This post covers the safe, vibrant, culturally rich Old Havana. Havana is the largest city in the Caribbean and in 1982, was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The architecture exhibits a blending of many styles from Art Deco, Neoclassic, Baroque and ugly utilitarian. Many main buildings in Havana have been restored to their original glory, while others are showing signs of the slow process of restoration.

The Chelsea section of Manhattan has gone through a gentrification process the last couple of decades, just like many other areas of New York City. The waterfront here was dominated by freight-unloading areas at one time, and there was very little to see in this industrial area.

The Bahia Palace, located in Marrakech, Morocco, was constructed in the mid-19th century for Si Moussa, who served as the Grand Vizier to Sultan Hassan I.

The Morgan Library & Museum is a treasure trove of cultural and literary history, celebrating the extensive collection amassed by millionaire financier J. Pierpont Morgan.

Naumkeag is the former Berkshire estate of New York City lawyer and U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, Joseph Hodges Choate, and his wife Caroline, located in Stockbridge, Massachusettes. The Choate’s, who were part of the newly-rich, traveled in well-to-do social circles. They decided to build a 44-room shingle-style “cottage” with brick and stone details, designed by the architect of the day, Stanford White.

Robert Lincoln, the only child of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, retained the architecture firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge to built his summer home on 392 acres in Manchester, Vermont. Lincoln had served as Secretary of War and Minister to the Court of St. James, and made his fortune as a lawyer before becoming President of the Pullman Company. Robert Lincoln and his wife, Mary Harlan Lincoln, lived at Hildene in high style.

Olana was the eclectic home of Frederic Edwin Church and his wife Isabel. Frederic was one of the major figures in the Hudson River School of landscape painting. The mansion was designed by Mr. Church in conjunction with architect Calvert Vaux and built between 1870 and 1872. A studio wing was added in 1889.

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.

Completed in 1771, the Old Exchange Building is a Charleston landmark and the site of some of the most important events in South Carolina history.

The International Civil Rights Center & Museum opened in 2010 in the iconic Greensboro F.W. Woolworth's landmark building where the Feb. 1, 1960 sit-ins occurred.

The Edison and Ford properties are both on the National Register of Historic Sites and consist of 20 acres of historical buildings and gardens including the 1928 Edison Botanical Research Laboratory.

Low was inspired by the Scout Movement work of Lord Baden-Powell, and she joined the Girl Guide movement in England, and forming her own group there in 1911.

The 200-acres site portrays a portrait of country life in New England in the 1830’s with a collection of more than 40 historic buildings, including homes, meetinghouses, shops, mills and working farms.

The Corning Museum displays a comprehensive glass collection with galleries including Eastern, Asian, European, and American glass

Glencairn was originally built as the home of multi-millionaire businessman Raymond and Mildred Glenn Pitcairn and their nine children.

Ann set up a foundation for the perpetual maintenance of this home on 2.5 acres which became this permanent green oasis of art, wildlife, subtropical trees and plants.

Thomas Edison is best known for the incandescent lamp and phonograph, but Edison’s greatest invention was a new way to invent: the industrial research and development laboratory.

The Morse Museum houses the world’s most comprehensive collection of Louis C. Tiffany’s work, including jewelry, pottery, paintings, leaded-glass windows and lamps.

Eastern State was the world’s first true penitentiary. It was operational from 1829 to 1971 and is renowned for its innovative architecture and penal philosophy.

Hidden in plain site in the Glen Oaks section of Queens is one of the longest continually farmed sites in New York City.