What makes a museum so exceptional?. A museum as described by the Encyclopedia Americana is an institution, “serving the three main functions of collections, preservation, and presentations of objects. Such objects may be specimens of nature, related to geology, astronomy or biology, or they may illustrate the creations of man in history, art or science. The changing emphasis in museum on one or another of these three functions reflects changes in philosophies and way of living. Like other institutions, a museum bears witness to the interests, ambitions, and attitudes of …

Lady Liberty is something almost every visitor wants to see. The statue is located on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. It is a mile and a half southwest of Manhattan. It is just off the New Jersey coast. Castle Clinton serves as the boat dock for boarding the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. Circle Line ferries leave Battery Park seven days a week for the ten-minute ride to Liberty Island.
Lady Liberty has lifted her lamp since 1886. Her multimillion dollar restoration was finished in 1986, in time for …

Best of Finland-Russia-Baltic States
Sightseeing Tour

St. Petersburg See the Nevsky Prospekt, St. Isaac’s Cathedral and the Statue of St. Peter the Great, visit the St. Peter and Paul Fortress. Plus a visit to the Hermitage Museum.
Novgorod Orientation including the Kremlin Fort.
Tver See the Volga River.
Moscow See St. Basil’s Cathedral, Red Square and visit the Kremlin.
Minsk Orientation tour including the Hero’s Hill Monument.
Vilnius Orientation tour includes the Gediminas Square and Tower. Visit the courtyards of the Jesuit University and more.
Siauliai Visit the Hill of Crosses.
…

Steeped in a rich and colorful history, the city of Istanbul, Turkey’s largest, straddles the continents of Europe and Asia. It is here that towering minarets, as if in a fabled tale of the Arabian Nights, soar majestically into the skies, while imposing mosques, ancient castles and lavish palaces enhance the city’s undulating skyline. Historically, Istanbul dates back for more than 2000 years, though the earliest of Turkey’s inhabitants, the Catal Hoyuk have been known to exist long before that. Founded by a seafaring tribe from Megara in about 650 …

Like many places in Italy, Siena comes down to us as a museum, beautifully preserved. Like most fascinating places, it is a museum of contradictions. In the Piazza del Campo, Siena has one of the loveliest open spaces in all of Italy, yet the city is infamous for the closed society it maintains. Bankers and artists, in their always uneasy alliance, have coexisted here for centuries. Siena is as self-involved a city as there exists, constantly keening before the mirror of history, oblivious to tourists, condescendingly tolerant of the modern …