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World Reviewer Staff

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6th November 2007

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  1. 02 Dec 2009

  2. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Mercato Nuovo in Florence, Italy

    The Mercato Nuovo (New Market, so named to distinguish it from the older Old Market) building was built in the 16th Century as a marketplace for luxury goods like silk, was then taken over by the craze for straw hats, and is now a good place to find leat…"

  3. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy

    The Piazza della Signoria in front of the Ponte Vecchio is Florence's famous main square. It's beautiful, historic and still the political centre of the city, despite the fact that it's looked much the same for the past 600 years, lined by the Palazzo V…"

  4. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Basilica of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito in Florence, Italy

    The Basilica of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito, more often called Santo Spirito looks very sparely designed and decorated while you're walking up to it, but once inside it's like being in the Renaissance! As well as the notable architecture this church a…"

  5. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Santissima Annunziata in Florence, Italy

    Santissima Annunziata is the spiritual home of the style of painting called Florentine Mannerism whose 'poster child' is the 'Life of the Virgin' on the cloister which, was the combined effort of Andrea del Sarto, Rosso Fiorentino and Jacopo Pontormo. &n…"

  6. 11 Nov 2009

  7. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Blue Mango in the Himalaya in North India, India

    People talk about 'getting away from it all' and about 'retreating at a Retreat', but at their most pure these phrases mean not being around other people, the efforts cities entail and anything potentially stress inducing. So it follows that the best wa…"

  8. 22 Oct 2009

  9. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Sleepy Hollow in New York, United States

    The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving Sleepy Hollow is a real place. And the characters in Washington Irving's story are based on real people, as is the phantom Hessan soldier, or rather he's based on reported sightings, and documentation th…"

  10. 15 Oct 2009

  11. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Tambomachay in Cusco, Peru

    Ancient Incan bathing pools and resting place just outside of Cusco. Stone structures were erected and carved out of the stone of local caves to take better advantage of this spot near thermal springs to make it into a very modern bathing building. Three…"

  12. 10 Oct 2009

  13. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Borneo Bird Festival in Sandakan, Malaysia

    Sabah, Borneo, is known for being an Eden-esque paradise of exotic plants and animals – home to giant rafflesia flowers, orang utans and delicate orchids in the jungles, and off shore an impressively colourful array of marine life. Sabah's skies a…"

  14. 08 Oct 2009

  15. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Calvet Museum in Avignon, France

    Much of the art, artefacts and sculpture in this museum, and books in the library, come from the collection of one man: Esprit Calvet, who left his collection to the foundation who runs the museum in 1810, though since then other legacies and the Louvre …"

  16. 07 Oct 2009

  17. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Rondane National Park in Norway

    The Rondane National Park has ten mountain peaks higher than 2,000 metres and wild reindeer. Of course it offers the visitor much more than the spectacular view of the ridge of mountain peaks, with pine and birch surrounded lakes and reindeer grazed mea…"

  18. 06 Oct 2009

  19. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Great Smoky Mountains National Park in New York, United States

    The Great Smoky Mountains National Park covers not just the Great Smoky Mountains, but also the Blue Ridge Mountain range, and is the most visited park in the U.S. It's also one of the largest protected areas in the country. Within that vast space are …"

  20. 22 Sep 2009

  21. World Reviewer Staff reviewed The Eiger in Grindelwald, Switzerland

    Rising out of the Bernese Alps to an elevation of 3,970metres, the Eiger is the rockier, steeper end of the chain of three peaks including Jungfrau (the Maiden) and Mönch (the Monk). Eiger means Ogre. It's also famous for being in the title of a f…"

  22. 21 Sep 2009

  23. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Ski Belleayre in New York, United States

    This resort boasts the highest skiable peak in the Catskill Mountains, and with that comes the reliable snow cover and the promise of long downhill trails, but it's not yet as popular as some of the other Catskills resorts. It doesn't quite have the off…"

  24. 08 Sep 2009

  25. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Shark Bank in Mahé, Seychelles

    This is one of the best known diving spots in the Seychelles:a plateau made of boulders crowded with colourful tropical fish, some swimming in schools, some followed by white reef tip sharks or grey stingrays.  "

  26. 02 Sep 2009

  27. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Ski Maribor-Pohorje in Slovenia

    This resort is in Slovenia's largest ski area, part of the Pohorje range. That equals cross country options, along routes that in summer are walking trails though seemingly endless forests, as well as the smooth white slopes to ski. Around 60kms worth …"

  28. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Ski Krvavec in Slovenia

    Krvavec is a ski resort rising out of thick forests at the top of the Kamnik Alps, it's small, and though there's room to stay on site, a lot of people drive down from Kranj or Ljubliana to ski the resort's 35kms of downhill pistes – which breaks u…"

  29. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Ski Cerkno in Slovenia

    The ski resort of Cerkno is on the slopes of Črni vrh, which peak at 1291 metres. Rising up to that peak are 70 hectares of ski grounds, including 18kms worth of groomed runs across 20 different pistes and 5kms worth of cross country pathways. One of t…"

  30. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Mount Kanin in Slovenia

    Mount Kanin is Slovenia's highest ski resort, with skiing over 2000 metres, above Bovec and the Soča Valley. Sella Nevea and Trbiž in Italy and Arnoldstein in Austria are just around the mountain from the resort at Mount Kanin, so many people combine th…"

  31. 01 Sep 2009

  32. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Taroko Gorge in Taiwan

    This 19km gorge and the countryside around it have long been considered one of the most beautiful spots in Taiwan. The marble of the gorge has been much admired, as it's been revealed by the waters of the river that's exposed it, and there are deposits …"

  33. 28 Aug 2009

  34. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Aquarium Dive Site in Maldives

    This dive drifts along the outer edge of Lohifushi Island, past a slope covered in corals from close to the surface to 20 metres below.  The slope curves around into an sort of underwater bay, and the coral gets thicker, home to all sorts of marine …"

  35. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Vaadhoo Caves dive in Maldives

    This cave dive is journeys though several caves and caverns along the Vaadhoo Channel.  They're not deep caves, but as you swim though them they get shallower and shallower, but because you're enclosed the water has a different colour to it, even as…"

  36. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Rasfari dive site in Maldives

    Along North Male Atoll's outer reef, this site is known for attracting a colourful myriad of fish, and sprouting gardens of soft corals. It's a drift dive though a strong current, and along a steep wall sliding from 10 to 25 metres underwater. The smal…"

  37. 27 Aug 2009

  38. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Maldive Victory Wreck Dive in Maldives

    "The Maldive Victory is under about 35 metres of water, with a strong current, so even with the dive line to descend to it it's still a challenging dive, best suited for experienced or intermediate divers.  Once you get down to the ship divers are sh…"

  39. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Dive Lions Head in Maldives

    Small reef fish, nudibranchs and bigger pelagics like tuna and sharks, especially grey reef sharks, and eagle rays live amongst the predominantly hard coral here, some of which has grown up in the shape of a lion's head, other sections of which has grown…"

  40. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Dive Kani Corner in Maldives

    This dive is just off Kanifinolhu Island, only about 5mins by boat, hence the name.  It's got caves and a drop off and slopes down to a sandy floor at 30 metres down, and it's decorated with both hard and soft corals, which marine life collects arou…"

  41. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Banana Reef in Maldives

    The corals that grow on this 300 metre long banana shaped reef are like plates, so much so that they're nicknamed plate coral, though their real name is Acropora. The north, or top end, of the banana has caves and overhangs, and open topped tunnels wher…"

  42. 20 Aug 2009

  43. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska Northwest, United States

    White cliffs line this stretch of coast, but it’s not chalk, it’s ice, which creaks and groans painfully as it gradually crumbles into the see at the very end of it’s ancient journey down the length of these glaciers. When the bay was …"

  44. 19 Aug 2009

  45. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Even if you're not usually that impressed with shopping malls, this one has a fair chance of impressing you. It's not just really, really big, and filled with hundreds of shops, it's also won architectural awards and has it's own ski slope. Yes, that's…"

  46. 10 Aug 2009

  47. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Ölü deniz in Aegean Region, Turkey

    This is one of the world’s most photographed beaches and it adorns many posters advertising trips to Turkey. An aesthetically pleasing arc of sand then pebbles surrounded by a dipping valley then forested mountains, a dead calm bright blue lagoon a…"

  48. 05 Jul 2009

  49. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Magna Science Adventure Centre in Sheffield, United Kingdom

    Great science centre for kids and young adults, with hands-on experience with masses of machines and gadgets, from JCB diggers to working gyroscopes, plus Europe's largest outdoor high tech adventure playground. The centre is divided into four pavilions …"

  50. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Eureka! - National Children's Museum in North East England, United Kingdom

    Eureka!, the National Children's Museum features over 400 interactive exhibits which inspire children aged 0-11 to learn about themselves and the world around them through imagination, play and discovery. Eureka! is based on the North American model of …"

  51. 02 Jul 2009

  52. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Italian classes in a Converted Italian Monastery in Marche, Italy

    If you're going to learn Italian, or brush up on your linguistic skills, Italy is obviously the best place to do it. And if you can combine classes with a stay somewhere scenic, maybe with a slightly monastic feel to it, then you might have a better cha…"

  53. 09 Jun 2009

  54. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Lake Lucerne in Switzerland

    Only the fourth largest of Switzerland’s lakes but no less surrounded by old and pretty towns and sweeping alpine scenery. Long and spindly with narrow sections coming off like octopus legs, Lake Lucerne is shaped by the mountains it hugs the bases of, …"

  55. 06 May 2009

  56. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Pico Turquino in Cuba

    This peak is the highest point in Cuba. It rises out of the Sierra Maestra range to 1,972metres. Castro camped out on the jungle slopes of these mountains during the Cuban Revolution, and in the area now called the Turquino National Park which surrou…"

  57. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Malecón in Havana, Cuba

    The Malecón de La Habana is both a road and a sea wall running eight kilometres along Havana's coast between the river mouth in Havana Harbour and Vadado. Along the road are monuments to General Maximo Gomez, Generl Calixto Garcia and Antonio Maceo, as …"

  58. 30 Apr 2009

  59. World Reviewer Staff reviewed State Historical Museum in Moscow, Russia

    This narrow wedding cake of a building in dark pink stone is wedged between Red Square and Manege Square, and presents visitors with a huge range of national historic artefacts from the remains and tools of the prehistoric tribes who are the first human …"

  60. 29 Apr 2009

  61. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Dostoevsky's Grave in St. Petersburg, Russia

    (11th November 1821 - 9th February 1881) Dostoyevsky's final resting place is under his rather severe, sold stone monument and bust in the Tikhivn Cemetery within the Alexander Nevsky Monastery. An acclaimed author at only 25, for his first novel Poor …"

  62. 28 Apr 2009

  63. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Yusupov Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia

    Felix Yusupov murdered Rasputin, the notorious advisor to Tzar Nicholas II, in the basement of this palace in 1916 – which is supposedly one of the acts that brought about the Russian Revolution. The pale yellow building was built in 1770 but added to…"

  64. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Izmailovsky Bazaar in Moscow, Russia

    The Izmailovsky Bazaar is drolly referred to as Russia's earliest attempt at capitalism – because it has the kind of bustling commercial activity of any flea market. At one end it's become a bit of a souvenir centre, sporting an army of nesting dolls an…"

  65. 22 Apr 2009

  66. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Borodino Panorama Museum in Moscow, Russia

    This museum's main exhibitions tell the story of a battle, that though it only lasted one day, was a huge event in Russian history. This was the battle between Napoleon's troops and the Russians under Field Marshall Kutuzov in August 1812, who is the on…"

  67. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow, Russia

    It used to be that if you were visiting Moscow from the west it was considered good manners to bow to this hill to pay homage – the name of the hill comes from the Russian for 'take a bow'. These days much of the hill is covered by the tanks and other…"

  68. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia

    This theatre and the companies that share its name are synonymous with Russian artistic excellence – among the oldest and most respected opera and ballet companies in the world, but the name Bolshoi actually means 'grand', implying that these are the gra…"

  69. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Gorky Park in Moscow, Russia

    Mostly famous in the west for the cold war novel, and film, by the same name, or its mention in the song 'Winds of Change', Gorky Park is actually an amusement park, complete with a HUGE Ferris wheel, other rides and one of the test units from the space …"

  70. 20 Apr 2009

  71. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Craters of the Moon in Rotorua, New Zealand

    These steaming and brightly coloured volcanic craters are part of the huge geothermal field spreading out from around Lake Taupo on New Zealand's North Island. The rocks have been stained by sulphur and other colourful minerals which makes them appear m…"

  72. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Waitomo Glowworm Cave in North Island, New Zealand

    Looking something like big glowing maggots, these glowworms are a New Zealand home grown speciality, and this cave is the best place to see them doing their gently, and beautifully, glowing thing. The guided trip though the cave system starts from t…"

  73. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Pohutu in Rotorua, New Zealand

    The Maori translation of this name is 'big splash' – which says it all really. It's not just a big splash – the geyser shoots up about 30metres – it's also a fairly regular splash – it goes off about once an hour. These two facts make it one of the bes…"

  74. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Colonial Cottage Museum in Wellington, New Zealand

    This charming little wood cottage comes complete with white picket fence, original fireplace and chimney, red roofed verandah and matching attic windows for eyes – but it's not for sale. This is Wellington's oldest building and was built (to last) in 18…"

  75. World Reviewer Staff reviewed One Tree Hill in Auckland, New Zealand

    Not topped by a single tree but by a single memorial tor – to Sir John Logan Campbell, who was the first white owner of the land and was the one to bequeath it to the rest of us as a park – this hill was once the cone of an active volcano that spewed lav…"

  76. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Aotea Square in Auckland, New Zealand

    Auckland's main public space, where they hold bid public concerts and events, rallies, protests, markets and any other kind of major gathering you can imagine. The square is surrounded by the Edwardian era Auckland Town Hall, the city's main theatre v…"

  77. World Reviewer Staff reviewed Wellington Zoo in Wellington, New Zealand

    This is the oldest zoo in New Zealand, it was built in 1906, but the real reason it's interesting – beyond being a zoo that is, is for its conservation programs and its collection of local creatures. For the rare and endangered team there's the Sun Bear…"

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