Western Europe

The castle is perched on a hill, with a single square tower in its middle. The left'hand wing is brick and/or stone, while the right-hand wing is white plaster with exposed timber beams.

Wartburg Castle

An imposing castle, important because of its role in Martin Luther’s life.

Looking down a wide path to a large palace: several stories high, it extends past the edges of the photo on both sides. Above the center is a large copper dome.

Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin

An ensemble of stately palaces dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, along with their extensive gardens.

A path through dense growth, including what looks like fern trees on the right hanging over the path. The narrow path has a shallow channel cut next to it through which water flows.

Laurisilva of Madeira

Old-growth laurel forests, important for hydrological balance and biodiversity.

A section of Versailles gardens, with neatly-rimmed evergreens in a conical shape, low hedges in curved lines and very colorful flowers between the hedges.

Palace and Park of Versailles

Elegant and grand 17th-century royal residence and park, seat of the French monarchy from Louis XIV to Louis XVI.

The building has an arched portico along the ground floor, decorative statues and other decoration between the windows on the upper floor, three decorative gables in front of the green roof, the middle gable the largest.

Town Hall and Roland on the Marketplace of Bremen

Testimony to civic autonomy and market freedoms of a Hanseatic League city.

Side view of the cathedral, with the spires at the right and a side entrance in front. Incredibly ornate in typical gothic style, with gothic arched windows, flying buttresses and elaborate sculptural details around every available surface.

Cologne Cathedral

An undisputed masterpiece of Gothic architecture.

A tomb stands on a pedestal in a niche, all of it painted white as well as the wall behind it. On top of the tomb is a pillar with what looks like an urn on the top and a relief of the person's face halfway up the side. Below the tomb, a figure leans on each side of the pedestal: both are women in white marble. The left hand one leans her elbow on the pedestal and her face on her hand. On the right the woman has her hands clasped on the pedestal and looks up at the tomb.

Roskilde Cathedral

A medieval cathedral in a unique mix of styles that inspired cathedrals throughout Northern Europe.

Kronborg Castle

A symbol of Denmark’s former power as it guarded the narrow entrance to the Baltic Sea. Shakespeare’s inspiration for Elsinore.

Two large rocks, each with runes carved into it, each in a separate glass-sided case.

Jelling Mounds, Runic Stones and Church

The place where King Harald Bluetooth in 965 AD declared Denmark a unified country and announced its Christianization.

A river crosses the bottom of the picture. On the banks are two buildings: a white two-story house with a series of five gables., and a small white church with a simple spire. Behind them is a flat plain, rocky in places, covered in green in others. A rift in the land is visible crossing the plain.

Þingvellir National Park

Historically important to the nation of Iceland, geologically dramatic as well.

Surtsey Island

An island with no people, where scientists can learn about how species colonize new land.

A simple white house with a thatched roof

Colonies of Benevolence

A utopian experiment in reducing urban poverty by building planned agrarian communities.

17th-century Canal Ring Area of Amsterdam inside the Singelgracht

Canals lined with beautiful old patricians’ houses and former warehouses from when the city was a busy port, receiving products from all over the world.

Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout

Famous for its picturesque rows of windmills dating to the mid-1700s, and a great example of how the Dutch created the landscape of the Netherlands.