Places alessandralee Wants to Go

According to the locals, the sands of this secluded Norway beach are infused with gemstone particles.

Norway has built what may be the world's most beautiful public toilet.

One thousand trees were planted in Norway to be used to print books a century from now.

A thin pane of glass keeps visitors from sliding off this futuristic skywalk.

An artist's mausoleum with a haunting echo.

Stay overnight in the world's most sleekly designed rabbit hole, free of charge.

Walk behind a 50-meter-high waterfall.

An intricately carved Viking church overlooks a glistening fjord.

The convergence of two currents makes this a surprisingly pleasant getaway in the Arctic Circle.

This irregularly shaped sea fortress has defended not one but three different sovereign states.

A little-known sculpture park of contemporary environmental art in a Lapland forest.

Quality time with reindeer in the stunning scenery of their natural Lappish habitat above the Arctic Circle.

Menacing or in memoriam, the Silent People and their meaning are left to interpretation.

An alien church provides much needed silence in the midst of a Finland shopping center.

A subterranean house of worship carved right out of the bedrock.

Architecturally stunning library serves as the hub of Finnish scholarly life and culture.

This fantastical icy castle is built anew every winter.

Rent out a glass igloo to watch the Northern Lights like you live in the future.

The walls of this medieval church are covered with perfectly preserved frescos, including a pristine example of the Dance of Death.

Martin Bricelj Baraga's monolithic sculpture measures the blueness of the sky, and changes color to match it.

This abandoned Slovenian military barracks has become a punky-political art squat.

A whimsical bridge adorned with decorative dragons.

This one-time health resort was used by aristocrats around the world.

Castle and secret tunnel withstood a siege until its owner was killed by the Holy Roman Empire, while sitting on the toilet.