North America
A heart-rending Mariachi band, a highly emotional country singer and an alternative rock band with a string quartet. North America has many voices and many cultural influences – from Mexico’s Maya reminiscences to the multi-ethnic metropolises in “God’s own country” and paradise destinations for skiers and adventurers in Canada. A tour of North America is a journey through deserted wilderness, dusty desert landscapes, lush tropical forests and ice-cold glacier landscapes. But also through some of the world’s most interesting and pulsating cities.
The geography of North America
North America is full of contrasts with multi-ethnic cities, magnificent scenery, deserted wilderness, a wealth of cultural sights and world-class amusements. The North American continent is in the Northern Hemisphere, east of the Pacific Ocean, west of the Atlantic Ocean, south of the Arctic Ocean and north of the South American continent. North America covers an area of 24,200,000 km² and is the third-largest continent in the world, smaller only than Asia and Africa.
Canada
The great Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada spans 10,878 square kilometres. In addition to fabulous natural scenery, in Jasper, like almost everywhere in the world’s second-largest country, there is plenty of scope to make the acquaintance of some fascinating fauna: black bears, antelopes, prairie wolves and many other animals that it’s best to get to know by watching from a distance. When holidaying in Canada, you should definitely not miss Banff National Park or the beautiful Icefield Parkway that connects the two parks. Also definitely not to be missed are the Rocky Mountains’ proud peaks, lovely mountain lakes, rushing rivers and opportunities to get right up close to lots of bears and bison. Of course, there are also cities in Canada. Toronto is the fifth-largest city in North America and with more than 80 ethnic groups, 170 nationalities and over 100 different languages, the capital of Ontario province is also one of the most multicultural cities in the world. As well as the multiculturalism, you can also experience sights including the Canadian National Tower which, at 553.3 metres high, remains the world’s tallest building until the Dubai Tower in the United Arab Emirates is completed in 2008.
USA
The neighbouring country, the USA, is also famous for the imposing skylines of its cities with millions of inhabitants, and the sight of the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building, which shoot up among hundreds of towering office buildings in glass and steel, remains an imposing sight. But New York is much more than gleaming architecture – it is also world-class art in some of the world’s best museums and galleries, a deep subway system, an eldorado for shopaholics and a nightlife that never sleeps until long after the New York Times has been distributed. The USA should also be experienced for its tradition-rich and very “European” New England and the big city of Boston. For the Rocky Mountains and the Wild West states of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. For the prairie states of Kansas, Nebraska and South Dakota, with Mount Rushmore and the famous monument of the four presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. You should visit the USA for the old gangster city and exciting architectural laboratory of Chicago which is home to the country’s tallest skyscraper. For the Pacific coast with its whales, dolphins and sea lions. For the music of New Orleans, Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee. And for California’s fascinating deserts, national parks and glamorous Hollywood hotels.
Mexico
In the neighbouring country of Mexico, you can go exploring in the pyramids from the millennia-old culture of the Aztecs and Mayas or enjoy the beautiful landscapes and the lovely bathing beaches and holiday resorts. You can experience sights including the Yucatan peninsula, which protrudes out into the Caribbean Sea and is home to unique Maya ruins surrounded by lush jungle like in Palenque, for example, fantastic Caribbean beaches and coral reefs along the coast by Cancun and on the islands of Isla Mujeres and Cozumel. And make sure you don’t miss a visit to the largest city in the world, Mexico City. Not far from here, on a plain about 2,000 metres high, you will find Teotihuacan, where the towering Pyramid of the Sun and Pyramid of the Moon stand as monuments to a time when priests offered human sacrifices to placate the divine sun. The Pyramid of the Sun is the third-largest pyramid in the world, and from here there is an exhilarating view of the other pyramids, the temples and the surrounding plains and mountains.