Travel Destinations for History Buffs

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Do you long to see the impenetrable walls of Constantinople? Hear tales of the Gallipoli landings and their wide-reaching effects? Discover the secrets of Nazi-occupied France during the Second World War? It sounds like you may have a trenchant interest in history and culture, and a passion for knowing what happened in the past and how it influenced the present. This is great! Being curious about how people acted and how civilizations functioned years before now can lend greater understanding to our current lives. And thanks to the falling costs of travel, visiting historic sites and cities around the world is easier than ever. Here are a few of our favorite cities steeped in ancient as well as contemporary history.

Berlin

It’s hard to pinpoint a cooler city at the moment than Berlin (so much so that even Singaporeans are clamoring to get there). It’s a mecca for weirdos and artists, a haven for outcasts, and a hotspot of alternative culture and electronic music. But Berlin is also famous for other reasons which are obvious to anyone who has ever seen a film or read a book about World War II โ€“ it was the stronghold for the Nazi Party, the infamous staging of the deciding battle of the Second World War, and a geopolitical chess set for the Soviets and Allies thereafter. Come for the history but stay for the culture, as this useful list gives you a great breakdown of what there is to do and see in Berlin for visitors.

Istanbul

Having been settled by humans for over 3,000 years, the city of Istanbul is one of the oldest in the world and holds an incredibly rich culture. Once known as Lygos, then Byzantium, Constantinople and finally Istanbul once the Ottoman Empire fell, the Turkish city has had a long and turbulent history. While it was once the biggest and most populous city in Europe, today it enjoys a slightly less grand title but by no means less significant purpose, as it is the country’s economic, cultural and historic center. It’s also one of the only cities in the world to straddle two continents at once, with two-thirds of its population living and Europe and the remaining in Asia.

Johannesburg

The biggest and most prosperous city in South Africa, Johannesburg is a city founded by a gold rush and the prospects of mining. Known locally as Egoli, or the City of Gold, Johannesburg has been the site of many historical events in the country’s dark history. Its founding gold rush, the Second Boer War, the period of apartheid, the jailing of Nelson Mandela as well as the subsequent first democratic elections in the country โ€“ these are just a few of the historic events that Johannesburg bore witness to, making it a must-see for anyone with a yearning for African culture and history. And due to Virgin Atlantic’s second daily flight service, it’s considerably easier to reach.

About the author

Avatar of Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen T Steinmetz

Juergen Thomas Steinmetz has continuously worked in the travel and tourism industry since he was a teenager in Germany (1977).
He founded eTurboNews in 1999 as the first online newsletter for the global travel tourism industry.

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