens that…

Guide Tour of the Palais-Royal district, Paris, France

Guide Tour of Cognacq-Jay Museum, Paris, France

The Cognacq-Jay Museum is a municipal museum of the City of Paris presenting a collection of 18th century works and art objects from the legacy of Ernest Cognacq. The museum’s collection was formed between 1900–1925 by Théodore-Ernest Cognacq (1839–1928) and his wife Marie-Louise Jaÿ (1838–1925), founders of La Samaritaine department…

Guide Tour of Cognacq-Jay Museum, Paris, France

Guide Tour of Carnavalet Museum, Paris, France

The Musée Carnavalet is the Parisian municipal museum dedicated to the history of Paris from the origins of the city to the present day. Located in the Marais district at No. 23 rue de Sévigné in Paris, in the 3rd arrondissement, it presents collections on various themes: memories of the…

Guide Tour of Carnavalet Museum, Paris, France

Guide Tour of Musée des Archives Nationales, Paris, France

The Musée des Archives Nationales is a state museum of French history operated by the Archives Nationales. The museum features exhibitions drawn from the collections of the government archives and aims to provide document-based perspective on France’s history and the evolution of French society. The National Archives Museum introduces: on…

Guide Tour of Musée des Archives Nationales, Paris, France

Guide Tour of Tour Saint-Jacques, Paris, France

The Saint James’s Tower is a monument located in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France, at the intersection of Rue de Rivoli with Rue Nicolas Flamel. This 52-metre (171 ft) Flamboyant Gothic tower is all that remains of the former 16th-century Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie (“Saint James of the butchers”), which…

Guide Tour of Tour Saint-Jacques, Paris, France

Guide Tour of Hôtel de Ville, Paris, France

The Hôtel de Ville is the city hall of Paris, France, standing on the Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville – Esplanade de la Libération in the 4th arrondissement. It has been the headquarters of the municipality of Paris since 1357. It serves multiple functions, housing the local government council, since 1977 the…

Guide Tour of Hôtel de Ville, Paris, France

Notre-Dame de Paris, France

Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral is one of the most iconic monuments in Paris and France. The cathedral is linked to many episodes in the history of France. Built in the 12th century,, its construction spanned approximately two centuries. modified in the 18th century then restored in the 19th century, it…

Notre-Dame de Paris, France

Art and Treasury of Notre-Dame de Paris, France

Since its construction Notre-Dame has received often sumptuous donations. Sovereigns and nobles thus demonstrated their attachment to the Church and their patronage. It is most often in the form of donations that the objects entered the Treasury. Under the Ancien Régime, all the kings and many of their family members…

Art and Treasury of Notre-Dame de Paris, France

Architecture and Decoration of Notre-Dame de Paris, France

The construction of the Cathedral began in the middle of the 12th century and was spread over two hundred years. It is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture in France. The cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. Several of its…