Palermo, Italy
Arabic Inscription of Palermo Cathedral
Why a column on the entrance is inscribed with a verse from the Quran is one of Sicily's many mysteries.
Places I want to go
Places on this traveler's wishlist.
Palermo, Italy
Why a column on the entrance is inscribed with a verse from the Quran is one of Sicily's many mysteries.
Panenský Týnec, Czechia
The 14th-century ruins are said to contain healing powers.
Rotherham, England
This oddly placed 15th-century church is one of only six bridge chapels left in England.
Saint Petersburg, Russia
A city block packed with whimsical sculptures that seem to be plucked from a tiled fantasy world.
Venice, Italy
100 year tradition of fist fights, marked by marble footsteps.
Venice, Italy
A new sculpture calls attention to climate change in the centuries-old city it threatens.
Houston, Texas
An unrealized Taoist palace left abandoned in a Houston suburb.
Venice, Italy
This palatial spiral staircase was so unusual the name "snail" was given to the noble family who built it.
Venice, Italy
The only museum with its curator—and her pets—buried inside.
Amboise, France
The great Italian Renaissance painter was laid to rest here in the Chapel of Saint-Hubert.
Blois, France
Hundreds of secret cabinets built into the walls of legendary poisoner's private work room.
Cheverny, France
The opulent home that inspired Tintin's Marlinspike Hall and the adventures within.
Lier, Belgium
A 14th-century fortified keep showcases the masterpieces of an ingenious 20th-century clockmaker.
Blois, France
A beautiful and classically designed villa, with an hourly infestation of monsters.
Saint Petersburg, Russia
A 250-year-old timepiece-automaton adorned with golden mechanical birds, which still sing to this day.
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Specimens collected by the author of "Lolita" and self-taught lepidopterist are exhibited in his childhood home.
Cinto Euganeo, Italy
A sudden, striking cluster of hills south of Padua has been attracting visitors for centuries.
Padua, Italy
The world's oldest surviving anatomical theater, where "the dead are pleased to help the living."
Padua, Italy
The oldest botanical garden in the world that technically isn't the oldest.
Nottingham, England
The oldest inn in England served brew to the crusaders.
Nottingham, England
When the public was consulted about a new piece of street art, they naturally asked for an enormous metal dragon.
Nottingham, England
Hidden in a grotto 26 feet below Nottingham's oldest hotel, this stylish subterranean drinking den is notoriously hard to find.
Orvieto, Italy
This picturesque Umbrian city has a subterranean side that has long remained hidden.
Brihuega, Spain
This enchanting hamlet carved into the rock looks like something straight out of Tolkien's Rivendell.