Paris
Paris, the city of love, light and…glamour. In fact, there’s so much glamour, it exudes from every picture perfect café, tiny boutique and hidden cocktail bar.
But there’s one little secret about Paris…those Parisians are keeping the best for themselves. So during a 24-hour whistle-stop tour, I swapped the well-trodden tourist paths for the sexy side of the city.
The banks of the river Seine, from Pont d'léna near the Eiffel Tower to Pont de Sully near the Île Saint-Louis — are the World Heritage-listed section of the city. It was "the royal and subsequently aristocratic Paris ... [where] the powerful hand of the state is extremely visible through its constructions."
The Palais de Chaillot, viewed from the summit of the Eiffel Tower
The River Seine, with the Grand Palais left and Pont Alexandre III centre.
A beautiful bridge: Gilt-bronze statues watch over Pont Alexandre III.
Les Invalides, built for war veterans, is now also a military museum.
The Musée du Louvre, the most-visited art museum in the world.
Passing Pont Neuf, cruise-takers chill out, especially one youngster.
Start on the Seine River
Get your bearings with a cruise down the Seine River on a Bateau-Mouche or river boat from the Ile Saint Louis island to the Eiffel Tower. It'll take you past sights such as the Louvre Museum and Musee d'Orsay, and under all the romantic bridges. It may sound touristy, but it really is one of the most relaxing and enjoyable ways to get an overview of how the city is laid out.
After all the cruising, be sure to return to the Eiffel Tower at night.
Eating healthy in Paris
French food is known as tasty but decadent — white bread, mountains of cheese and lashings of red meat, all drowning in butter. Vegetarians and even those who like simple, clean food often have a love-hate relationship with the French capital. But health-conscious eating is growing in popularity.
Here are the best healthy eating options in Paris: one fine dining experience, some mid-range restaurants and cheaper choices, market food and the DIY options. All prices per person
Melbourne
Cricket on big screen at Federation Square
See Melbourne in a whole new lightCricket on big screen at Federation SquareWhite Night will light up Melbourne this Saturday 22 February from 7pm, and you only have 12 hours to see more than 100 events.
Melbourne's most famous buildings will become cavases this weekend as part of the White Night event — rain, hail or shine.
Roam Melbourne's city streets from 7pm to 7am to see a spectacle of creativity, light and colour in venues and major cultural institutions across the city centre.
There will be a variety of exhibitions, street performances, multimedia projections and light installations, film screenings and concerts.
Inspired by Paris' Nuit Blanche, the international network of White Night programmes has grown to over 20 cities globally and Melbourne's unique interpretation of this worldwide phenomenon will capture the imagination.
World's most liveable cities revealed — and Melbourne's number two
Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver is officially the world's most liveable city for the fifth year in a row, according to the annual international Economist Intelligence Unit survey. There's good news for Australia too — Melbourne came a close second, swapping places with former number two Vienna. Who needs Europe when you've got Melbourne?
Forbidden City (China--Beijing)
Great Wall at Badaling, Juyongguan, Mutianyu, Simatai and Jinshanling
Badaling Great Wall
The Great Wall is not only the magnum opus of human being but also the soul of China!And the Badaling Great Wall is the eximious representation of The Great Wall.
On the peak of the Badaling, The Great Wall is towering. It goes up to the South peak and north peak from the Guan city, convolves on the ridge of Jundu mountain and Qian mountain,You can not see its beginning and end,It disappears beyond.
On the peak of the Badaling, The Great Wall is towering. It goes up to the South peak and north peak from the Guan city, convolves on the ridge of Jundu mountain and Qian mountain,You can not see its beginning and end,It disappears beyond.
Juyongguan Great Wall
It had many different names in the past dynasties. However, the name "Juyongguan Pass" was used by more than three dynasties. It was first used in the Qin Dynasty when Emperor Qinshihuang ordered to build the Great Wall. Juyongguan Pass has two passes, one at the south and one at the north. The south one is called "Nan Pass" and the north one is called "Badaling".
Mutianyu Great Wall
Mutianyu tourism region of the Great Wall are mostly covered with luxuriant vegetation in the range upon range of mountains. It presents a distinctive seasonally attractive view. In spring, various flowers are all in blossom and compete to demonstrate their beauty; in Summer, one can enjoy the green shade which is full of one"s eyes; in autumn, it is with abundant fruits and forests are all red. Good place for appreciating the red leaves; in winter, the earth is covered by snow, which show the magnificent view of north China. This region is endowed with a fame”Unique Mutianyu section of the Great Wall” among tourists both at home and abroad.
In this scenic spot, there are also natural “Luming animal amusement park”, idyllic”China dream stone city” and challenging “Shibide Slideway” for tourists.
In this scenic spot, there are also natural “Luming animal amusement park”, idyllic”China dream stone city” and challenging “Shibide Slideway” for tourists.
Simatai Great Wall
After visiting the Simatai Great Wall, the UNESCO officials were convinced and agreed to list it as one of the World Heritage.
Enthusiasts, who like to study military architecture, find much to interest them along this 20 kilometer barrier as it appears to dance from east to west over the mountain ridges interrupted only by the presence of the Simatai reservoir that divides it in two. Here, those who are keenly interested can study and compare a wide range of watchtowers, blockhouses and platforms representative of the many styles to be found along the Great Wall.
Enthusiasts, who like to study military architecture, find much to interest them along this 20 kilometer barrier as it appears to dance from east to west over the mountain ridges interrupted only by the presence of the Simatai reservoir that divides it in two. Here, those who are keenly interested can study and compare a wide range of watchtowers, blockhouses and platforms representative of the many styles to be found along the Great Wall.
Jinshanling Great Wall
The Jinshanling Great Wall was first built in the sixth century during the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589). Along it are 67 watchtowers, all in different styles, at average intervals of 150 meters.
During the Ming Dynasty, General Qi Jiguang improved the structure of the Jinshanling Great Wall by making it higher and denser and by building double walls at strategic sections. Its gentle gradient makes Jinshanling a vulnerable spot, easy to attack but difficult to defend. At the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall, however, the walls are more solid, and the watchtowers taller, and more concentrated. Viewed from a distance, the Jinshanling Great Wall is like a giant dragon, curving its path over the mountain peaks whose line it follows.
Many Great Wall researchers and cultural relics experts, including Luo Zhewen and Zhu Xiyuan, have been coming to Jinshanling since 1980, and consider it to be of strategic importance, great aesthetic value, and to reflect the very essence of the Great Wall.
Photographers know that the best place to take pictures of the Great Wall is not Badaling or Shanghaiguan, but Jinshanling. The Great Wall from Simatai in Beijing to Jinshanling in Hebei is the best preserved stretch, so many overseas visitors choose it. It is said that there are more overseas Great Wall climbers in Jinshanling than Chinese. People also say that anyone who has climbed Jinshanling is not interested in seeing any other part of the Great Wall, as it retains its original Ming Dynasty outlook, and so vividly reflects the full ethos of that epoch.
Members of the Great Wall Green Project Investigation Group have walked the entire length of the Great Wall, and many of them believe Jinshanling to be its most beautiful section. Not having been fully renovated, parts of it are in ruins, so it has a more natural ambience than other stretches of the wall that have been completely rebuilt. Jinshanling is far less crowded than Badaling or the Shanhaiguan Great Wall, thus giving today"s climbers a hint of the isolation that must have been felt by its ancient defenders.
Zhou Wanping is a photographer who lives at the foot of the Jinshanling Great Wall. In the preface to his published photograph album, My Home Town, he says: "At the time I graduated from high school and went home, the Jinshanling Great Wall was being repaired. Although sick, I participated in the renovation process along with other villagers. This experience fully brought home to me the hardship involved in the original construction of the Great Wall. All the bricks, lime and water needed for construction had to be carried to the site on the backs of laborers."
Chinese imperial dynasties appeared, prospered and died out through history. The Great Wall bears witness to their vicissitudes, and demonstrates the Chinese people"s hard working spirit, and the splendid culture and history of the Chinese civilization.
Photographers know that the best place to take pictures of the Great Wall is not Badaling or Shanghaiguan, but Jinshanling. The Great Wall from Simatai in Beijing to Jinshanling in Hebei is the best preserved stretch, so many overseas visitors choose it. It is said that there are more overseas Great Wall climbers in Jinshanling than Chinese. People also say that anyone who has climbed Jinshanling is not interested in seeing any other part of the Great Wall, as it retains its original Ming Dynasty outlook, and so vividly reflects the full ethos of that epoch.
Members of the Great Wall Green Project Investigation Group have walked the entire length of the Great Wall, and many of them believe Jinshanling to be its most beautiful section. Not having been fully renovated, parts of it are in ruins, so it has a more natural ambience than other stretches of the wall that have been completely rebuilt. Jinshanling is far less crowded than Badaling or the Shanhaiguan Great Wall, thus giving today"s climbers a hint of the isolation that must have been felt by its ancient defenders.
Zhou Wanping is a photographer who lives at the foot of the Jinshanling Great Wall. In the preface to his published photograph album, My Home Town, he says: "At the time I graduated from high school and went home, the Jinshanling Great Wall was being repaired. Although sick, I participated in the renovation process along with other villagers. This experience fully brought home to me the hardship involved in the original construction of the Great Wall. All the bricks, lime and water needed for construction had to be carried to the site on the backs of laborers."
Chinese imperial dynasties appeared, prospered and died out through history. The Great Wall bears witness to their vicissitudes, and demonstrates the Chinese people"s hard working spirit, and the splendid culture and history of the Chinese civilization.