Royal College of Music

The front facade of the Royal College of Music in Kensington, London. This prestigious music school was founded in 1882 as a successor to the National Training School for Music by the then-Prince of Wales (later Edward VII). The college building was designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield.

United States Capitol

The western (front) side of the United States Capitol. The U.S. Capitol serves as the location for Congress, the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. It is located in Washington, D.C., on top of Capitol Hill at the east end of the National Mall. The building is marked by its central dome above a rotunda and two wings. It is an exemplar of the Neoclassical architecture style.

Mont Saint-Michel

Mont Saint-Michel and its abbey at night. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a rocky tidal island roughly one kilometre from the north coast of Normandy, France at the mouth of the Couesnon River, near Avranches. Mont Saint-Michel was previously connected to the mainland via a thin natural land bridge, which before modernization was covered at high tide and revealed at low tide.

Alcatraz Island

A stitched panorama of Alcatraz Island, in San Francisco Bay, California, as seen facing east. Alcatraz is most famous for its prison, which closed in 1963, but whose legacy lived on in films such as Escape from Alcatraz and The Rock. Today it is a National Recreation Area

US Capitol Building

The United States Capitol at night. The U.S. Capitol serves as the location for Congress, the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government. It is located in Washington, D.C., on top of Capitol Hill at the east end of the National Mall. The building is marked by its central dome above a rotunda and two wings. It is an exemplar of the Neoclassical architecture style.

Interior of Old Saint Paul's, Wellington, New Zealand

Old Saint Paul's in Wellington, New Zealand, is an example of 19th-century Gothic Revival architecture adapted to colonial conditions and materials. It is constructed entirely from New Zealand native timbers. While no longer a parish church, it remains consecrated, and is a popular venue for weddings, funerals and other services. This photo of the nave is an example of high dynamic range imaging.

Abbey spire, Mont Saint Michel, France

Mont Saint Michel, a small rocky tidal island in Normandy, is famous for its Benedictine abbey (spire pictured here) and steepled church (built between the 11th and 16th centuries) which occupy most of the island. The abbey was constructed in the 11th century, but by the time of the French Revolution its popularity had waned to the point where there were scarcely any monks in residence and it was converted to a prison. However, in 1874 it was declared a national monument and is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Nilov Monastery on Stolobnyi Island in Lake Seliger in Tver Province, Russia

This photo of the Nilov Monastery on Stolbnyi Island in Tver Oblast, Russia, was taken by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii in 1910 before the advent of colour photography. His process used a camera that took a series of monochrome pictures in rapid sequence, each through a different coloured filter. By projecting all three monochrome pictures using correctly-coloured light, it was possible to reconstruct the original colour scene.

Château de Chambord, France

With its very distinct Renaissance architecture, the Château de Chambord in Chambord, Loir-et-Cher, France, is one of the most recognizable châteaux in the world. The massive castle, originally built as a hunting lodge for King François I, features 440 rooms, 365 fireplaces, and 84 staircases. The château was never intended to provide any form of defence from imagined enemies. As such, the walls, towers and partial moat are purely decorative.

Fortified city of Carcassonne, France

Fortified city of Carcassonne, France, and the Pont Vieux crossing the Aude river
Panorama of the fortified city of Carcassonne (Aude, France) and the Pont Vieux crossing the Aude River. The fortress of Carcassonne was considered impregnable and never conquered. It was begun by the Romans and built up through the years. It fell into disrepair was restored in the 19th century. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Graz, Austria, City Hall

The Rathaus or City Hall of Graz, the second-largest city in Austria after Vienna, at dusk. Graz was the 2003 European Capital of Culture and its "Old Town" is included in the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage Sites. Occupying a strategic location, Graz began as Roman fort and survived numerous assaults over the centuries.

Great Wall of China, 1907

The Great Wall of China is a 6,352 km (3,948 miles) long Chinese fortification built over a span of nearly 2,000 years, in order to protect the various dynasties from raids coming from areas in modern-day Mongolia and Manchuria. Along most of its arc, it roughly delineates the border between North China and Inner Mongolia. Although it is commonly said that the wall is visible to the naked eye from space, it is more accurate to say that it is visible under favorable viewing conditions, if one knows exactly where to look.

Reading Room, British Museum

The Reading Room of the British Museum is situated in the centre of the Great Court. It used to be the main reading room of the British Library, but that relocated to the new British Library building at St Pancras, London. The old Reading Room was opened to the public in 2000, following a renovation by noted architect Sir Norman Foster. It contains a collection of books on history, art, travel, and other subjects relevant to the British Museum's collections, on open shelves.

View from the 5th Floor of The State Library of Victoria,Australia

The State Library of Victoria is the central library of the state of Victoria, Australia, located in the city of Melbourne. The Library's combined collections contain over 1.5 million books and 16,000 serials, including the diaries of the city's founders, John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner, as well as the folios of Captain James Cook

Saint Vitus Cathedral in Prague

Saint Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic, is the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. It is located within Prague Castle and contains the tombs of many Bohemian kings. Although the current building was founded in 1344 by the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV together with Arnost of Pardubice, it wasn't completed until 1929 — almost 600 years later.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is one of the major landmarks of Sydney, Australia, connecting the Sydney central business district with the North Shore commercial and residential areas, both of which are located on Sydney Harbour. The dramatic water vista of the bridge together with the nearby Sydney Opera House (left) is an iconic image. The bridge is affectionately known as "the Coathanger" by many Sydneysiders on account of its arch-based design.

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal in Agra, India, was commissioned by the 17th century Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, as a mausoleum for his Persian wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Built over a period of 23 years, it is a masterpiece of Mughal architecture, featuring the finest materials from all over India and Asia. Its gleaming facade is clad in white marble from Rajasthan and inlaid with 28 types of precious and semi-precious stones. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site considered to be of "outstanding universal value".