History

(Part 3 of 3 on central Mexico)

(Third of three parts)

World Heritage Sites are places of special significance as determined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization, or UNESCO (whc.unesco.org/en/list).

14 days, 13 nights, May 10-23, July 18-31 & Aug. 30-Sept. 12, 2016. Highlights: In Helsinki, FINLAND, city tour/in Tallinn, ESTONIA, Toompea Castle, St. Olaf’s Church, KUMU art museum/Kadriorg Park/in Ce¯sis, LATVIA, Castle of Livonian Order/in Riga, Dome Cathedral, old guild houses, Runda¯le Palace, chocolate tasting/resort town of Ju¯rmala/in Klaipeda, LITHUANIA, 18th-century brewery/in Vilnius, Gate of Dawn, KGB Museum. $3,650 ppdo. Single supp., $600. Original World (San Rafael, CA; 888/367-6147, www.originalworld.com).

Having completed a privately guided tour of WWII Battle of the Bulge sites in Belgium in September 2015, I would like to share some observations for those considering a visit to that historically significant area.

After the Allies landed on the beaches of Normandy in June 1944, they swept north, largely driving the Nazi forces out of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The front line of battle in that region stretched from north to south near the German border with Belgium.

(Second of three parts)

World Heritage Sites are places of special significance as determined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization, or UNESCO (whc.unesco.org/en/list).

(First of three parts)

As I traveled on the train to the top of the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland in June 2015, it dawned on me that I had entered one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. ‘Wouldn’t it be nice,’ I thought, ‘to plan a trip where I would visit one UNESCO Heritage Site after another?’

(Part 2 in a series)

Cemeteries worth a visit

Liz and Jack Kaufman of Lake Quivira, Kansas, wrote, “We have visited cemeteries all around the world. The best ones combine history with beautiful gardens and superb architecture… . We would like to read travelers’ recommendations for cemeteries to visit.”

When we print the winning entries to each essay contest every few months, it’s a pleasant reminder of ITN’s founder and original publisher, the late Armond Noble, who originated the contest and had fun coming up with alliterative essay topics.

Local stonemasons, with the assistance of UNESCO, in July finished restoring 14 mausoleums in the city of Timbuktu, Mali, three years after Islamic fundamentalists destroyed them.