Meissen is located approximately 25 km northwest of Dresden. The little town is known as the cradle of the European porcelain manufacturing. We were left unmoved by August the Strong’s china but were impressed by the little town with its soaring Gothic cathedral, fairy-tale castle and wonderful Elbe valley views – Meissen, Germany.

The Bastei is a stunning rock formation nearly 200m above the Elbe. It's a wonderland of pinnacles and offers panoramic views of the surrounding forests, cliffs and the Elbe River below. The Basteibrücke, a sandstone bridge built in 1851, leads through the rocks to the remnants of a partly reconstructed medieval castle, the Felsenburg Neurathen – Saxony, Germany.

The domed Frauenkirche – Dresden’s most beloved symbol – has literally risen from the city's ashes. The original church graced the skyline for two centuries before collapsing after the February 1945 bombing, and was rebuilt from a pile of rubble between 1994 and 2005. A spitting image of the original, today's structure may not bear the gravitas of age but that only slightly detracts from its beauty - Dresden, Germany.

It's hard to believe that the city was all but wiped off the map by Allied bombings in 1945. There are few German city silhouettes that are more striking than the one from Dresden. The classic view from the Elbe’s northern bank takes in spires, towers and domes belonging to palaces, churches and stately buildings – Dresden, Germany.

Merrion Sq is the most prestigious and, arguably, the most elegant of Dublin's Georgian squares. Its well-kept lawns and tended flower beds are flanked on three sides by gorgeous Georgian houses with colourful doors, peacock fanlights, ornate door knockers and, occasionally, foot-scrapers, used to remove mud from shoes. Over the last two centuries they've been used by some notable residents - Dublin, Ireland

The most popular visit in Dublin is the multimedia homage to Guinness in a converted grain storehouse that is part of the 26-hectare brewery - Dublin, Ireland

Dublin's best-known district is the cobbled playpen of Temple Bar, where mayhem and merriment is standard fare, even at the local barber shop. Especially the night that England is playing the quarter finals of the World Cup Soccer… - Dublin, Ireland.

The Irish Goverment Building is one of the last buildings completed by the British before they were evicted; it opened as the Royal College of Science in 1911. When the college vacated in 1989, the then Taoiseach (prime minister) Charles Haughey and his government moved in and spent a fortune refurbishing the complex… A bombasitc Edwardian pile of stones… - Dublin, Ireland.

Trinity College - Ireland’s most prestigious university is a bucolic retreat in the heart of the city. Trinity College was established in 1592 on the grounds of a confiscated Augustinian monastery. Its target populations was young Protestant Dubliners who were choosing universities in France and Italy – and so risking conversion to Roman Catholicism. Despite its overtly sectarian origins, Trinity became one of the world’s outstanding centres of learning, the alma mater of Swift, Wilde, Beckett and a host of other important names such as Berkeley, Lecky and Walton. It remained completely Protestant until 1793, but even when the university relented and began to admit Catholics, the Catholic Church held firm; until 1970, any Catholic who enrolled here could consider themselves excommunicated. Trinity College's greatest treasures is the Old Library – Dublin, Ireland