1 comments about Lisbon.

1. Not better, not worse, just different. Unfortunately, many American travelers fail to appreciate the difference and either omit Portugal from their travel itineraries or simply add on a day in Lisbon to a longer trip to Spain. It deserves more attention.

   This video does a fine job of presenting Lisbon's many attractions, so much so that the viewer who has not visited that lovely city will be tempted to visit it as soon as possible. Utilizing the standard Super Cities combination of aerial views combined with street-level photography, it provides a fine overview of the structure of the city, interwoven with visits to specific attractions. Watch it with pen and paper in hand, so that you can write down the specific attractions that interest you most. Highly recommended.

1 comments about St. Petersburg.

1. Built on a marshy archipelago where the River Neva meets the Gulf of Finland, St. Petersburg was intended by its founder, Peter the Great, to be Russia's window on the world. To that end, he ordered the Russian nobility to build palaces and live there.

   In terms of their footprints, the resulting buildings and their grounds are immense. In part this is due to the Russian desire to impress the rest of Europe and in part because the marshy footing made it virtually impossible to build any building over 5 stories-the height limit for buildings in downtown St. Petersburg. The result is a large number of sprawling palaces (more than any other European city that I'm aware of), painted in pastels to offset the effects of the long winters, spread out over an immense area.

   For these reasons, the city is difficult to capture in photographs, most photographers opting to film its grandeur from ships in the Neva and surrounding canals.

   The producers of this video, part of the excellent "Super Cities" series produced by the International Video Network, opted instead to take to the air-easily half of the program is taken up with stunning aerial photography. Viewers who have been to St. Petersburg will easily recognize all of the familiar landmarks, while those considering a visit will be exclaiming, "We've got to see THAT!"

   My only complaint is that the program is too short-30 minutes, but then, it's a video tape so you can watch it again.

   ........... far and away, the best travel tapes that I've found.

No comments about Paris.

1 comments about Florence.

1. This video is one of the "Super Cities" series produced by the International Video Network, which consists of one-half hour tapes of 22 of the more interesting cities in the world. The approach that the producers take is to mix aerial and ground footage in roughly 50/50 proportions. This approach works well with cities that have large palaces and/or monuments, but does not work as well in a city like Florence, where so many of the sights are indoors.
   
   In this case, the producers decided to focus on the sights that lend themselves to large-scale aerial views--overviews of the city itself, the Arno, the Duomo, San Miniato (the most underrated church in Florence), surrounding towns (especially Siena), and the Tuscan countryside. These views are breathtaking, especially for those who have previously visited these places.
   
   Totally missing are the Uffizi, the Bargello, San Marco, the Medici Library and other indoors attractions.
   
   But the things they do cover, they cover magnificently. A real delight for lovers of Florence.

No comments about New York.

No comments about Touring Australia.

No comments about Rio DE Janeiro.

No comments about Venice.

1 comments about London.

1. The 22 Super Cities travel videos, of which this is one, all appear to follow the same general format-30 minutes of low-level aerial views alternating with ground-level shots of various sights and local people, all to convey a sense of the ambience of the city. That approach works well where, as with Vienna and St. Petersburg, the city offers a finite number of attractions, many of which are outdoors.
   
   It does not, however, work with London. There is simply so much to do and see there that it cannot be covered quickly. Experienced travelers know this, and will limit themselves to a few attractions on each visit.
   
   If possible, try to find a video or a book that focuses on the particular aspects of the city that interest you. For those interested in walking tours, "LononWalks" (out-of-print but available from used book dealers) is a good choice.

No comments about America the Beautiful.