DK Eyewitness Travel Top Architectural Cities for 2016

3 min read

Posted on February 23, 2016

Originally Posted by Helena Smith, DK Eyewitness Travel Blog

Steeped in history, effortlessly stylish, loud, or lavish – a city’s architectural highlights build its very character. From New York City’s geometric skyscrapers to the ancient wonders of Rome, discover some of DK’s Eyewitness Travel top cities for 2016 one fascinating building at a time.

Below are just the top three.

London, England  The mighty River Thames, which winds its way through London, links some of the city’s greatest buildings. Begin at the sprawling Houses of Parliament, before following the river east to the cultural delights of the Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe. Once content, continue to Tower Bridge – one of London’s most recognizable architectural landmarks – then to historic riverside fortress, the Tower of London, home to the distinctive Beefeater guards. Further west, splendid Hampton Court was once Henry VIII’s decadent pleasure palace, while amongst the city’s wonderful religious constructions are domed and dazzling St Paul’s Cathedral, and Gothic grand dame Westminster Abbey.

Picture1

The Houses of Parliament, London ©Rex Shutterstock/Geoff Pugh

Paris, France – Paris, like London, is dominated by a river – the Seine – which also joins up some impressive, man-made sights. The city’s churches, including Gothic galleon Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle with its stunning stained glass, and hilltop domed Sacré-Coeur, are not to be missed – though landmark structures the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower still remain the city’s most famed architectural icons. A visit to the Pompidou Centre is also a must; the building boldly boasts what would be its interior – brightly colored tubes and a skeleton structure – on its outside, while housing more than 60,000 works of modern art within.

Picture2

Sacré-Coeur basilica, Paris ©Alamy Images/dpa picture alliance archive/Andreas Gebert

New York City, USA – New York City is best known for its skyscrapers, which started a trend for high-rise living that the rest of the world soon followed. The greatest of them all is perhaps the Empire State Building, which has dominated the city’s skyline since its completion in 1931. The impressive Grand Central Terminal nearby is also iconic, and thus no stranger to the silver screen, while the council chambers and assembly hall of the lofty United Nations Headquarters are sure to enthuse those with an interest in politics.

Picture3

Grand Central Station, New York City ©Dreamstime.com/F11photo

DK Travel eBooks are available on Gale Virtual Reference Library, a mobile-optimized platform. GVRL encourages exploration through InterLink, which delivers hyperlinked information in the context of what the user is already reading. Plus, there are no checkouts or holds. Every eBook is available to all your library users at any time.

No GVRL at your library? Contact your Gale Education Sales Consultant for more information.

For the full article, featuring all top 10 cities, please visit: http://www.traveldk.com/article/an-architectural-tour-2016s-top-10-cities/Nike

1 thought on “DK Eyewitness Travel Top Architectural Cities for 2016”

Leave a Comment