Western Australia's Maritime Museum in Fremantle has quickly become quite the hot topic. Located on Victoria Quay, this architectural masterpiece was first open to the public December 1st, 2002. Boasting six themed galleries: The Indian Ocean, Tin Canoe to Australia II, Fremantle and the Swan River, Hooked on Fishing, Cargoes, and Naval Defence, the Maritime Museum is the first museum of the Indian Ocean. The Maritime Museum is also home to the famous Shipwreck Galleries, which contain original pieces from shipwrecks as early as the 17th Century. The most famous of these being the reconstructed remains of the Batavia, which was discovered by archaeologists in the 1970s.


If you're making a day of the Quay, visit the Submarine Ovens at the western end. If you're interested in seeing the inside of a real-life submarine, and imagining what life would be like on such an amazing vessel, go check it out. There are guides on hand at both the submarine and Maritime Museum, however, if you are the independent type, you can hear all the same information by taking Tourcaster's Fremantle Part I: The Port City audio tour. There are a few tracks covering the museum and submarine, and the rest of the tour takes you on a journey all over Fremantle. Check out the Tourcaster site for this and other downloadable tours in Australia.

“Welcome to the Moulin Rouge”…no, not the movie, or song, but infamous home of Parisian cabaret. The “Red Mill” was built in the red-light district in the 18th arrondissement in 1889. Situated on Boulevard de Clichy, near Montmartre in Paris, the building itself is famous for the large red faux-windmill on its rooftop.
The Moulin Rouge was and still is a fixture in Bohemian culture, introducing the French Cancan and burlesque acts. With a history so rich, it is no wonder the landmark has been portrayed by authors and artists alike. The “Moulin Rouge” being the title of a book written by Pierre La Mure, which was adapted into a movie in 1952 and most recently in 2001.

Today, the Moulin Rouge is a major tourist attraction and has hosted numerous musical performances from artists such as Frank Sinatra, Yvette Guilbert, Edith Piaf and La Goulue. Your trip to Paris is not complete without experiencing the original Moulin Rouge. Let Tourcaster guide you through Montmartre and this notable landmark, all you need is your iPod.

Temples signify a place of worship in Japanese Buddhism. Their basic purpose is the storing and displaying of sacred Buddhist effects, and some are still functioning monasteries. There are a few different styles of structures:

The Main hall, hosts sacred objects of worship, and are usually called kondo, butsuden, amidado, hatto, or hondo.

The Lecture halls are for meetings and also to display objects of worship, calling them kodo.
A Pagoda usually comes with 3 or 5 stories and are used to store remains of the Buddha, usually in the form of a representation.

There is usually one Main Gate that marks the entrance to the entrance or temple grounds. There may also be several additional gates.

Most temples house some form of Buddhist cemetery when Japanese can visit their ancestors’ graves.

To experience the Temple of Benten and Toshogu Shrine first hand, take the Tourcaster audio tour of Ueno Park in Toyko, Japan.

The most visited city park in all of the United States, Central Park has become something of a novelty. Bordered by West 110th Ave., West 59th Street, and Fifth Avenue, Central Park welcomes around 25 million visitors a year. Most of the park is entirely landscaped including a few artificial lakes, numerous walking paths, playgrounds, two ice skating rinks and a wildlife sanctuary.

With a tremendous rise in population in the mid 1800s, New York City became increasingly crowded and loud. The New York people were running out of places to just “get away”. The people were finally given a voice with the poet, Andrew Jackson Downing, who proposed the New York legislature set aside 700 acres for a park. The Central Park Commission decided on a design called the “Greensward Plan”, which was proposed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.

Before breaking ground on Central Park, the issue of where to move the 1600 inhabitants of that land, needed to be addressed. Most were very poor and immigrants. Using eminent domain as their tool, the city evicted the residents, and torn down most of Seneca Village. Once construction got under way, more than 500,000 cubic feet of top soil had to be transported from New Jersey because the original soil wasn’t good enough to sustain new growth. The park has gone through a few changes throughout its lifespan, but for the most part, has become a landmark in itself. To hear more about Central Park, download Tourcaster’s audio tour of Fifth Avenue and Central Park. You can listen to more of the historical and cultural importance of this landmark in New York City on your iPod or mp3 player. Just visit the Tourcaster website.

Opera Australia, the Sydney Theatre Company, and the Sydney Symphony, all call the Sydney Opera House home. Located on Bennelong Point in the Sydney Harbor, stands one of the most famous performing arts venues in the world.

The exterior of the building is something that draws tourists to this location in droves. The many roofs are made of 1 million glossy white Swedish tiles, and the entire building covers 4.5 acres. With five theatres, five rehearsal studios, four restaurants and six bars, it is safe to say the interior is extensive. Pink granite and wood supplied from New South Whales, adorns the majority of the interior.

It was the wish of Eugene Goossens, the Director of the NSW State Conservatorium of Music, to create a suitable venue for large productions in the late 1940s. The basic designed was to be determined by the Premier of NSW, Joseph Cahill, out of a competition that attracted 233 entries. Jorn Utzon, a Danish architect submitted the winning design, and began overseeing the project in 1957.

This huge venture was quoted at $7 million and was supposed to be completed in 1963. $102 million later, in 1973, the Sydney Opera House was formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II. Many Australians thought the project would never be completed as the construction costs so exceeded the projected amount. However, in 1975, the bill was finally paid off largely through a public lottery system. For more information on this distinctive building, take Tourcaster’s Downtown Sydney and Opera House audio tour as well as the Circular Quay audio tour. You can download both tours to your iPod or mp3 player and tour the Sydney sites at your own pace.

Located on The Bund in bustling Shanghai, the Peace Hotel has been a Chinese landmark for almost a century. The hotel is situated on Nanjing Road, busiest shopping mall in Shangahai, overlooking the Huangpu River. Constructed in 1929, the Peace Hotel, formerly known as the Cathay Hotel, has been known as the “Number 1 Mansion in the Far East”.

The hotel itself is made up of two former hotels separated by a street, with the North and South buildings being constructed in 1929 and 1906, respectively. In 1949, after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, both buildings re-opened, using the Peace Hotel name. To learn more about the Peace Hotel, listen to the Tourcaster audio tour of The Bund. Take your iPod or mp3 player on your next vacation to Shanghai and let Tourcaster guide you through The Bund and Peace Hotel.