Travel guides

The Petronas Twin Towers (also known as the Petronas Towers or Twin Towers), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia are the world’s tallest twin buildings. They were the world’s tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004 if measured from the level of the main entrance to the structural top, the original height reference used by the US-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat from 1969 (three additional height categories were introduced as the tower neared completion in 1996). Nice Asia tourist spot for sightseeing tour.
Travel direction: 3° 9′ 28.26″ N, 101° 42′ 41.94″ E

Buda Castle is the historical castle of the Hungarian kings in Budapest, Hungary. In the past, it was also called Royal Palace and Royal Castle. Buda Castle was built on the southern tip of Castle Hill, next to the old Castle District, which is famous about its medieval, Baroque and 19th century houses and public buildings. It is linked to Adam Clark Square and the Széchenyi Chain Bridge by the Castle Hill Funicular. Buda Castle is part of the Budapest World Heritage Site, declared in 1987. Budapest is great travel destination for summer 2008 holidays.
GPS coordinates: 47° 29′ 46″ N, 19° 2′ 23″ E

The Bund is an area of Huangpu District in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. The area centres on a section of Zhongshan Road (East-1 Zhongshan Road) within the former Shanghai International Settlement, which runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River, facing Pudong, in the eastern part of Huangpu District. The Bund usually refers to the buildings and wharves on this section of the road, as well as some adjacent areas. The Bund is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Shanghai. Building heights are restricted in this area.
GPS direction: 31° 14′ 19.88″ N, 121° 29′ 13.79″ E

The Anne Frank House on the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, is a museum dedicated to Jewish wartime diarist Anne Frank, who hid from Nazi persecution with her family and four other people in hidden rooms at the rear of the building. As well as the preservation of the hiding place — known in Dutch as the Achterhuis — and an exhibition on the life and times of Anne Frank, the museum acts as an exhibition space to highlight all forms of persecution and discrimination. It opened on May 3, 1960 with the aid of public subscription, three years after a foundation was established to protect the property from developers who wanted to demolish the block. Must tourist spot in Amsterdam.
Travel direction: 52° 22′ 32.09″ N, 4° 53′ 3.84″ E

Navy Pier is a 3,300-foot (1,010 m) long pier on the Chicago shoreline of Lake Michigan. The pier was built in 1916 at a cost of $4.5 million; it was a part of the Plan of Chicago developed by architect and city planner Daniel Burnham and his associates. As Municipal Pier #2 (Municipal Pier #1 was never built), Navy Pier was planned and built to serve as a mixed-purpose piece of public infrastructure. Its primary purpose was as a cargo facility for lake freighters, and warehouses were built up and down the pier. However, the pier was also designed to provide docking space for passenger excursion steamers, and in the pre-air conditioning era parts of the pier, especially its outermost tip, were designed to serve as cool places for public gathering and entertainment. The pier even had its own streetcar. It was known as a romantic spot for young lovers. Nice tourist spot in Chicago.
Travel direction: 41° 53′ 30.19″ N, 87° 36′ 16.62″ W

Casa Mila, better known as La Pedrera (Catalan for ‘The Quarry’), is a building designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built in the years 1906–1910 (officially completed 1912). It is located at 92, Passeig de Gràcia (’passeig’ is Catalan for promenade or avenue) in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was built for the married couple Rosario Segimon and Pere Milà. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Works of Antoni Gaudí”. Nice place for sightseeing tour in Barcelona.
Travel direction: 41° 23′ 43″ N, 2° 9′ 42″ E

Officially, La Rambla is a series of shorter streets, each differently named, hence the plural forms Las Ramblas. From the Placa de Catalunya toward the harbor, the street is successively the Rambla de Canaletes, the Rambla dels Estudis, the Rambla de Sant Josep, the Rambla dels Caputxins, and the Rambla de Santa Monica. Construction of the Maremàgnum in the early 1990s resulted in a continuation of La Rambla on a wooden walkway into the harbor, the Rambla de Mar. When walking down La Rambla one can visit its many small shops or enjoy watching the various performances (actors, mimes etc.). There are also several vendors trying to sell paper figures they claim are capable of dancing. Cafes and restaurants on La Rambla often charge steep prices. La Rambla can be crowded, especially during the “prime-time” tourist season. Mostly there are much more tourists occupying las Ramblas then local inhabitants, which as well has changed the character of the commercial offers in the shops and the character of the street in general. For this reason, it has become a prime target for pickpockets. Lots of unwary tourists have had their wallets stolen on this street. Most recently robbery has also become an issue, even during daylight hours. Spanish poet Federico García Lorca once said that La Rambla was “the only street in the world which I wish would never end”. The name La Rambla means, in Spanish and Catalan, an intermittent water flow, and is derived from the Arabic ‘Ramla’ which means ’sandy riverbed’.
Travel direction: 41° 22′ 53″ N, 2° 10′ 23″ E

Park Guell is a garden complex with architectural elements situated on the hill of el Carmel in the Gràcia district of Barcelona, Catalonia. It was designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built in the years 1900 to 1914. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Works of Antoni Gaudí”. The park was originally part of a commercially unsuccessful housing site, the idea of Count Eusebi Güell, whom the park was named after. It was inspired by the English garden city movement; hence the original English name Park. The site was a rocky hill with little vegetation and few trees, called Muntanya Pelada (Bare Mountain). It already included a large country house called Larrard House or Muntaner de Dalt House, and was next to a neighborhood of upper class houses called La Salud. The intention was to exploit the fresh air (well away from smoky factories) and beautiful views from the site, with sixty triangular lots being provided for luxury houses. Great summer vacation location for 2008.
Travel direction: 41° 24′ 49″ N, 2° 9′ 10″ E