HERITAGE/ Capital Cities – Exploring the Unknown

It is a rather serious responsibility to be the capital of the second largest nation on earth, but this well-designed, safe and tidy city on the border between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec also knows how to enjoy itself immensely. With a population of 861,000 and a regional population of 1.1 million, Ottawa is large enough to offer everything a visitor could wish to sample and small enough to access it with ease. Named after the native Algonquin phrase, “to trade”, Ottawa&rsqu...

It’s certainly no secret. Destinations packed with tourists are somewhat surreal. Open-air museums that have somewhat lost their tradition, culture and real flavour. Enjoyable in their own right sure, but perhaps not always the real thing. Think Venice, parts of Paris and London, as well as many Greek islands during summer. Hordes of tourists and facilities made to cater; long lines, repetition, same, old. Hidden Treasure It is a common secret to visit the other smaller and perhaps unk...

Zagreb, the capital of the Republic of Croatia, is one of the oldest European cities and is yet one of Europe’s youngest metropolises. The fact that the Zagreb archdiocese was founded in 1094 and that the city was proclaimed a free royal city in 1242, attests to its long history. Zagreb was founded in a place where the last hills of the Alps merge towards the edge of the Panonian valley, making it an ideal spot for building a city within the Medvednica mountain hills (the highest point is ...

Podgorica is the official commercial and cultural centre of Montenegro. Most of the city was destroyed during WWII, so Podgorica is relatively new, with modern buildings at every step of the way and green spaces as well as parks. Podgorica hosts a number of cultural events and there are many theatres, such as Crnogorsko Narodno, Gradsko and Dodest. Further cultural and historic monuments in and around Podgorica are Sahat-kula Adzi-pasa Osmanagica, the ruins of Nemanjica Grad, remnants of the cit...