Places Bookhistorian Wants to Go

This ghost town in Belgium will lose its street art when it ceases to exist.

The fences outside some of South London's estates are made from recycled World War II stretchers.

Tucked inside a South Bank bar is an epic expressionist chronicle of the 20th century.

Quaint, disturbing, and macabre objects are all on display at this intriguing collection of medical instruments from bygone eras.

The mysterious, fantastical woodland inspiration for "The Lord of the Rings."

This wildly-tiled artist's palace is a living and growing account of the creator's life, loves, and labors.

Residential building on the Regents Canal is a breeding ground for creativity and innovation.

This secret garden has bloomed into London's most unique hub of urban creativity.

The last of Philadelphia's wood-paved streets is now a landmark of terrible engineering.

Yo, Adrian!

In the early 1800s, surgery was also a show.

The taxidermied remains of Charles Dickens' pet raven, which helped inspire one of Edgar Allan Poe's most famous poems.

Tour the dark and beloved poet's former cobwebbed basement, which may have inspired "The Black Cat."

A rare view of a preserved Victorian science museum.

The world’s first penitentiary, meant to be humane, drove men insane.

America's most famous museum of medical oddities is home to the remains of Albert Einstein's brain.

William Blake claimed to have painted this gothic masterpiece after encountering this nightmarish being in a vision.

19th-century scientists would make the pilgrimage here to verify the precision of their measuring sticks.

On the eve of a condemned prisoner's death, this bell rang 12 times outside their cell.

This historic building displays the remains of a victim of the devastating 14th-century plague.

A recently restored Shoreditch landmark with ties to Jack the Ripper.

Historic church where a number of Shakespeare's actors are buried.

A beautiful Victorian statue shows France's enduring love of the rhinoceros.

The tomb of history's greatest potato promoter is surrounded by tubers.