Disneyland Park, Anaheim, CA

Disneyland Park,Anaheim, CA

Annual Visitors: 15,980,000

Though not as massive as its Orlando counterpart, the original Disney park—which occupies about 85 acres of land—welcomes enough thrill-seekers to qualify as the second most-visited* theme park in the world. One of its coolest rides is still Indiana Jones Adventure, careening over lava, past swarms of beetles, and under that 16-foot rolling boulder.  

* Admission ticket sales beat out Disney’s California Adventure next door (which had 6,278,000 visitors); since it’s all part of the Disneyland Resort, we’re counting it only once.

Welcome to the place where imagination is the destination. For young and old, big and small — it's the happiest place on earth! Come build memories with your family that last a lifetime as you discover the wonder of this magical, fantastical world. When you enter one of the Lands that comprise Disneyland Park, stories come to life around you, immersing you in tales from some of your favorite Disney films...

Main Street, U.S.A.

Main Street, U.S.A. is the entrance to Disneyland Park. Stroll down the street where turn-of-the-century architecture and transportation recreate a bygone era. Be sure to board a vintage vehicle for a ride back in time and then marvel at The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Before you leave, don't forget to visit the Emporium, an old-time Victorian general store filled with all kinds of Disney memorabilia.

Fantasyland

Located beyond Sleeping Beauty Castle, Fantasyland is where you can meet the heroes and villains of your favorite Disney stories. Encounter princesses from the royal realms of Disney films such as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. Step into their enchanting stories about the triumph of true love. Sing along with a classic song and sail past the pageantry of "it's a small world". Take a spin in a tea cup or fly over London with Peter Pan. Revel in the enchantment that surrounds you!

Tomorrowland

Ready your rockets as you blast into the twin orbits of innovation and exploration atTomorrowland! Rocket into the outer reaches of darkest space on Space Mountainand battle galactic bad guys in Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. To infinity and beyond!

New Orleans Square

Welcome to the French Quarter of New Orleans Square where you can celebrate Mardi Gras all year round. Pay your respects to the 999 ghostly residents of theHaunted Mansion and then join the Pirates of the Caribbean on a bayou bateau for a swashbuckling voyage! Raise a mint julep to this land of buried treasure and supernatural secrets, parasols and pirate curses. It's home to swashbucklers and haunts alike!

Adventureland

Chart a course for Adventureland and embark on a bold expedition into excitement and intrigue! Enter a lost temple on Indiana Jones Adventure and delve into dark jungles on The Jungle Cruise. Join your fellow explorers as you boldly seek mystery and imagination.

Critter Country

Come play in the deep backwoods of Critter Country. Hear the rumble of railroads and waterfalls, not to mention a chorus of critters singin' "Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah" atSplash Mountain. See one of the most beloved critters when you journey through the Hundred Acre Wood on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. It's a hunny of a place to play!

Mickey's Toontown

Mickey's Toontown is a miniature interactive metropolis full of topsy turvy architecture and screwy sculptures. For the ultimate taste of Toon mania, hail a wacky taxi for the ride of your life on Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin or brave Gadget's Go Coaster. Or visit the charming houses of Mickey, Minnie and other classic Disney characters. It's where some of your favorite Toons call home.

Frontierland

Frontierland celebrates the trailblazers, settlers and other heroes of the Old West. For big adventure, rumble over the mountain on a runaway railroad car when you ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. And there's a mighty fine show at the Golden Horseshoe Stage. From the Pirate's Lair on Tom Sawyer Island to the rippling waters of the Rivers of America, it's a pioneer's paradise.

Union Station, Washington, D.C.

Union Station,Washington, D.C.

Annual Visitors: 37,000,000

Opened in 1907, this busy station shuttles some 12,500 passengers daily in and out of the city. But it also handles serious tourist traffic: 37 million who pass through to take in the impeccably mixed architectural styles throughout the colossal building: from Classical to Beaux-Arts to Baroque. More than 70 retail outlets make Union Station a shopping destination, and it’s also a jumping-off point for many D.C. tours. 

Times Square, New York City

 Times Square, New York City

Annual Visitors: 39,200,000

Tourists flock to New York’s neon heart for the flashing lights, Broadway shows, megastores, and sheer spectacle. Pedestrian-only areas with café tables introduced in 2009 have only made it easier and more appealing to hang out here. Times Square can even be a convenient, if chaotic, base, thanks to hotels at every price point and easy access to public transportation: subways, rails, buses, and more yellow taxis than you can count.

Unfortunately, there are no international airlines taking advantage of the 10,500 foot main runway of the the Niagara Falls International Airport. The airport is a low cost alternative to the airports located Toronto Canada and Buffalo-Rochester USA. Currently 3 Low Cost domestic airlines service NFIA. I personally have asked Air Berlin to look into serving NFIA out of Dusseldorf, Germany. This facility has definite international travel potential as does the whole area encompassing Western New York State and the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario. I am not affiliated with the airport. I am simply at 63 year old life long resident who just cannot understand why with all the tourist traffic coming into the city French tourists are flying into Montreal and then traveling by bus for 8 hrs to get here. Or. Indian tourists flying into Toronto, then traveling 2 additional hours by bus to get here.

HARBOURFRONT CENTRE – TORONTO , CANADA

HARBOURFRONT CENTRE  – TORONTO

The waterfront in Toronto consists of 10 acres of sheer beauty. Here you’ll find an amazing ice skating rink, a large boardwalk, and a number of great ships on display. One such ship, the 1812 War Privateer of the North Atlantic, allows visitors to come on board and look around. Approximately 12 million people visit the waterfront of Toronto annually.

Harbourfront Centre is a key cultural organization on Toronto, Ontario's waterfront, situated at 235 Queen's Quay West. Established as a crown corporation in 1972 by the federal government to create a waterfront park, it became a non-profit organization in 1991. Funding comes from corporate sponsors, government grants, individual donors and entrepreneurial activities. Harbourfront Centre has a seating capacity of 2,000.

Harbourfront Centre works with 450+ community organizations, and hosts more than 4,000 events a year in many disciplines such as theatre, dance, literature, music, film, visual arts and fine craft.^[1]

The federal government faced mounting criticism from the City of Toronto due to the amount of money being spent for Montreal on both Expo 67 and the 1976 Summer Olympics. Hence, the city decided that it would build Harbourfront Centre and the province would build nearby Ontario Place in order to revitalize Toronto's industrial harbour and increase tourism to the city with help from the federal government. As a result, The federal government committed to buying 100 hectares of land to be appropriated for public use. In 1972 "Harbourfront Corporation" was established as a federal Crown Corporation.

Harbourfront Centre was formed on January 1, 1991 as a non-profit charitable organization with a mandate to organize and present public events and to operate a 10-acre (40,000 m²) site encompassing York Quay and John Quay (south of Queens Quay West).

In 1982, Queen's Quay Terminal was remodelled by Zeidler Partnership Architects (the same firm that designed the Toronto Eaton Centre). The project transformed the industrial space into a mixed-use building that included shops, restaurants, offices, and exclusive residential condos (it once was the home for Premier Mike Harris).

Since its inception, Harbourfront Centre has been introducing Toronto audiences to artists and art forms that would not normally be seen in commercial venues.

Patwon ki Haveli , Jaisalmer

                                   Patwon ki Haveli

                                             

Monument City : Jaisalmer

Monument Covered : Patwon Ki Haveli History :     Built about 300 years ago, the Patwon ki Haveli in Jaisalmer one of the largest and the most splendid haveli of Rajasthan. Also known as Salim Singh ki haveli of Jaisalmer, this haveli is adorned with beautifully arched roof having exquisitely carved brackets in the shape of peacocks. Salim Singh, the person after whom this haveli is named, was the prime minister of the princely state. The haveli (mansion) is located just below the hill. It is believed that at one point of time, the haveli had two additional wooden stories, making it as high as the palace of the king. However, the Maharaja of Jaisalmer got the upper stories torn down.

The Patwon ki haveli of Rajasthan is five stories high. Divided into six apartments, the haveli is exquisitely carved. Two of the apartments now house the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). A part of the haveli is still lived in. Some of the inner walls of the haveli house paintings as well as amazing mirror work. Apart from intricately carved pillars, the haveli also has huge corridors and chambers. One of the apartments of the haveli has gorgeous murals painted on its walls.

Timing : Opening Time 9:00 AM Closing Time 5:00 PM

Tel : 0141-2375578

Taj Mahal, agra

                                Taj Mahal

Monument City : Agra

Monument Covered : Taj Mahal -a Marvel Of Love History :     Take a constitutional down Shahjahan Park in the chilly mauve light of dawn, and the pale white dome of the Taj Mahal, India looms in the distance. Set against the azure skyline, it looks like a mirage in a desert. Inch closer and the supreme majesty of the greatest monument to love comes into focus - with its dew-coated lawns and its pearl-white mausoleum. Travel to Taj Mahal Agra to baptize into the true glory of this passion of love. As the sun rises to cast a reverential beam on the sepulchre, the 'dream in marble' turns from lavender to yellow, while nightfall sees the monument bathed in moonlight - looking like a woman wreathed in smiles while waiting for her lover. There are many theories as at which time the Taj Mahal, India looks the best, but there is no substitute to viewing it at all hours of the day and the night if you want to understand its myriad facets. Taj Mahal, India is a microcosm of the universe - it contains within it both the yin and the yang, taking on a new personality to suit the occasion. It can be harsh, dry and strong like alabaster, delicately chaste and fragile like porcelain, noisily populous or quiet and secretive.

Taj Mahal India was made in commemoration of Arjumand Bano Begum. The queen was married at the age of 21 to emperor Jahangir's son Khurram. During all the phases of Khurram life, Arjumand Bano Begum supported him through out. She was like a supporting pillar in his life. In AD 1628, Khurram became king after a bloody battle of succession. He changed his name from Khurram to Shahjahan or the King of the World. Arjumand Bano also changed her name from

Mumtaz Mahal. Mumtaz Mahal was not destined to be a queen for a long period of time. She died at the age of 39 while delivering a child at Burhanpur. That auspicious day turned into a mournful event. When Arjumand Banu Begum (better known as Mumtaz Mahal) died in childbirth in 1629, her husband, Emperor Shah Jahan immortalised their love by building the 'dream in marble' - the finest illustration of Mughal architecture. The dream took over 22 years to fructify and over 20,000 craftsmen were employed to build it.

Designing of Taj:

Who designed the Taj Mahal India is shrouded in mystery – some historians credit the Venetian architect Veroneo with its construction, while others believe it was the work of a Persian called Ustad Isa.

But we do know of the lesser luminaries connected to it with certainty – the central dome was built by Ismail Effendi from Turkey, the calligrapher was Amanat Khan from Shiraz, the mosaicist, Chiranji Lal hailed from Delhi while the goldsmith, Qazim Khan was summoned from Lahore.

A story which is probably apocryphal but has been doing the rounds for generations, says that Shah Jahan had the chief mason’s right hand amputated to preclude him from replicating the ‘marvel in marble’ anywhere else in the world.

Taj Nestles On The Banks of Yamuna River

Located at the southern end of the city on the banks of the Yamuna River, the site where the Taj stands belonged to a Hindu nobleman, Raja Man Singh. Abdul Rehman Lahori, the court historian recorded that five million rupees were spent on the building – a king’s ransom in those days.

Once complete, the upkeep of the mausoleum and its 42-acre garden was funded with the revenue obtained from 30 neighbouring villages. There are three lofty gateways to the Tajmahel complex. The central portal is richly decorated with floral arabesques and is inscribed with passages from the Koran. A huge forecourt leads onto a lush garden, which is divided by an aqueduct.

The main monument is a two-storeyed octagonal building with a huge rotunda as its crowning glory. Four sky-scraper tall minarets position themselves as sentries on each side of the monument – all built out of brick and encased in marble. The graves of the celebrated duo, Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal are housed in the catacomb below. The Taj is remarkable for its perfect proportions and rich pietra dura, and every minutiae in the monument has been et

Timing : Opening Time 9:00 AM Closing Time 5:00 PM Tel : 0141-2375578

Monument Fee(Indian)  : NIL  Monument Fee(Foreign)  : NIL  Monument Fee(Child)  : NIL

Qutub Minar, delhi

                                 Qutub Minar

Monument City : Delhi

Monument Covered : Constructed As A Holy Minar

History :     The world famous towering Qutub Minar, started in 1192 by Qutub-ud-din Aibak (1192-98), breathes down the neck of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque. There is a slight difference of opinion as to its purpose: it probably was a tower of victory, but then again it could have been built to be a minar (tower), attached to the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, for the muezzin (priest) to climb up top for a prayer.

Among Delhites there are lots of other theories about the origin of the tower. Some say it was the observatory of the great scientist Aryabhatta of ancient India, other claim that it was built by Prithvi Chauhan for his daughter to see the Yamuna. In fact everything short of an extraterrestrial origin has been attributed to it. The presence of the ancient non-rusting Iron Pillar within the complex further appears to add credence to the first theory. However the tower, its entire design and architecture are undisputedly Islamic and all the other theories are just matters of wild surmise.

Considering how shortchanged he was for time, it is doubtful that Qutub-ud-din got much further than a couple of levels of the minar, in fact many suggest that lived to see only the first storey complete. Altamash, his successor, completed the remaining tower.

Timing : Opening Time 9:00 AM Closing Time 5:00 PM Tel : NIL

Monument Fee(Indian)  : NIL  Monument Fee(Foreign)  : NIL  Monument Fee(Child)  : NIL