The Cathedral of Florence, Italy

Birthplace of the Renaissance. The Cathedral of Florence, Italy

Considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence helped lead Europe out of the Middle Ages as a centre of politics, finance, art, and culture. Seven-odd centuries later, it's a snap to get aerial views of that era's marvels, like the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (known more simply as the Cathedral of Florence). A crowning achievement in a city of crowning achievements, the complex includes a campanile, or bell tower, and a white-roofed baptistery in addition to the cathedral with its grand dome.