Archive for the ‘cities’ Category
Great cities for food lovers
One of the best ways to experience a country’s culture is to eat its food. And, of course, explore its food markets. Gadling recently decided to come up with a list of 20 of the world’s greatest food cities that are not named Paris or New York. It’s a diverse and interesting group, stretching from Australia to Argentina and from Italy to India.
If you like architecture, here are some cities for you
Architecture is fascinating, particularly as you make your way around the world and take in the shapes, colors and functions of buildings in different cultures. A great thing to remember as you travel, in fact, is to look up periodically and to absorb the details of the buildings around you. The architecture of our lives [...]
Is Venice dying?
It certainly seems that way to the Venetians who recently staged a mock funeral for their city. They were protesting the fact that the local population continues to shrink, while the cost of housing and the number of tourists continue to rise. A NY Times article reported on the event:
Part photo opportunity, part political theater, the [...]
The world’s oldest cities
Only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world is still standing. But what about the cities of the ancient world? Many of those, too, have disappeared into the pages of history or the mists of time. But there are some still-inhabited cities that can claim a past that stretches back thousands of years. The [...]
Best American cities for backpacking
Quite often we find ourselves so focused on places to travel abroad that it’s easy to forget about interesting travel destinations in our own backyard. Or at the very least, we find it difficult to see our own country as a foreign tourist would see it. That’s why I was intrigued by this recent article [...]
What are America’s fittest cities?
Where are the fittest people in the United States? We’re talking about a city, here. not an Olympic training village. I bet you’re not guessing Washington, D.C., are you? Home to all those politicians and government bureaucrats. And yet, according to a recent American Fitness Index study that was released by the American College of Sports Medicine, residents of [...]
Old Town districts around the world
Well preserved Old Town districts are a favorite destination for both travelers and preservationists. There is something special about feeling as though you’ve not only landed in a new country, but have also stepped back in time a bit. The Sydney Herald in Australia recently published a nice article about some of the best Old Towns around the [...]
Bike friendly cities
In the search for the best places to live, many people would look for a city that is considered bike friendly. It suggests, at a minimum, that fitness and environmental values are important to local citizens. And, if you pick the right home, it also means that you could possibly commute to work on a bike, or at [...]
A suburb without cars. Can it work?
A planned town in Germany is doing just that. Going carless. All the streets, except for a few, belong solely to pedestrians and bicycles. People are not barred from owning a car, but none of the homes have garages or parking spaces, so homeowners must buy a parking spot in a town garage. The goal is [...]
Cities built on the edge of a cliff
If you were founding a new city today, it’s unlikely you’d choose to situate it on the edge of a cliff, would you? But some of the most stunning and unusual towns in the world actually do peer over the side of a rock wall. The website SpotCoolStuff recently profiled five such towns around the [...]
America’s most walkable neighborhoods
Do you know your neighborhood’s walk score?
I recently came across a fascinating website called Walk Score - it ranks America’s most walkable cities and enables you to find the ”walk score” for your own neighborhood. Simply enter your address and it will create a map of all the stores, restaurants, schools, parks and libraries within walking distance of [...]
The geography of the American mind
Where would you like to live? If you could be guaranteed a reasonable facsimile of your current job, family situation and network of friends anywhere in the country, where would you choose?
The Pew Research Center did an extensive study on where Americans would like to live, and the top three cities were Denver, San Diego and Seattle. [...]
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Bob Riel is a writer and a traveler. Go here to read more about Bob, his work and the Travels in the Riel World blog.
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