Places velvetsputnik Wants to Go

Hidden behind a wall for decades, this masonic lodge was only rediscovered during renovations.

The John Snow Memorial marks the epicenter of London's 1854 cholera epidemic.

A Victorian natural history and ethnographic museum with wonderful turn-of-the-century, science-book-esque evolution displays.

In this cobwebbed old operating theater, you can practically hear the screams of the unanesthetized patients.

The curios of pharmacist and collector Henry Wellcome.

The anatomical-pathological collection of a man who changed surgery.

This coffee shop lies hidden beneath a historic church.

A 300-year-old tea shop that brought tea to the English people, not to mention the Queen herself.

Legend has it this fountain built to symbolize the Pope’s power hides a strange secret concerning Neptune's manliness.

This building features dozens of faces along its facade, although one is a bit chilling.

Once known for its horse-powered knife sharpening, this 200-year-old shop offers an array of blades and hard-to-find culinary tools.

In the world's oldest university is a stunning 17th century anatomical theater carved from spruce.

Stuck in the arcade of Casa Isolani are three arrows of mysterious origins.

A small window on Via Piella offers a lovely and rare peek at Bologna's lost canals.

Built to repay the sins of the father, this church is home to one of the most valuable works of Western art.

The incorrupt tongue of the patron saint of lost things is venerated in this basilica.

Home to the world's oldest functioning orrery.

Gaze upon chocolate sculptures depicting everything from chariot races to Gaudí's famous church at this shrine to sweets.

Take in the views of Big Ben with a Guinness in hand at this floating pub aboard a 1930s Dutch barge.

A quartet of tiled art pieces adorn the floors of this prestigious art museum.

The television series' iconic giant foot was borrowed from this classical painting.

London's smallest police station is barely the size of a phone booth.

The former home of Dutch anthropologist Bert Flint now houses a collection of Berber art and artifacts.

This gallery commissioned by Cardinal Spada is known for its magnificent optical illusion.