There are beautiful buildings, and then there is architecture so imbued with history and culture it takes your breath away. Here, Andrew Harper recounts 10 of his favorite locations where the architecture reveals the spirit and the story of a place; where it is an essential and inspiring part of the travel experience. We then ask the local hotel owners, concierges, tour guides and travel consultants who know these places best to weigh in, in their own words, about what makes the architecture so unforgettable.
Rome
“The extraordinary juxtaposition of Classical, Medieval and Renaissance buildings, exemplified by the Piazza Navona, a former chariot racing track.” —AH
From Armando Manni, owner of Casa MANNI: “Casa Manni opens up onto the Piazza de Pietra, a plaza that perfectly expresses Rome’s most fantastic mixture of time. Here you have the Temple of Hadrian, with 11 columns from A.D. 145 still intact. Pope Innocent XII transformed the temple into the Roman Stock exchange in the late 1600s. So you have ancient Rome, the Baroque period and modern Rome, all overlapping and visible from the front steps of our hotel. And we are only a two-minute walk from both the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain—from ancient to Baroque, Caesar to la dolce vita—this is the marvelous architectural time travel of Rome.”
Cotswolds
“The vernacular architecture of the English countryside. Medieval wool villages in golden stone, the prettiest being Chipping Campden.” —AH
From Nigel Power, General Manager of Buckland Manor: “Strewn with countless pretty villages built by Medieval merchants enriched by the wool trade, the Cotswolds fulfills most people’s idea of a ‘typical’ English landscape. Here, neat fields, narrow hedge-lined lanes, ancient woodland and clear streams combine with simple stone cottages, churches, manor houses and tithe barns to create a picture of timeless beauty.”
New York
“The mountain range of Midtown seen from the upper deck of the 59th Street Bridge. Still the world’s most impressive manmade landscape.” —AH
From Ashish Verma, General Manager of the Lowell Hotel: “The Manhattan skyline rises like a collage of lives lived to the fullest. It is a skyline that inspires one to be so themselves and yet to grow and be so much more. There is a story in every building here. This is home to some of the most culturally diverse and dynamically vibrant people from all across the globe, gathered together on this tiny island in search of our potential. The Manhattan Skyline is a synopsis of all that man can create—architecturally, economically, philosophically and practically. No wonder the view from any building in Manhattan is a view of life itself—full to its brim and overflowing with warmth, opportunity and success. This is New York.”
Santa Fe & Taos
“The adobe architecture of the Southwest, so often painted by Georgia O’Keeffe and photographed by Alfred Stieglitz.” —AH
From Gloria Castillo, Concierge of Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi: “Our guests love visits to the ancient Taos Pueblo, still home to Taos Native Americans, and the rustic adobe churches in Abiquiu, like the Penitente Morada and St. Thomas the Apostle, both built in the 1700s. These cultural treasures—and so much of the architecture in this area—provide a sense of discovery of the unknown; it is like you are stepping back in time. The people who still live in the Taos Pueblo, for example, possess a strong and sacred sense of community that is both heart-warming and inspiring.”
Egypt
“Valley of the Kings. The unimaginable past preserved in stone.” —AH
From Abeer El Sherif, Nubia Tours’ Egyptologist: “A visit to Egypt is like traveling back in time for thousands of years, particularly when you go to Luxor and visit the Valley of the Kings. People always say there is something very particular in the air of the place, which houses more than 60 royal tombs, as if the rock-bound vaults radiate a presence of the distant past. Entering the tombs, you see the most beautiful scenes and vivid colors from 1500 B.C. They show the journey of the spirit of a king after death and the magical spells and prayers he needs to protect him. The most famous tomb is that of Tutankhamen; it was discovered in 1922, untouched, and was full of the most exquisite treasures. This valley keeps many secrets still waiting to be discovered.”
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