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Author Carl Austin

10 Most Beautiful Destinations in Western Canada

West Canada is rugged – this is, after all, Rocky Mountain country. It’s scenic – from pretty alpine lakes and prairies to the ocean.

25 Best Places to Visit in Europe

In the old days, Americans use to take a couple of years to make the Grand Tour of Europe. They had the right idea.

Skip the Crowds: The Most Underrated Destinations in France

Biarritz

Sometimes people can be snobs when they travel: They only want to see the top destinations in the top cities. This is especially true when it comes to France.

Skip the Crowds: The Most Underrated Destinations in Thailand

Sukhothai

In the 19th century, Horace Greeley was credited with telling young men to go West. If he were alive today, he might say, “go off the beaten path, traveler.

Skip the Crowds: The Most Underrated Destinations in Spain

If you’re a typical traveler, you’ll probably only visit Spain’s most famous cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Seville and Granada.

The Wild, Windy Magic of Cape Verde’s Islands

Cape Verde, also known as Cabo Verde, is made up of 10 major islands about 560 km (350 miles) off the west coast of Africa.

17 Attractions You Shouldn’t Miss in Luang Prabang, Laos

Things to do in Luang Prabang

With its wealth of Buddhist temples and shrines, this serene riverside city truly lives up to a name that translates as “Royal Buddhist Image.

10 Attractions You Shouldn’t Miss in Shanghai

Few places provoke such strong reactions from visitors.

6 Incredible Day Trips from Melbourne

Melbourne, the capital of Victoria state, is home to more than 6.4 million people, making it Australia’s second largest city.

9 Unforgettable Day Trips from Auckland

Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, has many things going for it. It’s home to the world’s largest Polynesian population.

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Bardstown, Kentucky

Bourbon Made This Town Famous, but That’s Not What Makes It Special

George Peabody Library Baltimore Visitor Guide Most visitors don't expect to find one of the most striking interiors in America tucked behind a row of white columns in a quiet Baltimore neighborhood. You walk through the doors of the Peabody Institute in Mount Vernon, turn a corner, and suddenly you're standing beneath a skylit atrium that climbs six stories above a polished marble floor. It stops you cold. The George Peabody Library Baltimore is that kind of place. It doesn't announce itself from the street. There's no flashy signage, no grand plaza. But step inside the stack room and you'll see why people call it a "cathedral of books." Over 300,000 volumes line the walls, and the space itself feels like something pulled from a 19th-century novel you half-remember reading. Johns Hopkins University runs the place as part of its Sheridan Libraries system. This isn’t a museum replica—it’s a working research collection. You can visit for free during public hours, which makes it one of the easiest cultural stops in Baltimore. Whether you’re chasing that perfect symmetrical shot up through the iron balconies or just want a quiet ten minutes surrounded by something genuinely beautiful, the library delivers without asking much of your time or your wallet. Cast-Iron Balconies And The Soaring Atrium The first thing that hits you is the scale. Five tiers of ornamental cast-iron balconies rise from the ground floor and climb 61 feet to a massive skylight that floods the room with natural light. The effect is vertical and dramatic, like standing inside a very elegant cage made of books and ironwork. Each balcony tier is lined with gold-and-black volumes shelved behind low railings, and the repeating geometric patterns of the iron railings create a visual rhythm that photographers obsess over. Point your camera straight up from the center of the floor and you'll get that iconic symmetrical shot that's all over travel feeds. The image almost looks digitally generated, but it's real, and it's been here since 1878. The marble floor adds to the atmosphere. Sound carries differently in here. Footsteps echo softly, and conversations drop to whispers without anyone being told. The reading room on the ground level sits just off the main atrium, offering a quieter space with wooden tables and the kind of warm, worn-in feeling that modern libraries rarely manage. The light keeps the space from feeling like a museum. On a clear afternoon, sunlight pours through the skylight and shifts across the iron railings and book spines, changing the room's character every hour. You could visit twice in the same day and walk away with completely different impressions. A Quick History Of The Landmark George Peabody, a financier who got his start in Baltimore before heading off to London, founded the Peabody Institute in 1857. He wanted to give something meaningful back to the city that launched his career—a free public library, a lecture series, a music conservatory, and an art gallery. The library building itself took its sweet time, finally opening up in 1878. Baltimore architect Edmund G. Lind teamed up with Nathaniel H. Morison, the institute's first provost, to design the interior. Lind focused on that dramatic stack room—he wanted it to feel grand enough to match Peabody's vision but still practical for researchers. Local craftsmen made the decorative cast-iron balconies, and people immediately noticed the design. It stood out as one of the most distinctive library interiors on the East Coast. The collection changed hands a few times. In 1966, the City of Baltimore took over and ran things through the Enoch Pratt Free Library. Then, in 1982, Johns Hopkins University stepped in, and the library became part of the Sheridan Libraries system. These days, the focus is on 18th- and 19th-century works—architecture, religion, science, geography, literature—with gems from folks like Edgar Allan Poe and Walt Whitman. George Peabody Library Baltimore

One of America’s Most Beautiful Interiors Is Hidden in Baltimore

Mount Vernon

It’s Hard to Believe an American President Once Called This Beautiful Estate Home

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