1 . Central Park

Explore Central Park, one of the largest city parks in the world and one of the most famous symbols of New York. Let’s have a look at its main sights.

Central Park is New York’s largest city park and one of the biggest in the world, with an area of 843 acres (about 3.4km²). This park is home to man-made lakes, waterfalls, grass and wooded areas. You will also find the Central Park Zoo, among other attractions in this greenspace of New York.

Besides being the city’s primary green lungs, Central Park is also a favorite spot for many New Yorkers. It is perfect for sunbathing, going for walks, or doing any outdoor sports. Something that we found curious is seeing so many people running with their babies in prams (婴儿车).

To get to know some of the wildest parts of Central Park we suggest walking. However, to get a general feel for the whole park, the best thing to do is hire a bicycle and enjoy the scenery.

If you decide to hire a bike, you will find lots of bike rental stores around Central Park that are not very expensive.

From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends.

From 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays.

Entry to the Park is free. But if you visit some parts like Central Park Zoo, you need to buy a ticket.

Subway: Line 5, 6, 7, A, B, C and D．

Bus: Line M1, M2, M3, M4 and M10.

Metropolitan Museum of Art (447 m)

Guggenheim Museum (564 m)

American Museum of Natural History (688 m)

Whitney Museum of American Art (1 km)

The Frick Collection (1.3 km)

5 . The US has countless secret swimming holes throughout most states, many of which you’ve likely never heard of unless you’re from the area.

Havasu Falls (Arizona)

This attractive waterfall in the Grand Canyon is undoubtedly a destination spot requiring a 10-mile walk to the falls. You can take a guided tour to the falls, or make it on your own. The Havasu Falls is on the Havasupai Indian Reservation, which means you’ll need to get a permit to visit — this has become increasingly difficult as more people discover this hidden place.

Hamilton Pool (Austin)

Hamilton Pool was created when an underground river’s roof fell down suddenly, exposing what is now the swimming hole and creating a 50-foot waterfall that flows over the above limestone (石灰岩). You’ll have to reserve beforehand to gain entry to the Hamilton Pool Preserve.

Chutes and Ladders (Maul)

To get to this secret swimming hole, you’ll have to grasp a rope and slide down the face of a cliff for 40 feet, and then climb down about 8 feet of lava rock to the pool. Once there, however, you’ll be glad you have made the journey. The swimming hole is on the edge of the ocean — a natural pool, you could say — with a depth that invites you to jump in without crowds of people around to watch.

Homestead Crater (Utah)

The Homestead Crater is hidden under a rock dome (穹顶) with an opening at the top that allows for sunlight and air. It was once only accessible by that top opening, but there is now easy access through a side path for visitors. Go for a swim in the beautiful mineral spring water.

6 . There are many places worth visiting in the world. Here are some of the places that almost every person wants to see in their life.

Santorini

This is one of the most amazing places in the world. It is said to have been destroyed in the 16th century. It has been rebuilt and its beauty increases with every passing day. There are a lot of islands in Greece and sunbathing on any of these would be an unforgettable experience.

The Capilano Suspension Bridge

An amazing place to visit in the world is the Capilano Suspension Bridge. This bridge is located in Vancouver in British Columbia, a province of Canada. Its beauty appeals to visitors from all over the world. It's almost 140 meters long and 70 meters above the river.

Rome

Another beautiful place to visit is the ancient city of Rome in Italy. It is also known as the center of Western civilization. This city was founded in 753 BC. The Colosseum (罗马斗兽场), which is one of the world's most symbolic monuments, is also in Rome.

The Taj Mahal

It is also a good choice to visit the Taj Mahal in India. It is called the monument of love and built to show Mughal Emperor Shah Jeha's love for his wife. It is located on the south bank of the Yamuna River. Its ivory-white color attracts many tourists and it is one of the miracles of the Mughal art of building.

7 . Svalbard Scenery

What You Can See

In this remote area. the focus is surely on nature's grand displays.

●Light: During summer months the sun never sets. In winter it never rises, but the northern lights dance across the sky.

●Wildlife: Reindeer and arctic foxes wander on the land, and seals swim offshore. Polar bears can be hard to spot, but that first sighting makes all the effort worthwhile.

●Landscapes: Glaciers and snow covered mountains fill the views.

Photo Tips

If you're a photographer, be prepared for anything at all times because conditions can vary from one moment to the next. To capture both landscapes and wildlife, bring wide –angle and telephoto cameras and a water resistant camera bag or a smart phone case is a must. When composing shots of the scenery. you can include the horizon line to give a sense of the area's vastness. In spring and fall, pay special attention to the scenery at sunrise and sunset. When the light shines on edges of the ice, the ocean looks like a shiny object.

How to Get There

Most visitors fly via Oslo to Longyearbyen, the largest settlement there, which hugs the shore of Spitsbergen island. Because there aren't many reliable roads, exploration is usually done with small ships ( fewer than 200 passengers) that can navigate through areas of thick sea ice. You can travel onto the tundra (冻土地带) and into caves for guided hiking and wildlife watching

8 . Tongariro National Park, known for its brilliant natural features, became New Zealand's first national park in 1887. The 80,000-hectare park is an ideal place to view the volcanic wonders which outstands among 13 national parks in the country.

Activities

The deservedly popular Tongariro Alpine Crossing features phenomenal volcanic scenery and fine views of Lake Taupo and Mt Taranaki.

Overnight hikes in the park include the four — day Northern Circuit and the six-day Round the Mountain track-one of New Zealand's Great Walks.

A series of short nature trails around Tongariro's lower valleys take in the various habitats, home to fascinating and diverse native plants and animals, and are a great way to get to know the park's special places and stories. Home to the national park visitor center, Whakapapa Village is a good place to start exploring.

Dramatic waterfalls are a Tongariro National Park specialty. See them on a number of spectacular short walks including Taranaki Falls, Watonga Falls, Silica Rapids and Tawhai Fails.

Key Tips

• Before departing on a walk, check at the Department of Conservation Visitor Centre for up-to-date information on weather, volcanic activity and track conditions.

• Fill in an intention form at the Department of Conservation Visitor Centre if you plan to overnight in a hikers' hut.

• Whatever kind of accommodation you choose, it will pay to book in advance during peak season ( December to March).

9 . I visited Elba last June, joining Mary and John on a cycling vacation. They made the arrangements for the car, hotel and bicycles. I studied the history of the island, which of course particularly features Napoleon.

Napoleon picked Elba as a place for peace when he was forced to give up the throne as Emperor of France in 1814. Far from being a prison island, Elba is beautiful with towering mountains, thick forests and sweeping bays and beaches.

It is also an island filled with treasures. Very early on this island, the locals discovered rich deposits of iron. Soon outsiders, too, discovered the iron and 150 other valuable minerals on this little piece of land. Long before Etruscans and other Greeks set foot on it, Dorians had moved in by the tenth century B.C. and were mining the island. The Romans ruled next, obtaining the minerals and building grand houses overlooking the sea. From the twelfth century until the nineteenth, the island was traded back and forth and was passed to France in 1802. Then came Napoleon, the new ruler of Elba.

I was eager to visit his house in Portoferraio. The Emperor lived with his court and his mother, but his wife, Marie Louise had ensconced herself in the splendid Viennese palace of her father, Emperor of Austria. She lived safely there and showed little interest in visiting her husband in his mini-kingdom. Apparently, Napoleon wasn't troubled much by this. He was too busy riding everywhere on horseback, building roads, modernizing agriculture and, above all, sharpening his tiny army and navy into readiness for his escape.

In the formal gardens behind the house, it seemed to me that I could imagine the exiled (流亡的) conqueror's anxious thoughts. He might gaze over where I stood now, toward the lighthouse of the Stella fort, the sandy bay, and across it, the green mountains of the Tuscan coast. Napoleon spent only ten months here before making his victorious return to France and the throne.

10 . The summer holidays are in full swing--and protests against overtourism have begun in a number of popular European cities. Barcelona, in particular, is at the centre of these mounting concerns about the rapid growth of tourism in cities, especially during peak holiday periods. In fact, there were 30 million overnight visitors in 2017, compared to a resident population of 1, 625, 137 in Barcelona.

While many tourists want to “live like a local” during their visits, the residents of many tourism-dependent destinations are seeing the unique sense of place that characterized their home towns vanish beneath a wave of souvenir shops, crowds, tour buses and noisy bars. Overtourism is harming the landscape, damaging beaches, and pricing residents out of the housing market. It is a hugely complex issue that is often oversimplified.

It can have an impact in multiple ways. City residents bear the cost of tourism growth. As cities transform to offer service to tourists, the global travel supply chain advances. This goes with increasing property speculation (房产投机) and rising costs of living for local communities. Airbnb, for example, has been accused of reducing housing affordability and displacing residents.

In addition, overcrowding and the establishment of typical tourism-focused businesses, such as chubs, bars and souvenir shops, overpower local businesses-and noisy and unmanageable tourist behaviour is common. This weakens the uniqueness of destinations and leads to crowd and waste management pressures, while tourism does bring jobs, investment and economic benefits to destinations.

Dealing with overtourism must now be a priority. Managing the flow of tourists seems an improbable and unwelcome task. But some cities have taken extreme measures to limit the effects of overtourism, including the introduction of new or revised taxation arrangements, fines linked to new local laws, and “demarketing”, whereby destinations focus or attracting fewer, high spending and low impact tourists, rather than large groups.

Overtourism is a shared responsibility. City administrators and destination managers must acknowledge that there are definite limits to growth. Putting the wellbeing of local residents above the needs of the global tourism supply chain is vital. Primary consideration must be given to ensuring that the level of visitation fits within a destinations capacity. We need to urgently rethink the way cities are evolving to uphold the rights of their residents.