With cancelled trips and plans changed in 2020, I have been missing the freedom to travel. I have selected 25 different cities and landmarks across the world with interactive tours/views. Happy virtual traveling!!
1. Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China took around 2,500 years to build and was completed in the late Qing Dynasty. The wall is 13,170.70 miles long. Click HERE for a panoramic view.
2. Eiffel Tower- Paris, France
The construction began on July 1, 1887 and was completed 22 months later. The Eiffel Tower was originally supposed to be destroyed 20 years after it was built. However, it was saved by scientific experiments. Click HERE for a virtual tour.
3. Machu Picchu- Cuzco, Peru
Rising than 2,400 meters above sea level, Machu Picchu sits in the Andes Mountains. Completed in the mid 15thcentury. Machu Picchu was gifted to gifted to Emperor Pachacuti as a royal estate. Click HERE for a virtual tour.
4. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Christ the Redeemer Statue stands at 98 feet tall. It was complete in 1931. Click HERE for a panoramic view of the statue.
5. Taj Mahal, India
The Taj Mahal was built between 1631 and 1648 by the order of the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in memory of his wife who died in childbirth. The mausoleum is constructed of white marble inlaid with semi-precious stones that form intricate designs known as pietra dura. The central dome reaches 240 feet surrounded by 4 smaller domes. Click HERE for a panoramic view.
6. Wiltshire, England
Stonehenge was built by the Neolithic people in the Bronze Age. Modern debate over the monument's meaning has two theories: those who see it as a holy site, and others who believe it represents a scientific observatory. Both base their theories on the site's celestial influence, with alignments to the sun and moon taken as evidence of rituals linked to the changing seasons and the summer and winter solstices. Alternatively, alignments identified particularly with stars point to a megalithic calendar used for working out dates or to reflect or predict astronomical events such as solar eclipses. Click HERE for a virtual tour.
7. Sahara Desert
The Sahara Desert is located in the northern portion of Africa and covers about 10% of the continent. The Sahara covers parts of several African nations including Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan, and Tunisia. Most of its landscape has been shaped over time by wind and includes sand dunes, sand seas called ergs, barren stone plateaus, gravel plains, dry valleys, and salt flats. There are also several mountain ranges within the Sahara and many are volcanic. Click HERE for a panoramic view.
8. Sasyk-Sivash Lake, Crimea
Between May and August, the shallowing period, a saltwater bacterium Dunaliella Salina lives in the lake. Increase in the concentration of salt leads to a higher activity of the bacterium and the synthesizing of B-Carotene and other chemical formations. This is how the lake gets its various colors, ranging from pink in May to orange-red at the end of summer. Click HERE for a panoramic view.
9. Antarctica, South Georgia Island
You can only reach this remote island on a small expedition ship between November and March. South Georgia has more wildlife than nearly anywhere else on the planet. Thousands of King Penguins, southern elephant seals, and thousands of fur seals breed. Click HERE for a panoramic view.
10. Oahu, Hawaii
Oahu, also known as The Gathering Place, is made up of two separate but overlapping volcanoes, known as a volcanic doublet. Its asymmetrical butterfly shape is formed by two mountain ranges. Volcanic eruptions in the southeastern portion of the island formed the Diamond Head. Diamond Head, an ancient volcanic crater, has been extinct for around 150,000 years—fortunately, as the massive crater looms over Waikiki. The short but steep trail to Diamond Head’s 760-foot summit gives a 360 degree view of Oahu from above. Click HERE for a panoramic view.
11. St. Moritz, Swiss Alps
St. Moritz first became famous thanks to its mineral springs, which were discovered 3,000 years ago and established the town as a summer spa resort early on. St. Moritz was also the birthplace of Alpine winter tourism in 1864. It hosted the Winter Olympics in 1928 and again in 1948. St. Moritz is a prime snow-sports territory, with a paradise of natural paths for skiing, snowshoeing and sledding. Click HERE for a panoramic view.
12. Hollywood, California
Built in 1923, The Hollywood Sign was conceived as an outdoor ad campaign for an upscale suburban housing development called “Hollywoodland.” The Sign’s appearance and purpose have evolved over the years, its basic aspirational message remains the same: This is a place where magic is possible, where dreams can come true. Today,the sign represents a worldwide symbol of the entertainment industry. Click HERE for a panoramic view.
13. Northern Lights in Norway
The northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, are natural light show visible at in the northern hemisphere. This phenomenon occurs when electrically charged particles from the sun enter the Earth's atmosphere and collide with gaseous particles, such as oxygen and nitrogen. Auroras are centered on the Earth's magnetic poles, visible in a roughly circular region around them. The lights can been seen from early April through late August. Places you can view the lights are Alaska, Northern Canada, Norway, Iceland , and Greenland. Click HERE for a panoramic view of the Northern lights from Norway. Click HERE to watch a video from Northern Scotland.
14. Jaipur, India
Jaipur architecture known worldwide for its technical details and beauty. Jaipur architecture is based on Indian Vastu concepts. The town of Jaipur is built in the form of an eight-part "Mandala" known as the "Pithapada". The city was divided into nine blocks, of which two consist the state buildings and palaces, with the remaining seven allotted to the public. Huge fortification walls were made along with seven strong gates to secure the city. Jaipur city is one of the pre-modern Indian cities where the width and regularity of its streets which are laid out into six sectors separated by broad streets of 111 feet. 111 is a holy number in Hinduism and hence considered lucky also. In Jaipur architecture, the urban quarters are also divided by networks of girded streets. Every street is connected to main road. Due to the architecture, nobody can wander in the streets. The five quarters wrap around the east, south, and the west side of a central palace quarter, with a sixth quarter immediately to the east. Today, Jaipur is divided in two parts, an old "Four Wall City" and a new city with 5 stars hotels, airport, railway junction, colleges, shopping, hospitals etc. Architecture of new city is based on modern architectural concepts. Click HERE for a panoramic view.
15. Egyptian Pyramids
The Egyptians were one of the first civilizations to believe in an afterlife. Therefore, the pyramids were built to preserve tombs for pharaohs (King or Queen). The pharaohs’ tombs were meant to preserve their bodies and souls. What we now call the Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and the greatest pyramid of the three pyramids found there. This pyramid is one of the seven wonders of the world. It was built for Pharaoh Khufu of the eighth dynasty and constructed between 2580 and 2560 BC. Click HERE for a panoramic view.
16. Dead Sea, Ein Bokek, Israel
In the world, there are around 80 seas connected to the ocean. The most famous sea, is the Dead Sea. Its shores and surface are 430.5 metres below sea level, being the Earth's lowest elevation on land. The Hebrew name for it is the Sea of Salt. Click HERE for a panoramic view.
17. Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam was founded as a fishing village around the thirteenth century. Amsterdam developed round a dam in the Amstel river at the end of the 12th century. Click HERE for a panoramic view.
18. San Francisco, California
Rested over hills and marshland at the entrance to one of the Pacific’s largest natural harbors, San Francisco has had a large influence on the history of California and the United States. Originally a Spanish mission, it was conquered by the United States in 1846 and by an invading army of prospectors following the 1848 discovery of gold. The Gold Rush made San Francisco a sophisticated city with a frontier edge. The great earthquake in 1906 and fire destroyed much of the city but barely slowed its momentum; San Francisco barreled through the 20th century as a center of wealth, military power, progressive culture and high technology. Click HERE for a panoramic view.
19. Bejing, China
The Forbidden City, constructed from 1406 to 14 is located in the heart of Bejing.It consists of 980 buildings including the Palace Museum. TCommissioned in 1406 by the Yongle emperor of the Ming dynasty, it was first officially occupied by the court in 1420. It was so named because access to the area was barred to most of the subjects of the realm. Government functionaries and even the imperial family were permitted only limited access; the emperor alone could enter any section at will. Click HERE for a panoramic view.
20. Niagara Falls, Canada
Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between Ontario, Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The Horseshoe Falls is the tallest waterfall at 188 feet tall and 170 feet deep. Niagara Falls started forming around 12,000 years ago, from glacier activity. The first hydroelectric station was built in 1881. Today it produces about 1/4 of the electricity for the state of New York and Canadian providence, Ontario. Click HERE for a panoramic view.
21. The North Pole
The North Pole is the northernmost point on Earth. It is the precise point of the intersection of the Earth's axis and the Earth's surface. From the North Pole, all directions are south. It's latitude is 90 degrees north, and all lines of longitude meet there. Polaris, the current North Star, sits almost motionless in the sky above the pole, making it an excellent fixed point to use in celestial navigation in the Northern Hemisphere. The North Pole sits in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, on water that is almost always covered with ice. The ice is about 6-10 feet thick. The depth of the ocean at the North Pole is more than 13,123 feet. The North Pole is much warmer than the South Pole. This is because sits at a lower elevation and is located in the middle of an ocean, which is warmer than the ice-covered continent of Antarctica. The Canadian territory of Nunavut lies closest to the North Pole. Click HERE for a panoramic view.
22. Rome, Italy
The Roman Colosseum is the world’s largest amphitheater. Made from marble and limestone, the colosseum was built during the Roman empire. This is the imposing structure that symbolizes Rome. Many combats, animal hunts, and other mock battles were performed on the stage for the entertainment of the Roman emperors and the audience. Click HERE for a panoramic view.
23. Florence, Italy
Florence is the birthplace of the Italian renaissance, which was a big art movement that has shaped art, architecture, interior design and fashion. The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (pictured above), completed in 1434, is the most important landmark in Florence. It is also the fourth largest church in the world. Click HERE for a panoramic view of the city.
24. Barcelona, Spain
Known for its beautiful architecture, Barcelona is one of then most visited cities in the world. Barcelona is also voted the "best beach city" by National Geographic. The picture above is the Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor. It is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica located on the summit of Mount Tibidabo in Barcelona. Click HERE for a panoramic view of the city.
25. Athens, Greece
The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky formation above the city of Athens. Today, you can find the remains of several historical ancient buildings. The most famous is the Parthenon. You can visit a replica of the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee. Click HERE for a panoramic view of the Acropolis in Greece.
I hope you enjoyed reading this post and I hope you learned something new!
-Caroline