There is so much to see and do in Bangkok that visitors will find their trip over long before they have exhausted their wish list of activities and sites. Since Bangkok is the capital of Thailand, it offers many national political and cultural landmarks and is the home of the Thai royal family. The city itself dates back to its time as a small Khmer trading port in the time before the Ayutthaya Kingdom (which began in 1350). Bangkok became the capital of Thailand in 1768 and has been a political, economic, and social center for the region ever since.

Visitors to this exotic city can choose from the best Bangkok hotels, fine Thai dining, and some of the greatest shopping in the East. The cityscape includes traditional temples, mosques and palaces as well as modern skyscrapers and urban shopping malls. It’s this unique blending of ancient with modern that makes the energy of the city so intoxicating. The city was even named the “Best City in the World” in 2008.

Some of the more popular destinations in the city include the Ancient City and the Victory Monument. Bangkok is also home to the Grand Palace, which is the official residence of the royal family and the House of Parliament. Visitors may want to stroll through some of the city’s many museums, including the National Museum, the Anantasamakhom Throne Hall, the Bangkok Metropolitan Museum of Contemporary Art and the Royal Barge National Museum.

Bangkok has also worked to protect its natural wonders. There are a number of parks throughout the city including the famous Lumphini Park. The city also boasts the largest aquarium in southeast Asia, a Crocodile Farm and several zoos. Snake-lovers will want to visit the Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute and Snake Farm while the Bangkok Butterfly Garden and Insectarium features an indoor waterfall.

It seems like New York has always been famous for its food. From hot dogs and pizza sold at street stands to gourmet creations that originated in some of the city’s finest restaurants, New York is the birthplace of numerous recipes. The city also attracts the world’s best chefs who come to New York to open signature restaurants and prove themselves in the cutthroat food scene. With the advent of cable television at the end of the twentieth century, New York’s cemented its reputation as the food capital of the United States.

The convergance of New York’s incredible food culture with its prominence as a television city has led to a multitude of television programming originating in the Big Apple. Long the home of the three major broadcast networks, New York seems to have always produced cooking segments as part of network morning shows and various talk shows. As cable television expanded, many more networks created programs or segments that featured food, many of them shoot in New York.

In 1993, Scripps Networks Interactive launched the Food Network, a cable channel devoted entirely to cooking, restaurants, and food. The main Food Network kitchens are located in New York city and programs shot here, such as the popular “Iron Chef America” are seen in over ninety million homes. Other shows take to the streets of the city to highlight New York restaurants, chefs, and other culinary attractions.

Other networks such as the Travel Channel, TLC, and Home & Garden Television (HGTV), feature programming starring New York chefs, food history, and specific eateries. NBC ran two seasons of a reality show that followed New York chef Rocco DiSpirito as he opened a new restaurant in the city. Currently, the Bravo network’s popular competition show, “Top Chef” is airing an entire season filmed in and around New York.

Barcelona is one of the most attractive tourist destinations in all of Spain. The second largest city in Spain and the capital of Catalonia, Barcelona is located on the Mediterranean coast. The charming city is famous for its incredible architecture, fabulous cuisine, and thriving nightlife. It is home to world-class restaurants, 5-star Barcelona hotels, fabulous shopping, and a mulititude of historical and cultural sites. Barcelona even boasts nine structures that are part of designated World Heritage Sites.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) maintains a list of sites that are “of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity.” These sites may be structures such as buildings or monuments, natural sites such as lakes, mountains, deserts, or forests, or even entire cities. While Barcelona has only two official “sites” they comprise nine individual buildings.

Two of Barcelona’s structures that together make a World Heritage Site are the works of of Lluís Domènech i Montaner. The Hospital de Sant Pau and the Palau de la Música Catalana were added as one site in 1997. The hospital was built between 1901 and 1930 and features bold decoration and design while still functioning as a hospital to the present day. The Palau de las Musica Catalana is a music hall that was built between 1905 and 1908 to house the Orfeó Català choral society. It is a airy, steel-framed structure with decorations provided by many of the top designers of the time.

Antoni Gaudí was responsible for many of the most famous structures in Barcelona. Three of his structures, the Palau Güell, the Park Güell, and the Casa Milàbecame a World Heritage Site in 1984. In 2005 another four structures, the Sagrada Família, the Casa Vicens, the Crypt in Colonia Güell. and the Casa Batlló, were added to the official Site. La Sagrada Família is Spains’s most visited landmark and remains the only major church that is still under construction. When finished, the structure will include twelve towers representing the Twelve Apostles, each rising over 100 meters tall.

Of Gaudí’s other sites, the Casa Batlló is unique in that it represents the renovation of a pre-existing building that included new concepts in deocration and ornamentation. Casa Mila is an apartment block with a wave-like facade while Güell Palace is a stunning example of Catalan Art Nouveau architecture. The Crypt in Colonia Güell is considered to be one of the most admired works of the architect and foreshadow many of the features in the Sagrada Família.

Previously known as Calcutta, Kolkata is the second largest city in India. This exciting city offers an incredible experience to all who visit the teeming metropolis. Home to poets, philosophers, Nobel Prize winners, writers, and artists, Kolkata is the undisputed intellectual and cultural capital of India. Visitors can relax at five star Kolkata hotels, enjoy the wonderful Bengali cuisine, and visit the city’s many cultural and historical destinations.

Named after Britian’s King William III, Fort William is one of the more well known sites in Kolkata. The name actually graces two forts. The original Fort William was completed in 1706. built by the British East India Company, the bastions and walls enclosed the Government House. One of the fort’s guard rooms became known as the Black Hole of Calcutta. This fort was attacked by Siraj ud Daulah, the Nawab of Bengal, in 1756 which resulted in the city’s name being changed temporarily to Alinagar.

In 1757 the British regained the city in the Battle of Plassey. In 1758 they began construction on the new Fort William, which would house 10,000 soldiers. Completed in 1781, the structure is an irregular octagon of brick-and-mortar. It encloses five square kilometers and is surrounded by a moat that is fifteen meters wide and nine meters deep and can be flooded when needed. The Fort includes six gates: Plassey, Calcutta, Water Gate, Treasury Gate, Chowringhee, and St Georges. The old fort was repaired and serves as a customs house in the new fort. The fort is still in active use as the Eastern Command of the Indian Army.

The front of Fort William is known as the Maidan and is the largest park in the Kolkata and is also called “the lungs of Kolkata.” It is approximates three kilometers long and one kilometer wide. Visitors are permitted to enter the fort’s museum which features swords, armours, muskets, and other arms. It also features historical photographs of recent wars. Access to the fort’s Arsenal is only granted by special permission.