Top 10 Cities for History Lovers

Some cities are living history books, where every street reveals another layer of the human story. For travellers who love to walk in the footsteps of emperors, philosophers and revolutionaries, these ten cities are unmissable.

The ancient world

Rome is the greatest open-air museum on Earth, where the Colosseum and Forum bring the ancient empire to life. Athens, the cradle of democracy, and Istanbul, capital of three great empires, are equally steeped in millennia of history.

Empires and dynasties

Cairo guards the Pyramids and the treasures of the pharaohs, Beijing the Forbidden City and Great Wall, and Kyoto a thousand years of imperial Japan preserved in its temples and shrines.

Turning points of history

Jerusalem holds unmatched religious significance, Berlin tells the dramatic story of the 20th century, and Krakow preserves both medieval splendour and the sombre memory of the Second World War. Together they span the entire arc of human civilisation.