The capital of Belgium’s German-speaking community is on the margins of the High Fens, a plateau of raised peat bogs and moorland at the highest point in the country. Eupen’s character is still defined by a sheet and drapery industry that reached its apogee in the 18th century. The cityscape is endowed with lots of …
Adjoining Kissimmee, St. Cloud is a distinctive old city on the southern shore of East Lake Tohopekaliga. There were farms here as early as the 1880s, but the city was officially founded in 1909 as a community for Union Army Civil War veterans. A lot of different ingredients help make St. Cloud so appealing. There’s …
I doubt many cities in the world resemble North Bay Village. Just over 8,000 people reside on three small islands in Biscayne Bay. This spot could not be better suited to water activities. From Pelican Harbor Marina here you can launch kayaks, rent motorboats, or zip away on jet skis to experience all the wonders …
Where the urban sprawl meets the Everglades, Southwest Ranches resembles nowhere in Greater Miami. One of the reasons this town was incorporated in 2000 was to stop it being annexed by neighboring Pembroke Pines, and preserve a rural identity and horse-rearing culture. I’m pleased to say that horses remain an important part of life, in …
This city in Lake County is growing faster than I can write. No kidding, since 2010 the population has more than tripled to nearly 25,000. Groveland is in a region of pine covered sandhills, with a lot of freshwater all around. The city’s downtown is one of these lakes, and Lake David Park here is …
In Medieval times Hasselt was on the Zuiderzee, a saltwater bay of the North Sea, and as a member of the Hanseatic League was a major player in northern European trade in the 15th century. But after losing business to other better located trading posts in the 16th century, Hasselt slipped into relative obscurity and …
On the Scheldt Estuary, Breskens is a fishing town that for hundreds of years made its livelihood on the water. Since the 20th century the fishing industry has declined, but its memory lives on in a fishery museum in the harbour and a fishery festival every summer when you can soak up old-time Zeeland maritime …
The oldest town in the province Drenthe, Coevorden grew up around a castle on a ford on the road between Münster and Groningnen. In the 17th century Coevorden was completely reworked as a fortified city by the Dutch military mastermind Menno van Coehoorn. The pattern of concentric polygonal streets, and star-shaped outer moat all remain …
An arty and well-to-do coastal village minutes from Alkmaar, Bergen aan Zee is in the sandy folds of the North Holland dunes. From as early as the 1600s the dunes, sky and sea were a source of inspiration to artists. But it was the Expressionists and Cubists of the early 20th century who made their …
The small but photogenic town of Monnickendam was a big-hitter at the turn of the 17th century, pulling in trade from across the Baltic Sea. A cosy old tangle of streets survives from that time, on the harbour are smokehouses and shipyards, two of Monnickendam’s signature industries. Since the Zuiderzee was dammed, becoming a set …