CORNELL UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell, an American businessman and philanthropist, Cornell University is part of the Ivy League, a prestigious institution of the eight oldest private universities in the United States, all located in the Northeast. To say that Cornell is a very good university is an understatement: fifty-eight Nobel Prize winners have graduated from Cornell, fifty-five Olympic medalists have graduated, and fourteen of its alumni are now billionaires. Walking around Cornell is like being on a British campus, only with hills. To learn about the history of the place, there are free guided tours throughout the year depending on the academic calendar. If you're walking around campus on your own, in addition to the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, here are the buildings you shouldn't miss:

McGraw Tower, whose chimes ring out almost daily, and have since 1868. The 53-meter tower, which is in some ways the symbol of the university, has been the center of elaborate student pranks several times. On the morning of October 8, 1997, for example, a pumpkin was found planted on its spire. Because of the height and danger, it was decided to let it rot and fall off by itself, but it froze, hardened and did not move until it was finally dislodged with a crane the following March. It is not known to this day who pulled the prank and how he managed to get the pumpkin so high, but the story lives on.

The Andrew Dickinson White Library, a library that looks like something out of theHarry Potter universe, with its shelves of books that go up to the ceiling and are connected by walkways.