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The area a few miles west of the attractive World Heritage city of Evora (70 mls SE of Lisbon) is well worth a visit for its amazing megalithic sites – precursors of the better-known ones in Brittany and the United Kingdom. Best of all is Os Almendres, where 92 stones are spread over a sloping hillside; it's the Iberian peninsula's largest and most impressive stone circle. Nearby is a single standing stone (Menhir) and in the same area are caves that were lived in 50,000 years ago, complete with rock art (Grutas do Escoural), and a large dolmen, or burial chamber, the Anta Grande de Zambujeiro. All are hidden away down tracks in this remote unspoiled countryside, adding to the sense of isolation and magic. Further south there are also good remains of Roman villas at São Cucufate, and at Pisoes west of Beja.
Glenfinnan epitomises Scotland. It's picturesque. It's popular. It's got a story to tell.
If you head east from Fort William on the Road to the Isles, the road will take you to Glenfinnan.
Pull over and stop at the National Trust for Scotland car park for the Glenfinnan Monument. (NB. there's a small car park fee.) The visitors centre will provide you with a little bit of history about the area ... but essentially there are two things to do here.
1) Climb the Glenfinnan Monument (built 1815). It's a tall finger like column upon which a statue of Bonnie Prince Charlie stands proud. Inside there's a spiral stone staircase to brave ... but when you get to the top the views are worth the effort.
2) Climb the hill behind the National Trust visitors centre. Up here you'll get a great view over to the Glenfinnan viaduct and down Loch Shiel.
For more info see www.nts.org.uk/Property/26/ or simply google "Glenfinnan Monument"!
On the Road to the Isles, approximately 30 minutes by car from Fort William as you head out towards Mallaig.
Google map: tinyurl.com/32zu3j9
I went to Brasilia when the city was celebrating its 50th anniversary. I was surprised that there was no reference to the city here at the Guardian.
Brasilia was built to be capital of Brazil. The city is lined with monuments, both political and civic:
Presidential Palace, Congress, Courts, Statues, large National buildings (Theatre, Museum, Cathedral), all are open to the public.
Most buildings were designed by the same architect, Oscar Niemeyer, and while each is distinct, all seem to match in perfect harmony.
Thanks to the planning, driving around is easy, by car or by bus and you can find good restaurants and shopping options all around the city. Anyone visiting Brazil should consider visiting Brasilia.
About Brasilia: www.aboutbrasilia.com
About the recent anniversary:
www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/21/brasilia-50th-anniversary
Rome is riddled with catacombs and underground tunnels, but few are as intriguing as the catacombs of San Callisto.
These early Christian tombs are a variety of different shapes and sizes, and once housed the remains of up to half a million people.
Although they're on the outskirts of the city they still don't manage to escape the tourist scrum, but with nearly 20km of tunnels it's undeniably worth it.
Via Appia Antica 110-126
In the 19th century French architecture was very envogue. The city features a lot of large neoclassical buildings, parks and its own Arch de Triomphe.
It was built in 1922 to honour the bravery of Romanian soldiers who fought in World War I. In 1936 it was finished in granite. It’s 85 feet high and there is an interior staircase allowing you to climb upstairs and enjoy a phenomenal view of the city.
Piata Arcul de Triumf
Everyone wants to complete the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb, but at $180 a pop (around £90) each, plus paying for their photographs (you are not allowed to take a camera with you) not everyone can afford it.
An equally good option, but one which is little advertised, is the Sydney Pylon Lookout. This involves climbing the interior of the concrete tower of the Harbour Bridge and is the tower nearest the Opera House.
It has three floors of exhibits and a film show but best of all, the view from the open top is only a few feet below the top of the bridge and is equally as stunning.
You can stay as long as you like and take your own photographs. And it is only $9.50 each - under a fiver!
Use the 'Bridge Stairs' from Cumberland Street in The Rocks for access.
Visit the mini-Statue of Liberty in Paris as seen in Polanski's film Frantic. A short walk from the Eiffel Tower, it is well worth the visit, providing refreshing views of the city.
Next to the Pont de Grenelle, 1.5 km south of the Eiffel Tower.
The famous pissing boy statue is not the only one in Brussels. Just down the alley from the Manneken-Pis is a statue of a girl engaged in a similar act - however it is hidden behind bars and not so celebrated as the boy.
The statue of the famous raising of the flag on Mt Suribachi, Iwo Jima, is walking distance from Arlington Cemetery and Rosslyn Metro. Go on Saturday and speak to Marine veteran Gordon F Ward, who fought and was injured on Iwo Jima, and now volunteers his time on Saturdays to speak to tourists and school groups about Marine history. There is also a great view back down the National Mall, with the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and Capitol Building all in a line.
Arlington VA, near the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
The Spanish built it on top of an Aztec temple, which is now threatening to overturn it - be there to see poetic justice.
The monument itself is not the attraction, but the fact that you can go to the observation room at the top by lift makes it worthy of mention. The views of both the city and the bay are quite spectacular from here – but I wouldn’t recommend it for sufferers of either vertigo or claustrophobia.
Placa del Portal de la Pau (at the bottom of La Rambla)
This modern sculpture to the ship-loving Tsar provokes astonishment and horror in equal measure from locals and visitors alike. It’s huge and is situated on the tip of an island in the Moskva River, near the Sculptures Park. It’s best viewed from the southern embankment though you can go onto the island if you so wish.
It depicts Peter steering a sailing vessel and has all manner of strange adornments right down to its considerable base. It’s worth seeing just for its hugeness and at the very least for having your photo taken in front of. Possibly the largest piece of kitsch in the world.
Bolotnaya Nab; nearest Metro: Polyanka
A masterpiece of design, the main surviving relic of the 1958 World Fair, the Atomium is a giant aluminium and stainless-steel representation of the atoms in a steel molecule. Recently renovated to its original shining glory, the Atomium will reopen for visitors in February 2006. Features will include a top-floor restaurant with panoramic views. The building will host exhibitions and artefacts from the 1958 fair, but the building is worth a visit on its own.
Square Atomium, 1020 Brussels; Metro 1A to Heysel; www.atomium.be
The large palace built by the Quintilii brothers in the 2nd century AD. Commodus was so impressed by it that he got rid of the brothers and appropriated the building. Situated next to Via Appia Antica, it is one of the most imposing monuments of Rome. The museum is very good.
Via Appia Antica. Take the Archeobus leaving from Piazza S. Marco, next to Piazza Venezia
A huge titanium arch, built to commemorate friendship between the Ukrainian and Russian people – it may have outstayed its welcome. Beneath it stand two beefy looking statues representing each country. It’s in Khreschatyk Park, on top of a hill which has excellent panoramic views across the city that certainly make the walk worthwhile.
Khreschatyk Park
Cheaper than London Eye with possibly better views. It's more historical, in a nicer part of town, with no crowds - and you get a bit of a workout climbing to the top.
Monument tube station
The church of St. Peter and St. Paul, whose spires dominate the Vysehrad skyline, is a wonderful example of neo-gothic architecture. The cemetery, founded in 1869, is a burial place for some of the Czech Republic's most famous people, for example Dvorak and Smetana. The monuments are quite stunning, expecially the Slavin (Pantheon) and the whole place exudes an atmosphere of calm, peace and serenity. There are also wondeful views of the Vltava from the park
Take Metro Line C to Vysehrad then it's a short walk.
There are three fantastic sights in this area - Torre de Belem, Monument to the Discoveries and for me the best was Mosteiro dos Jeronimos.
Get the 15 tram from Praca de Figueira and get off after Mosteiro dos Jeronimos. You need to walk up aways and take the footbridge over the road to get to the Torre de Belem, and the Monument to the Discoveries.
The district of Nalewki was home to Warsaw's large Jewish community before World War II. In 1940 the Nazi occupying forces turned this district into the Jewish Ghetto.
The inhabitants - hundreds and thousands of Jews from Warsaw and surrounding areas - were forced to live in appalling, over-crowded conditions. Over 100,000 died from starvation and disease and a further 300,000 were deported to extermination camps.
In early 1943 members of the Jewish Fighters Organisation and the ghetto rose up against the Nazi occupiers, planned less as a bid for physical freedom than to show that acts of independence, defiance and will are a freedom in themselves. The Ghetto Uprising was violently suppressed and the whole of the ghetto demolished.
Today at the centre of the former ghetto is the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, erected in 1948 as a tribute to those who fought and died in the ghetto. It is a very moving piece of sculpture and a sombre starting point to the Path of Remembrances – a walk through the former ghetto marked by 16 granite blocks commemorating those who lived and died in the ghetto and the extermination camps. Along the walk is the Bunker Monument marking the spot from were the rebellion was co-ordinator and the walk ends at the very moving Umschlagplatz Monument, at the site of the railway siding from where so many Jews were transported to their deaths.
The monuments are simple and very effecting, not only by reminding you of the suffering that occurred during that time but also of the spirit which allowed people to demonstrate their freedom even in the face of death.
Zamenhofa ( Monument to the Ghetto Heroes)
The Path of Remembrance runs from the Monument to Ghetto Heros on Zamenhofa to the Umschlagplatz Monument on Stawki.
the Bunker Monument is on Dzielna
Andrew Carnegie poured cash into an ambitious project aimed at promoting world peace, but the First World War scuppered that idea. Nevertheless, this imposing gothic hall survives, and now houses the International Court of Justice and one of the world's top legal libraries.
Surprisingly, it is open to visitors so long as you book in advance. And don't forget to inspect the monument outside the gate which includes crystals, stones and rocks contributed by every nation of the world (some more generously than others).
Carnegieplein 2
Tel: +31 70 3024242
www.vredespaleis.nl
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