scenic settings

Nestled in the hills of southwest France, the picturesque village of Conques is home to a magnificent Romanesque abbey church, rich with sculpture. There is also a medieval treasury.

Located on a scenic coast in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, Skara Brae is the best-preserved Neolithic village in northern Europe. Dating from around 3000 BCE (older than Stonehenge), the prehistoric homes even include original stone furniture.

This gold-leaf-covered temple is one of the most beautiful sights in Kyoto, nestled in the woods and reflected in the waters of its garden pond.

Dating from around 2500 BCE, this magnificent stone circle occupies a scenic location between two lakes on Orkney. At nearly 104 meters in diameter, the Ring of Brodgar is the third-largest stone circle in Britain.

Originally known as Cilurnum, Chesters Roman Fort was built around 124 CE as part of Hadrian's Wall in northern England.

The rectory where Jane Austen was born no longer survives, but the scenic site where it used to stand is worth visiting.

Founded by Cistercian monks in 1132, this is the largest monastic ruin in Britain and part of a World Heritage Site. It has many interesting things to see in a beautiful natural setting.

The large Coba complex, much of which still remains to be excavated, consists of multiple temples and pyramids (including the tallest pyramid in the Yucatan) connected by an extensive system of ceremonial roads.

Tweed cloth mill; converted into apartments. 1872, as dated below clock on the circular chimney stack, by George Woodhouse, a Lancashire architect specialising in mill structures.

The historic complex around the Desert View Watchtower stands on Navajo Point near the eastern edge of Grand Canyon National Park, where the Colorado River makes a great bend to the north.

Founded by St. Bernard of Clairvaux in 1132, Rievaulx Abbey now lies in picturesque ruins in a North Yorkshire valley.

Founded in 1148, the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque is a lovely Cistercian abbey and one of the best places to see Provence's famed lavender fields. Its austere and harmonious Romanesque church was completed in 1178.