Let Classic Literature Choose Your Next Vacation Quiz

Answer: Île de la Cité

Modern visitors to Paris may not realize that they are walking on an island when they visit the Cathedral de Notre Dame. This island, named the Ile de la Cite, is amongst the oldest areas of Paris and dates back to at least the 6th century and the Merovingian King Clovis. Archeological evidence suggests that Pre-Roman Gaulish tribes may have inhabited the Island during the 1st century. Bridges connect both sides of the small island to the left and right banks of the Seine River that runs through the heart of Paris. Perhaps the most famous of these bridges is the late 16th century Pont Neuf (New Bridge) that paradoxically is the now the oldest surviving bridge across the Seine.

The Cathedral de Notre Dame draws more than 13 million visitors a year to see the magnificent Gothic style architecture that was constructed during the 12th and 13th centuries. In the mid-19th century writer, Victor Hugo felt there was a need to remind the French public of the beauty and grandeur of Notre Dame. So, Hugo penned a dual love story between star-crossed lovers and between Paris and its grandest Gothic cathedral.

Answer: Potala Palace

Lhasa is the ancient center of Tibet, the religious and administrative home of Tibetan Buddhism. Lhasa sits in a small valley high in the Himalayan Mountains and at an elevation of nearly 12,000 feet, is one of the highest cities in the world. Despite its location in the mountains, Lhasa has a frequently sunny and pleasant climate with average summer temperatures in the low 60s°F and winter temperatures a still reasonable average of 30°F. Tourism is on the rise in Lhasa and a highlight of any visit would be imposing Potala Palace. This giant edifice built over a forty year period in the 17th century contains over 1,000 rooms and 10,000 shrines. The palace was the home of the Dalai Lamas who were both the spiritual and political head of Tibetan society until 1959 when the 14th Dalai Lama was expelled by the Chinese government that now rules Tibet.

Austrian author Heinrich Harrier spent seven tumultuous years between 1944-1951 as a tutor and expert on Western society to the young 14th Dalai Lama. Harrier was present in Lhasa when the 14th Dalai Lama was installed as ruler and when the Chinese army entered Lhasa some six months later. When the book was first published in 1956, Western interest in Tibet and its struggles to remain a Buddhist theocracy in the face of Chinese occupation soared.

Answer: Switzerland

Reichenbach Falls are a series of waterfalls in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. The Falls have a drop of over 800 feet making them impressive but by no means amongst the longest in Europe. Reichenbach Falls are about two kilometers from the small Swiss town of Meiringen and can be reached by riding a scenic funicular (tram) and then a short hike to the top of the falls.

Meiringen is a town of only 4600 people and would be a simple and quaint Swiss village if not for the intervention of Arthur Conan Doyle. Doyle toured Switzerland in 1891 and became enamored with the Reichenbach Falls. He chose the location as the place for the death of his greatest character, Sherlock Holmes. Doyle plunged the detective off the falls, locked in combat with his enemy Professor Moriarty, in the 1891 story "The Final Problem". While Doyle miraculously resurrected Holmes in 1903, the falls remained a central place in Holmesian lore. The town erected a monument to Arthur Conan Doyle to thank him for putting Meiringen on the map. You can also visit a Sherlock Holmes Museum that includes a replica of the fictional detective's drawing room at 221B Baker Street London.

Answer: Kyoto

The ancient city of Kyoto on the island of Honshu has been central to Japanese culture since the 6th century. The 8th century Japanese Emperor Kammu built his capital city at Kyoto and the city served as the nation's capital until 1869. Kyoto remains at the center of Japan's religious history with over 1500 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines adorning the city. One of the oldest shrines in Kyoto is the Yasaka Shrine that was constructed in the mid-7th century. When travelers flocked to the shrine, local merchants created inns and services to support the pilgrims. This area became known as the Gion District.

The Gion District attracted the wealthy from throughout Japan and catered to their needs. Gion became a hub for elegant teahouses featuring the best Japanese female entertainers and hostesses known as geishas or geikos. Even as the geisha tradition diminished, the Gion teahouses and geisha training academies remained and prospered. Western society's fascination with the geisha art has consistently remained high. American author Arthur Golden's 1997 international bestseller, "Memoirs of a Geisha", is an excellently researched story of the life of a fictional 20th century geisha working in the Gion District of Kyoto.

Answer: Cuba

Cuba is the largest island located in the Caribbean Sea and is the 17th largest island in the world with over 40,000 square miles of land. The main island of Cuba and the surrounding smaller islands that make up the Cuban archipelago lie just 90 miles from the coast of Florida and slightly over 217 miles from Mexico's eastern shores. Cuba was inhabited by the Taino people when Christopher Columbus landed on the island in 1492. Spain administered Cuba until the Spanish-American War in 1898 when the island fell to US control. Cuba was granted independence in 1905. In 1958, after a series of different governments Fidel Castro led a successful revolution that established a communist government with Castro as leader.

Nobel Prize winning author Ernest Hemingway spent considerable time in Cuba and maintained a residence on the island for over twenty years. Hemingway wrote the story of the aging fisherman, Santiago, and his epic battle with a giant marlin in "The Old Man and the Sea" in 1951-1952 while living in Cuba. The loving portrayal of the Cuban fishing lifestyle in the novel has stirred the imagination and brought tourists to Cuba since the book's publication in 1952.

Answer: Amsterdam

The elegant Dutch capital city of Amsterdam draws millions of tourists each year. The city's canal lined streets have a charm that is unique in Europe. Amsterdam's rich art history includes museums dedicated to Van Gogh and Rembrandt, as well as the amazing spring tulip festival known as the Keukenhof in nearby Lisse. Amsterdam has an equally vibrant reputation as a socially liberated city where coffeehouses sell cannabis and hashish alongside the legal prostitution of the Red Light district.

Another immensely popular tourist attraction is a small museum in a house at 267 Prinsengracht Street. It is here that one of the most poignant and tragic stories from World War II played out. By 1942, Nazi Germany was seizing the Jewish population of Amsterdam and sending the people to concentration camps for extermination. The small Frank family took refuge in a "hidden' upstairs apartment in the 267 Prinsengracht house. Here 13-year-old Anne Frank kept her diary of the family's struggle to survive. Anne's diary was published in 1952 to international acclaim. In 1960, the house at 267 Prinsengracht Street and the adjoining dwelling were opened as a museum.

Answer: Mississippi River

While all of these "M" state rivers are real, the "Mighty" Mississippi River is the setting for much of Mark Twain's work. Despite popular opinion, the Mississippi River is not the longest river in North America, as that distinction goes to the Missouri River.

The Mississippi starts as a small stream in Minnesota, flows through the heart of the US and then empties over 2200 miles later into the Gulf of Mexico south of New Orleans, Louisiana. The Mississippi and Missouri Rivers merge at St Louis, Missouri, and some 180 miles later they are joined by the Ohio River.

By the time the Mississippi River reaches its end, the water flow will create a discharge of over 590,000 cubic feet per second. While this is one of the world's largest outflows the amount pales next to the Amazon River's discharge of over seven million cubic feet per second.

Answer: Saigon

In 1975, the North Vietnamese captured Saigon, then the capital of South Vietnam. The victors renamed the city Ho Chi Minh City after their revolutionary leader. The area, where modern Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City exists, has been inhabited for over 3000 years. In the late 17th century, Vietnamese rulers increased the size and strategic importance of Saigon. In 1859, the French and Spanish conquered the area, and the French took control of Saigon. Over the next century, the city was greatly influenced by French architecture and culture. Despite the devastation of the Vietnam War and extensive repurposing after the war, Saigon retains much of the charm of the Indo-French period. An excellent example of French Saigon is the former Hotel de Ville de Saigon built in 1902 (now the Ho Chi Minh City Hall).

In the wake of the Japanese defeat at the end of World War II, Vietnam, like Korea, was faced with a force in the north allied with the Soviet Union and the communists in China, and a pro-Western south supported by the French and later the US. In 1954, after the French suffered a devastating loss at the hands of the North Vietnamese at Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam was officially portioned along the 17th parallel. Saigon became the capital of the newly formed Republic of Vietnam (South) and Hanoi the capital of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North). British author Graham Greene, who lived during much of the 1950s in Saigon, wrote "The Quiet American" to express the pensive Cold War mood in Saigon during the period after the departure of the colonial powers and before open hostilities between the north and south erupted.

Answer: Mughal

The rich and illustrious history of the northern Indian city of Agra extends beyond the funeral palace built by Mughal Shah Jahan to honor his deceased wife. When Agra was first inhabited is a matter of debate with some records extending as far back as 1000 BC. However, it was not until the late 15th century when the city became central to Indian history. The Muslim Delhi Sultanate established modern Agra in 1504. When the Mughal King Babar subdued the Delhi Sultans in 1526, he made Agra his capital. Mughal rulers managed their vast empire that extended across the length of India and much of central Asia from Agra until the capital was moved to the new city of Shajahanabad (now central Delhi) in 1689.

When the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's favorite wife, Mumtaz, died in 1631 (during the birth of the couple's 14th child) he was grief-stricken. To honor his wife, Shah Jahan ordered the building of a great monument. After twenty years of construction, the result was the white marble marvel known as the Taj Mahal. The white marble palace is a mecca for tourists attracting several million people a year to the city of Agra. "Beneath the Marble Sky" is a well-researched (fictionalized) account of the building of the Taj Mahal and the political intrigue of 17th century India. The story is told through the eyes of Jahan and Mumtaz's eldest daughter, Jahanara.

Answer: Macedon Ranges

Hanging Rock, or Mt. Diogenes, is a volcanic rock formation in the Macedon Mountain range north of Melbourne, Australia. The rock formation was formed some six million years go by volcanic activity where lava cools and splits into sheath-like formations that erode unevenly over time. The distinctive rocky peaks and crags are a favorite local and tourist attraction for people visiting Melbourne, Australia's second largest city. Hanging Rock is a centerpiece of the Hanging Rock Recreation Preserve which is charged with preserving region which includes a horse race track and concert venue. Early Australian surveyor Thomas Mitchell, who explored the area in the 1830s, named the range after Alexander's father, Philip of Macedonia.

Hanging Rock is also the setting for the "could it be real" fictional mystery that is the center of Joan Lindsay's book "Picnic at Hanging Rock". In the book, on Valentine's Day 1900, a group of college women spend the day at Hanging Rock. Three of the girls and a teacher mysteriously disappear while exploring the rock formation. When the girls reappear later, they have no memory of the events or what happened to them. The book ends with no clear solution, further fueling the imagination. "Picnic at Hanging Rock" was adapted into a feature film in 1975 by acclaimed director Peter Weir and is one of the first internationally significant Australian films.