The most beautiful opera houses in the world

Opera de Monte Carlo
Located in the principality of Monaco, the Opera de Monte Carlo was opened in 1879. Designed the magnificent and extravagantly, the opera house was recently renovated. Over 80,000 gold leaves were applied to paintings and moldings, a five-ton chandelier has been entirely rebuilt. As it seats only 524, it is often difficult to get tickets. This the only opera house in the world to feature exterior views (thanks to the windows overlooking the Mediterranean) from within the concert space.

Teatro di San Carlo
Located in Naples, this is the oldest opera in Europe that has never closed the door. Opened on 4 November 1737 and then it was the largest in the world with its 3300 seats. Teatro di San Carlo is included in World Heritage by UNESCO.

The Mariinsky Theatre
Opened in 1860, this is pre-eminent theater is located in St. Petersburg, Russia. Named after Empress Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Tsar Alexander II and there is a bust of the Empress in the main entrance foyer. The building was severely damaged during the 900-day Siege of Leningrad, but later restored in 1944. With its marvelous 1,625-seat auditorium it is one of the greatest world class music theatres.

Bavarian State Opera
Built in 1818, Bavarian State Opera is located in Munich and features an impressive exterior and a magnificent interior. Destroyed in World War II it was moved to another place and built in its original form. Re-opened in 1963, the State Opera seats 2,100 people. Today the opera is among the most famous in the world.

Teatro Amazonas
This opera is in the heart of Manaus, deep in the Amazon rain forest of Brazil. Opera House was constructed during the Belle Epoque – the era of rubber that makes Manaus one of the most prosperous cities on the continent. The dome of the opera is covered with 60,000 ceramic tiles imported from France and currently has 701 seats

Romanian Athenaeum
This concert hall is one of the most beautiful buildings in Bucharest. It was built in 1888 in neoclassical style by architect Albert Galeron and considered as one of the architectonical jewellery of Romania. The auditorium (28, 50 m in diameter and 16 m high) having a special acoustics, seats 600 in the stalls and another 52 in loge seating.

Wanderlust Hotel, Singapore

Wanderlust is a left-field and totally experimental boutique hotel set to draw madcap voyagers and curious travellers to its doorstep. Located in Little India district in Singapore, where a bustling cultural enclave where Indian immigrants once settled, and the building was originally an old school built it 1920s. With four thematic levels of 29 rooms by award winning Singapore design agencies, each group was given full creative freedom.

The first level is the Lobby Level – Industrial Glam by Asylum A juxtaposition of the surrounding’s setting and contemporary design. Level 2 is Eccentricity by :phunk Studio. Colours everything from the walls to the neon lights and the rainbow corridor leads to a outdoor deck with a customised mosaic-tiled jacuzzi. Level 3 – Is it just Black and White by DP Architects. Walk across the black corridor and enter into the contrasting white rooms to discover Origami and Pop-Art works. Level 4 – Creature Comforts by fFurious. Get cosy with friendly monsters in each room that presents a different vibe and be assured of a fantasy-filled experience.

The lobby and restaurant Cocotte were done up in a distinctive industrial flair, which provide the perfect setting for the mismatch of furniture from Tom Dixon to Frank Gehry. Cocotte serves up a French menu and has large tables for communal dining, a small detail that very much meshes with the interactive element of traveling. Encouraging social interaction and communal dining, dishes at Cocotte come in sharing portions so guests can enjoy a unique dining experience and sample a variety of scrumptious creations by the chefs. Rooms, which also come with Kiehl’s toiletries and iPod docks, run from $300 to $650 Singaporean dollars.

Haji Lane, Singapore

Haji Lane is a small-scale shopping in Singapore‘s hidden retail destination. Singapore has enormous, glittering shopping malls in and around Orchard Street which are wall-to-wall major-brand retailers, the stuff of a shopaholic’s dream. Anyway for those seeking something more intimate, the indie boutiques on Haji Lane are far from the roaming mall rats. Beautiful boutiques showcase rising Singaporean designers, as well as other designers from Asia and beyond, lining a narrow, backstreet of the tranquil Kampong Glam area – also known as the Arab district.

Don’t miss stores on the second floors of the charming shophouses; look out for mysterious flights of stairs through doorways at street level because you might just find find a new little world at the top of them. United Label is a wonderful shop, a womenswear brand by a Thai designer living in Singapore, as well as a selection of adorable stationery culled from around Asia. Near the entryway a staircase leads to a floor stocked with clothes from different labels. There are a few racks of items that have been majorly discounted, while others are dedicated to items like delicate, screen-printed tees.

At one end of Haji Lane is Soon Lee (no. 73), which stocks a mix of chic womenswear, accessories and lifestyle items from Hong Kong, Korea and even the Philippines. The boutique’s size (basically two shophouses combined into one) gives way to a large selection for browsing. Balancing out the shopping element, a few cafes and rest stops provide a place for breaks. A Thousand Tales (no. 55) is an all-in-one art gallery, cafe, bar, restaurant and furniture complex. While the menu next door at Bar Stories (no. 57A) sells drinks like mojitos and caipirinhas, visitors are invited to ask the bartender to make something special for them. The Scandinavian-inspired furniture is used as seating for patrons, who can buy it right there if they like it enough.

Pluck (no. 31/33) focuses more on housewares, but the cafe inside offers a revolving selection of homemade ice cream in a variety of flavors. The standouts are the Asian-inspired flavors, such as green tea with red beans or cashew-infused yogurt. There are also flavors made with alcohol, like the refreshing lychee martini.

Museum aan de Stroom

The MAS is an impressive building with a museum, among other things. Because it is also the visible storage, the museum square with Luc Tuymans’ mosaic, the boulevard, the rooftop panorama, etc. The MAS is a total experience. Nowdays, Antwerp has its own iconic piece of museum architecture and it’s poised to make the medieval Flemish town a global destination. The Museum aan de Stroom opened last weekend to an estimated 100,000 visitors, including the Belgian royal family.

The MAS brings together the collections from the former Etnografisch Museum, the Nationaal Scheepvaartmuseum and the Volkskundemuseum. They are given a new home in the MAS along with part of the Vleeshuis Museum collection and the Paul and Dora Janssen-Arts collection. The collections are spread over four floors and are not displayed side by side. The pieces are connected through a dynamic scenography on the different floors. They don’t just impart information. They tell stories, they endure, they are actors in an ever-changing play.

Once Antwerp was a harbor village with a massive port more than seven times the size of its commercial center. In the 1600s, the city was the seat of the Dutch superpower, establishing the nation’s merchant status for centuries to come. Today, Antwerp belongs to Belgium and it’s still a city defined by its watery borders. And it’s there, just off the River Scheldt between the historic city center and the up-and-coming industrial neighborhood het Eilandje, that the MAS Museum steps into its starring role.

With this museum, Antwerp got a a striking ten-story monolith of stacked boxes in alternating red Indian limestone and undulating glass. The architects, Neutelings Riedijk from Rotterdam, rotated each level 90 degrees, allowing the escalators to ascend around the perimeter of the museum. The effect is a moving viewing platform affording wraparound views of the city, from the Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady to the domed Centraal Station to the grittier docklands and warehouses in the immediate vicinity of MAS.

The birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus

One of the oldest cities in Poland, the medieval town is the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus. In 1997 the history center of the city was designated a UNESCO’s World Heritage Site and the Old Town was added to the list of Seven Wonders of Poland.

Archaeologists have discovered that the first settlers in the area were over 1100 BC. In 1230 Teutonic Knights built a castle on the site. In 1263, Franciscan monks settled in the city, and after them, and Dominicans. As you can see, the town is very attractive. Torun has the largest number of preserved Gothic houses in Poland. The most interesting monuments are: The Cathedral of SS. John the Evangelist and John the Baptist, The Old Town Hall, begun in 1274, City fortifications, begun in the 13th century, Ruins of 13th-century Teutonic Knights’ castle, and many more.

The Holy City of Medinah

Medinah or Medina, Saudi Arabia ranks as the second holiest place in Islam after Makkah. The city is also the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad and home to the three oldest mosques in Islam.

Dating as far back as the 6th century BCE this is the city that gave refuge to the Prophet Muhammad and the early Muslims upon their migration from Makkah. Similarly to Mecca, entrance to Medina is restricted to Muslims only; non-Muslims are neither permitted to enter nor travel through the city.

The Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas

The Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas is the main Campus of the Central University of Venezuela. Designed by the Venezuelan architect Carlos Raúl Villanueva between 1940 and 1960 it is an outstanding example of the modern avant-garde ideas in architecture.

Consists of forty buildings in nine groups or zones, this vast urban complex covers an area of about 2 km². The complex also includes masterpieces of visual arts, like the “Clouds” of Alexander Calder, the Olympic Stadium, and the Covered Plaza.

Considered a masterpiece of architecture and urban planning it is one of the most successful applications of Modern Architecture in Latin America. This is also the only university campus declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (in 2000).

Plovdiv Art

The Red Pony Art Gallery, established by Atanas Krastev in 1989 is the first private art gallery in Bulgaria. For the last 20 years the gallery has often been a kind host of the art exhibitions and numerous Bulgarian and foreign artists. In 1969 Atanas Krastev organized the Ancient Plovdiv Association and till 1986 he managed, restored and developed the Ancient Plovdiv Architectural and Historic Reserve.

The Gallery of Association of the Plovdiv Painters was built in 1975 and is the biggest in the town. It is situated on 400 m² and has a lantern-light (Oberlicht). It is managed by a private association of professional Plovdiv painters. There is always free entrance for the exhibitions organized in the gallery.
Representative Permanent Exposition
The exposition is located in the building of the High Scholl for Young Girls, built in 1881 after the design of architect Josif Schnitter. It represents the result of the four-year work of a highly qualified art experts’ team. It includes more than 200 original works of art that follow out the development of Bulgarian fine art from the time of the National revival to the present day.

Plovdiv Praying

Saint Petka is old Orthodox Church picturesquely situated amidst the rocks on the southern slope of Djambazteppe, Plovdiv, from where it dominates the residential quarters, built on the flat country, in spite of its modest dimentions (28 x 16m). Two unique icons are preserved here also, dates back to the 13th century.

The Holy Virgin Cathedral is situated on the northern slope of Taximteppe, possibly in the place of a medieval monastery church (9th-10th C.). The year when the first church was built is unknown, but it is dated back to the middle of the Byzantine epoch. The bell-tower built in 1880-1881. Saint Marina Orthodox Church – A bishop’s church, the main one for the whole of the Plovdiv Eparchy. Situated at the southern foot of Taximteppe. The iconostasis is one of the most precious monuments of the wood-carving art on our land 1828, which is 21m long. The unique six-storied wooden bell-tower, built in 1870 and 17 m high, is also valuable.

St St Constantine and Helena – built in the place of an early Christian sanctuary, initially having been dedicated to Severian and Memnos, who perished for their faith together with 38 Plovdiv martyrs, murdered at this place during the reign of Emperor Diocletian (at the beginning of the 6th century). Later it was dedicated to the equal to the Apostles St St Constantine and Helena.

Ancient Plovdiv

The Roman Epoch (1st-6th C.) represents a peculiar golden age in the development of the antique Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Time when its ancient town structure took shape, including splendid public buildings, an enormous forum, an impressive stadium, a beautiful amphiteather, heathen temples, aqueducts, aristocratic houses, imposing fortress walls.

The Aqueduct of Philippopolis was built in order to supply the city with drinking water from the springs of the Rhodope Mountains. The total length of the construction is nearly 30 km. In the square of the west of Djumaya mosque the imposing remains of Philippopolis’s Ancient Stadium were discovered. The dimensions of this huge building are: length 1 000 Roman steps, width – 250 Roman steps. The Ancient Stadium accommodated about 30, 000 spectators and was one of the most significant architectural works in Philippopolis.

The Ancient Forum, the civic center of Philippopolis, covers an area of 20, 000 sq m in the heart of the ancient city. The Odeon is situated in the north-eastern corner of the ancient theatre building. This magnificent architectural specimen was built in the early second century AD during the reign of Emperor Trajan. As an element of the city square of the Roman period, the building served as the city council chamber of Philippopolis. Today, the theatre is an attractive cultural venue, where modern arts interact with the intransient values of the past.