Places danielpier Wants to Go

A landmark in the history of technology and computing is hidden in a tiny Baroque chapel.

This small but lovely sinkhole lake is the last remnant of a great prehistoric water basin.

Two planes stand abandoned after the closure of an aircraft-themed restaurant.

Known as the Royal Palace of the Euganean Hills, this often overlooked castle has been home for multiple noble families over the centuries.

An abandoned bell tower in the middle of nowhere is the last testimony of a forgotten medieval village.

A fascist-era rural village abandoned since the early 1980s.

This medieval hilltop village was abandoned at the end of the 19th century, after existing for more than 500 years.

Italy's curious field of mud volcanoes is named for being both gross AND salty.

This monastery built into a cliff hides a perfectly preserved hermit in a glass coffin.

An abandoned 17th-century baroque hunting lodge with a wonderfully strange architectural plan.

A climbing route in the mountains of Italy’s Dolomites, built for soldiers during World War I.

The mountaintop inspiration for Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose."

This natural gas vent certainly earns its name as the smallest volcano in Italy.

A line of abandoned, alien-like fortresses dot the mountains of North Italy.

A lover's walk between hilltop towns, decorated with graffiti love notes.

The sinister ruins of one of the worst dam failures of the 20th century lie in this astonishing alpine setting.

Dramatic sea stacks adorn the coast of this small village on the Adriatic coast.

A public park off the beaten path with a beautiful waterfall and 13th century Cistercian abbey.

Bohemian paradise covered in majestic forests.

Geothermal waterfalls in Tuscany.

A meteorite-bounded town in Bavaria.

"Alleys of Stone" form natural mazes in Spanish natural park.

A fiery-red region of scooped out land still largely untouched by civilization, tourists or otherwise.

An arresting arch punched straight through a mountain provides one of the most scenic spots, and challenging climbs, on the planet.