architecture

A ruin with walls intact and a very large interal arch, inside of which stand two almost complete pillars.

Villa Adriana (Tivoli)

A lavish retreat built for Roman emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century.

An attractive narrow city street, with buildings only 2-3 stories high; one of them looks like a gateway.

The Historic Centre of Guimarães

A charming medieval city center, considered the birthplace of Portuguese nationhood.

A stone church with a small open bell tower in its center with 4 bells visible.

Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of Asturias

Six buildings that are unique to the short-lived Asturian monarchy.

View up a cobbled street, low adobe houses on either side.

Historic Quarter of the City of Colonia del Sacramento

A well-preserved colonial city that reflects both Spanish and Portuguese influences.

Historic Centre of Puebla

An intact Renaissance city full of Spanish-colonial baroque architecture.

A row of 2-3 story houses, the nearer ones painted white and the furthest one red brick with a small round turret.

Flemish Béguinages

Centuries-old architectural ensembles in Flanders that once housed religious communities of women.

Looking down a canal with large red-brick warehouses lining both sides.

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District with Chilehaus

An ensemble of warehouses and office buildings resulting from Hamburg’s port trade in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The entranceway in the dille is arched and quite grand, with pillars inside it. The building extends out on both sides, lower than the central archway, with smaller arches along its length.

Historic City of Ahmedabad

A medieval walled city of unique gated communities and many architectural monuments in a mix of styles.

A jumble of buildings on the edge of a steep gorge.

Historic Walled Town of Cuenca

A medieval fortress town in a dramatic location, perched on cliffs.

The imposing fortress on a small hill: mud walls and a tall round tower at its corner.

Bahla Fort

A massive mud-brick fortress, the capital of the Banu Nebhan and the centre of Ibadism in the Middle Ages.

A path between green rice fields leads to a group of houses with peaked thatched roofs.

Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama

Mountain villages with unique traditional farmhouses where silkworms were cultivated.

Looking through a thick stone doorway to a row of arches and through them to the palace in the distance.

Anjar

Remains of an 8th-century Umayyad town that offers insight into Umayyad town planning and architecture.

The house is wide and low and has a long balcony and a flat roof.

Tugendhat Villa in Brno

An outstanding example of Modern architecture of the 1920s, designed by Mies van der Rohe.

On the left, the Leaning tower, with its rings of pillars on each level; next to that, the Cathedral.

Piazza del Duomo, Pisa

Four masterpieces of Pisan Romanesque architecture, including the world-famous Leaning Tower.

A view from above of a long stretch of beach lined with palm trees and a pedestrian and bike path.

Nice, Winter Resort Town of the Riviera

An early example of a city that developed due to tourism.

A bright yellow house on a sloping hill.

Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaíso

An important 19th-century port city that preserves its urban industrial architecture to this day.

Looking up at a dome on the mausoleum showing beautiful decorative tile work.

Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi

An unfinished mausoleum and mosque that allows an understanding of Timurid construction methods.

Itchan Kala

An excellent illustration of the traditions of Islamic architecture in Central Asia.

View of a bridge across a river leading to a pretty town of white buildings with red roofs, a steeple peeking up above them.

Old City of Berne

A unique example of urban planning from the Middle Ages that has developed over time while still respecting the original plan.

A massive tree fills most of the picture, forming a neat ceiling of a sort over a pedestrian area.

Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent Mines

A colonial-period silver-mining center, with subterranean streets and Baroque architecture.

On a hill above the lake, a palace and a pagoda.

Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in Beijing

A summer retreat for China’s emperors, with extensive classical gardens, an artificial lake, and a collection of palace buildings.

A large round pagoda with three roofs and concentric walls around it, each higher than the one outside it.

Temple of Heaven: an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing

A religious complex used by Ming and Qing dynasty emperors that is significant both symbolically and architecturally.

A street in Lijiang: shop houses along the right, with red lanterns hanging from the eaves. Motorbikes parked, a child walks in the street, willow trees overhang the street on the left.

Old Town of Lijiang

A charming traditional Chinese town that combines Naxi, Han, Bai and Tibetan influences.

Semi-circular rings of stone benches slant down to the circular stage area at the bottom.

The Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus

Ruins of an ancient place of healing, with a huge and still intact Greek theater.

Front view of Schonbrunn palace seen from a distance to fit such a large structure into the picture.

Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn

Former home to the powerful Habsburg emperors: an opulent Baroque castle and its gardens.

The church itself, with two towers, and elegant curved stairways up to its entrance on either side.

Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga

An exquisite example of Portuguese Baroque architecture expressing a spiritual journey.

View over the city. In the foreground, a large monument with a cross. Below, the city, with its grid of streets, and in the background, the volcano, its peak surrounded by clouds.

Antigua Guatemala

A lovely city that illustrates Spanish colonial-era architecture, city planning, and culture.

A ruined temple in stone, with tall pillars holding up a pediment, that is mostly broken off.

Acropolis, Athens

The most famous remnant of ancient Greece, standing high above the city of Athens.

A very tall and very steep stone pyramid with a flat top.

Pre-Hispanic Town of Uxmal

Four sets of pre-Columbian ruins that exemplify Mayan art and architecture when Mayan civilization was at its height.

Looking down a long rectangular courtyard with arches supported by double pillars all around it: They're ornately decorated in an Islamic style. The upper story is also lined with arches supported by single pillars.

Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo de Indias in Seville

Three properties that are central to the history of Spain’s “Golden Age.”

Looking down from a balcony above the green water of the Roman Bath. The lower floor around the pool has a colonnade around it, held up by pillars.

City of Bath

Famous Georgian-period spa town with surviving elements from its Roman-period history as well.

Looking up at the facade of the building, with a 2-storey high rounded section with long rectangles of glass and decorative pillars.

Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta (Brussels)

Four pioneering works of architecture in Art Nouveau style.

Seen across a broad flat area, a large palace, white and symmetrical.

Residences of the Royal House of Savoy

A series of palaces and estates in and around Turin that exemplify baroque architecture.

Sydney Opera House

A landmark of 20th-century architecture on Sydney Harbor.

Looking at the building of Mafra from an angle: a very baroque design. Trees are flowering pink nearby.

Royal Building of Mafra

One of the most impressive baroque structures in all of Portugal.

Ellora Caves

34 stunning stone-cut caves with carved and painted images from three different religions.