Tagged: history

Chuckwalla: Some of U.S.'s Oldest Land Becomes Newest National Monument in California

In 1906, the United States Congress passed the Antiquities Act to help prevent the looting and destruction of tribal lands by greedy and careless people. That law is being invoked by…

15+ Real Travel Details in 1980's "Airplane!" That Seem Fake if You Weren't Alive Then

December 30, 2024 It changed the course of screen comedy. The 1980 deadpan-silly movie Airplane!, which was bootstrapped into blockbuster status by a team of outsider sketch comedy…

A Chesapeake Bay Cruise with American Cruise Lines: Our Review

Heidi Sarna is the co-founder of QuirkyCruise.com, a guide to small-ship cruising. In business for decades, family-owned American Cruise Lines (ACL), which devotes itself exclusively…

Greenwich Village Walking Tour: Follow Our Stroll in the Historic NYC Neighborhood

Published December 11, 2024In this walking tour, you'll get a taste of all the varied groups and social movements that shaped New York City's Greenwich Village over the years.But…

The Best Museums in Washington, D.C.

Updated November 1, 2024 Washington, D.C., is home to one of the world's most remarkable collections of museums: the Smithsonian Institution. The "Nation's Attic" preserves and…

Rome Underground: Haunting Subterranean Sights in the Eternal City

In a city where the street level has risen about 30 feet (due to flooding of the Tiber) since the days of the Caesars, it’s only natural that a whole other Rome should exist hidden…

What You’ll See on the Newly Expanded, More Interactive Tour of the White House

While we all stress out over who will move into the White House in January, one of the building's current occupants has unveiled some long-in-the-works upgrades to how visitors…

How to Bike Normandy’s D-Day Beaches: A Car-Free Side Trip from Paris

Beyond their historical significance, Normandy’s D-Day beaches are quite simply beautiful. The stark and ever-changing light on the vast water creates a palette of colors that makes…

Alaska by Ferry: See Incredible Places for a Fraction of What Cruises Cost

I honestly don't know what made me open my eyes. Traveling aboard one of Alaska’s state ferries from Juneau to Petersburg, I'd dozed off in the outdoor solarium—enjoying the mix of…

Boston’s Fenway Park Tour: The Cheapest (and Most Fun) Way to See the Baseball Landmark

If Boston’s Fenway Park is, as advertised, America’s “most beloved” baseball venue, it’d have to be affection of the warts-and-all variety.  For sheer beauty, you’d have to go with…

Douro River Cruise: Our Review of Uniworld’s Trip Through Portugal’s Top Wine Region

Heidi Sarna is the co-founder of QuirkyCruise.com, a guide to small-ship cruising. The Douro River starts in north-central Spain and zigzags some 500 miles into Portugal before…

25 Incredible Free Museums in London

Last update: August 20, 2024London can be an expensive vacation. Thanks to landing fees, flying there hits hard, and once you arrive, high average nightly hotel rates do even more…

Disney Is About to Gut Magic Kingdom, Fans Are Furious, and You Don't Have Much Time

We've had plenty of warning signs that the current management of the Disney brand doesn't understand or appreciate their roles as stewards of priceless Americana.  For the last few…

New UNESCO World Heritage Sites for 2024 in Italy, Malaysia, South Africa, More

UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has added 24 cultural and natural wonders to its esteemed World Heritage List of sites the organization…

Where to See Nitrate Film Screenings: Rare Movie Cinemas Worth Traveling For

When Oscar-winning director Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer, Inception) introduced a 2019 nitrate screening of Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca at Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre, Nolan told the…

All About USA’s Newest National Park: Texas' Blackwell School National Historic Site

A former school that was built in west Texas for Mexican and Mexican American students during the era of "separate but equal" education has become the newest addition to the U.S.…

Biden Creates His First National Park Unit: Amache in Colorado

Update: Amache officially became a Natonal Historic Site on February 15, 2024. Here is its official National Park unit page.Last Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the paperwork…

USA's Most Endangered Historic Places Now Include L.A.'s Little Tokyo and Concord, Mass., Revolutionary Sites

The site of the American Revolution's "shot heard round the world," the hometown of author Zora Neale Hurston, a lighthouse in the middle of the Hudson River, a long-standing Japanese…

Warner Bros. Hollywood Debuts Historical TCM Classic Films Studio Tour

One of the frustrations of paying a pilgrimage to Hollywood's movie studio tours is the creeping dominance of corporate marketing in the retelling of American cultural history. As…

Free Museums in Paris: 21 Spots to Appreciate Art and Culture at No Cost

Paris is an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord for culture vultures. But admission fees can start to add up in a city with more than 130 museums, only a few of which could be described as…

Alabama’s New Freedom Monument Sculpture Park Explores Legacy of Slavery

A new sculpture park in the Alabama capital is designed to explore the institution of slavery as well as the lives and legacies of enslaved people. Set on 17 wooded acres next to the…

King Charles to Open Scotland's Balmoral Castle, Where QE2 Died, to Tours

Fans of the British Royal Family probably thought this announcement would ever be made. King Charles of the United Kingdom has announced that he will be opening Balmoral Castle, his…

New Volvo Museum in Sweden Showcases Rare Cars by Renowned Automaker

Last week Volvo, which is aiming to go fully electric by 2030, produced its last-ever diesel-powered passenger vehicle and promptly donated the car—an XC90 SUV—to a museum. That would…

When Will Barcelona's Sagrada Família Be Finished? We Finally Have an Answer (Kind Of)

And you thought your contractor was taking forever.  La Sagrada Família, the eye-catching basilica designed by Antoni Gaudí, has been under construction in Barcelona, Spain, since…

This Classic Disney World Attraction Is Now Open for Just 135 Minutes a Day

You probably assume the attractions at Disney parks are always available to visit whenever the parks are open.That is not always the case. Some rides run on a schedule that's…