Chateau de Valencay in Berry near the Loire was the home of Talleyrand and served as state guesthouse during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. Chateau de Valencay is an impressive palace with marvelous formal gardens, a large nature park, a maze, animals, and play areas for children. Valencay served as state guesthouse during the times … Read more
Leonardo da Vinci spent his final three years in Amboise in a chateau now housing a museum with models of his designs. Château du Clos Lucé is a relatively small 15th-century palace in the Loire town Amboise. The chateau was the childhood home of King Francis I but much more famously the palace where Leonardo … Read more
Driving is the best option for most visitors to Château de Chenonceau but public transportation and day-trip tours are alternatives. Getting to Château de Chenonceau on the Cher River in the Loire region of France is easiest by car but public transportation is also available with trains arriving from Tours and Bourges. Cycling is an … Read more
The large Basilica San Zeno Maggiore is the finest church in Verona and one of the most important Romanesque churches in Northern Italy. San Zeno Maggiore is architecturally the most important church in Verona. This large Romanesque basilica, with cloisters and a separate bell tower, was part of a Benedictine monastery that often housed the … Read more
The Piccolomini Library (Libreria Piccolomini) inside Siena Cathedral is a colorful Renaissance highlight in the otherwise predominantly Romanesque-Gothic Duomo. The Piccolomini Library is in a single hall accessible only from inside the cathedral of Siena. Although a number of significant codices are on display, the main reason to visit is to admire the colorful frescoes … Read more
Frederiksborg Slot is the largest Renaissance castle in Scandinavia and has the Museum of National History of Denmark – a popular day-trip from Copenhagen Frederiksborg Castle is home to the vast Museum of National History (Det Nationalhistoriske Museum). The rooms of this former royal palace are filled with portraits, history paintings, furniture, and decorative art … Read more
See top art by Caravaggio (Crucifixion of St Peter, Conversion of St Paul), Bernini, and Raphael for free in the Santa Maria del Popolo church in Rome. The church of Santa Maria del Popolo is one of the top free churches to visit in Rome to see exceptional art. The main attractions for most are … Read more
Transportation by train or tour buses are easy ways to travel to Pisa to see the famous leaning tower and Field of Miracles sights.
The Sinopie Museum gives a unique insight on how the frescoes of the Camposanto Cemetery in Pisa were created.
The Renaissance frescoes at the Camposanto Cemetery was for centuries a more important attraction in Pisa than the Leaning Tower.