The Duke’s Diwan is a time capsule of early 20th-century Amman, hidden in plain sight on the busy King Faisal Street. Built in 1924 as the city’s first post office, this Ottoman-era stone house later became the Haifa Hotel before heritage activist Mamdouh Bisharat ("The Duke of Mukheibeh") rescued it from demolition in 2001. Today, its creaking wooden floors lead through rooms frozen in Jordan’s past, complete with antique typewriters, sepia photos of camel caravans on dusty roads, and a balcony overlooking downtown’s metamorphosis. More than a museum, it’s a living diwan (gathering space): poets hold readings at the carved oak table, while artists riff under the Arabian archways. Admission is free, and the duke himself sometimes holds court, spinning tales of old Amman over cardamom coffee. Don’t miss the upstairs gallery, where rotating exhibits spotlight Jordan’s underground creatives.

Visit the botanical gardens on the outskirts of the city. There are plenty of pleasant walking trails and lawns, inviting you to take a break. The area includes a small Ainu museum, a greenhouse, and an alpine garden.

Bratislava, formerly Pressburg or Pozsony, was once one of the most important centres of Jewish life in Europe. Today, the city has an active Jewish community, numerous Jewish heritage sites and two Jewish museums. You can pass by the Heydukova Street Synagogue, visit the Museum of Jewish Culture and the Bratislava Jewish Community Museum, pay your respects at the Chatam Sofer Memorial, the Neolog cemetery and the Orthodox cemetery and many other Jewish landmarks and monuments.

Dating back to the 13th century, the Iglesia de Santiago is the oldest church in Ciudad Real. It was constructed in the Gothic style, but the design shows signs of Romanic and Islamic influences.