The heart of Heidelberg’s Old Town is the Marktplatz square, which has many beautiful fountains, grand period homes, cafes and shops. It is the oldest college town and is known for its romantic cityscape surrounded by tree-filled hills.

Munich is located in the southern German state of Bavaria and is also the capital and home to centuries-old buildings. It is known for its annual Oktoberfest celebration, beer halls and gardens.

The narrow and winding streets of Salburg’s historic city center gives one a real sense of the charming cultural city. A unique combination of scenic Alpine landscape and architectural richness has led to Salzburg’s reputation as one of the world’s most beautiful cities.

Along with Cologne and Dusseldorf, Mainz is one of the carnival capitals of Germany, with its celebrations spanning a month. Fassenacht is the peak celebration in spring with all-night parties, extravagant dinners, costume balls and a parade known as Rosenmontag.

In this post I will cover the Mount Vernon neighborhood, the Cylburn Arboretum and the Civic Work’s Clifton Mansion.

In this post I highlight the downtown area, Church Hill and the Hollywood Cemetery.

The pedestrian-friendly Old Town is on the right bank of the Reuss and consists of squares with tall timber-framed buildings painted in bright colors and some with elaborate frescos all connected by cobblestone streets.

Bratislava’s nickname “Little Big City” comes from the fact that it is Slovakia’s largest city, but one of the smaller European capitals. The charming city center and Old Town area is very compact with many beautiful buildings, but not many visitors compared to other nearby European cities.

This historic district, established in 1982, is a four-block stretch, bordered by Livingston and Montgomery Streets and contains approximately 40 buildings, mostly residential, in this planned community. The land was originally part of the Bronson Smith farm.

Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic, and its largest city. Founded in the 9th century, its been the capital city throughout most of its history. The city is huge, but the bulk of the tourism is in the Old Town, famous for its 14th century medieval architecture.

Uptown Charlotte is the area most cities consider their downtown area. A symbol of the New South where traditional industry blends with innovation and creativity.

This section of Brooklyn, was land once owned by the Ditmas Family. The Ditmas Park Historic District is a National Historic District which contains approximately 2,000 buildings, mostly residential.

Boston, and neighboring Cambridge are among the most loved cities, loved for their art, culture and history. Boston Tea Party, Boston Public Garden and the Freedom Trail is a unique collection of museums, meeting houses, churches, parks and burying grounds that tell the American Revolution story.

Little Island is a unique New York City park designed by Thomas Heatherwick with landscape architect Signe Nielsen. The green space is the first of its kind in Manhattan. The structure of the park is made up of 132 concrete “tulips” at different heights, creating grassy hills and offering views of Manhattan and New Jersey.

Barcelona was definitely a bucket list destination for me and it did not disappoint. It is the vibrant and historical home of the most stunning architectural styles ranging from Gothic structures to Gaudi wonders. Barcelona is cosmopolitan and has an international feel with plenty of great restaurants, tapas, nightlife, parks and public areas.

Some 600,000 permanent residents call Green-Wood Cemetery home. Inspired in part by the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, Highgate Cemetery in London and Mount Auburn Cemetery in Massachusetts, it was founded in 1838 by Henry Evelyn Pierrepont and designed by David Bates Douglass, and was one of the first rural cemeteries in America.

I thought it would be cool to just do an “East Side” post to show the true diversity of the Big Apple.

A look at the West Side of Manhattan, showing the diversity of the Big Apple’s West Side.

When I took the ferry from the airport via the Grand Canal, which runs through the heart of the city, I started to fall in love with the enchanting city, and knew this bucket list destination was not going to disappoint. Venice is incredibly unique with 117 islands, 150 canals, over 400 bridges and no cars. Venice, Italy is mostly known for its canals, but I will tell you it is an architectural photo walk. The city’s architecture reflects so many influences including Byzantine, Islamic, and Gothic.

Did you know that that the capital city of Budapest was formed in 1873 joining together two different cities, Buda (on the west bank of the Danube) and the Pest (pronounced Pescht, on the east bank)? Although they are united under one name, they are still referred to separately.