Singita Sabi Sand South Africa Top Hotel

Singita Sabi Sand offers rare solitude and the ultimate in safari luxury on prime game viewing land recognised globally for its diversity and formidable concentration of big game and frequent leopard sightings. Guests can choose between three unfenced lodges, infused with the glamour and elegance of Singita.
Website: Singita Sabi Sand

Singita Sabi Sand Hotel South Africa
Singita Sabi Sand beautiful night view
Singita Sabi Sand lounge
Singita Sabi Sand bed room
Singita Sabi Sand lounge

The Oberoi Udaivilas Hotel in Udaipur India

Udaipur, in the heart of Rajasthan, is a city of majestic palaces and beautiful lakes. Here, adorning the banks of Lake Pichola and standing witness to the historic City Palace, The Oberoi Udaivilas captures all the romance and splendour of a royal era.

Conceived as a traditional Indian palace, The Oberoi Udaivilas showcases the rich heritage of the Mewar region of Rajasthan with its rambling courtyards, gentle rippling fountains, reflection pools and verdant gardens. Grand architecture inspired by the palaces of Rajasthan present a picture of majesty resplendent with pavilions and domes that lead you to a journey of discovery. Interiors embellished with decorative domes, hand painted frescoes, intricate mirror work and beautifully crafted artefacts create an ambience of regal splendour.

An enchanting boat ride across Lake Pichola transports you to the ceremonial welcome that awaits you at resort. Rooms with terraces that open on to semi-private swimming pools present exquisite views and are a unique feature of Udaivilas. Magnificently decorated suites with private swimming pools and outdoor dining pavilions are exclusive retreats.

Fine international cuisine, authentic flavours of Rajasthan or a quiet drink are all presented with views of the City Palace and Lake Pichola.

The luxurious spa with its own swimming pool overlooks the lake and is a haven of serenity. Trained therapists pamper body and soul with rejuvenating treatments. The resort also offers the opportunity to undertake private Yoga, meditations and Pranayam sessions with the resident Yoga teacher or explore the city steeped in the romance of the oldest living dynasty in the world.

At The Oberoi Udaivilas, the magnificent setting combines with royal service to make your holiday a journey into the romance and grandeur of another century. This resort offers an experience created exclusively for those who know there is nothing like too much luxury

The Oberoi Udaivilas luxury hotel of India
The Oberoi Udaivilas Udaipur
The Oberoi Udaivilas

The Oberoi Udaivilas Viw

Notre Dame De Paris

Notre Dame DE Paris (French for Our Lady of Paris), also known as Notre Dame Cathedral, is a Gothic, Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île DE la Cite in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the cathedral (official chair), of the Archbishop of Paris, currently Andre Vingt-Trois. The cathedral treasury houses a reliquary with the purported Crown of Thorns.

Notre Dame DE Paris is widely considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in France and in Europe, and the naturalism of its sculptures and stained glass are in contrast with earlier Romanesque architecture. The first period of construction from 1163 into the 1240's coincided with the musical experiments of the Notre Dame school.

Notre Dame DE Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress (arched exterior supports). The building was not originally designed to include the flying buttresses around the choir and nave. After the construction began and the thinner walls (popularized in the Gothic style) grew ever higher, stress fractures began to occur as the walls pushed outward. In response, the cathedral's architects built supports around the outside walls, and later additions continued the pattern. The cathedral was essentially complete by 1345.

The cathedral suffered desecration during the radical phase of the French Revolution in the 1790s, when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. An extensive restoration supervised by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc removed remaining decoration, returning the cathedral to an 'original' gothic state.

Jean de Jandun recognized the cathedral as one of Paris's three most important buildings in his 1323 "Treatise on the Praises of Paris":


Notre Dame DE Paris classical interior
Notre Dame DE Paris Tower
Notre Dame DE Paris statue
Notre Dame DE Paris view
Notre Dame DE Paris

Hotel De Ville Montreal City Hall

The five-storey Montreal City Hall (French: Hotel DE Ville DE Montreal) is the work of architects Henri-Maurice Perrault and Alexander Cowper Hutchison, and was built between 1872 and 1878 in the Second Empire style. It is located in Old Montreal, between Place Jacques-Cartier and the Champ de Mars, at 275 Notre-Dame Street East. The closest metro station is Champ-DE-Mars.

hotel DE ville Montreal
Hotel DE ville Montreal flowers decoration
Hotel DE ville Montreal view
Hotel DE ville Montreal in night
Hotel DE ville Montreal lighting

Hotel De Ville Paris France

Hotel DE Ville, Paris's city hall, is the center of political Paris. Like Paris, it has been through some turbulent times.
Until 1141 when water merchants created the port DE Grève
Hotel DE Ville, Paris
View from across the Seine
(Shore Harbor) to relieve Paris's busy port, the site was merely a shingle beach. The square near the harbor was known as the 'place DE Grève'.

Design
In 1246 the first municipality was created when the Parisian trade guilds elected aldermen as representatives towards the King. There was no municipal building until 1357 when one of the aldermen, a water merchant, bought a house near the place DE Grève.
The Paris city hall at around 1540
The City Hall at around 1540
The two-storied building featured two towers and arcades. Known as the House of Pillars, it served as a meeting place for the aldermen.

In 1553 King Francis I decided to build a dedicated city Hall. That first Hotel DE Ville, designed in the Renaissance style, was only fully completed in 1628.

Destruction and Reconstruction
Side view of the Hotel DE Ville in Paris
View from Île DE la City
A revolting Commune which had occupied the Hotel DE Ville for months set the building on fire in May 1871, destroying the building as well as the valuable city archives. Shortly after the Commune was defeated by federal troops, the city government held a competition for the construction of a new city hall. The architects Theodore Ballu and Edouard Deperthes won this competition with their proposition to reconstruct the Hotel DE Ville in its original style.
Central facade of the Hotel DE Ville in Paris
Main facade
Funded by a national subscription the construction started in 1873. Nine years later, the new Hotel DE Ville was officially inaugurated.
Statues
The building is decorated with 108 statues, representing famous Parisians. 30 Other statues represent French cities. The clock at the central tower is adorned with several feminine sculptures representing the Seine River, the city of Paris, 'Work' and 'Education'.

Interior
The interior of the city hall is decorated in a pompous Iii Empire style. Noteworthy are the large staircase,

the long Sallee Des Fetes (ballroom), the painted ceilings and walls, the stained glass windows and the numerous chandeliers.

The Square
From 1310 on, the Place DE Grève was the square were most of the executions in Paris took place.
Here people were beheaded, quartered, cooked up or burned at the stake. In 1792, a guillotine was installed. It would prove itself useful during the French Revolution.
Detail of the tower of the Hotel DE Ville in Paris
Central tower
The last execution took place in 1830, after which the square was renamed Place DE Ville.
The square was later enlarged to its current size by Baron Haussmann, as part of his modernization of Paris. In 1982 the large square became a pedestrian zone.

Location
The Hotel de Ville is situated in the 4th arrondissement, near the Seine River. It is not far from the Center Pompidou (north) and the Notre-Dame Cathedral (south) across the pont d'Arcole.