Places Karin Kross Wants to Go

Marvel at the opulent Art Nouveau interior while dining on dirt-cheap French classics.

Order a boozy baba au rhum at the oldest patisserie in Paris.

The headless bodies of more than 1,300 guillotined victims of the Reign of Terror are buried here in mass graves.

Architect Le Corbusier built his friend a cubist house to match his impressive collection of cubist art.

A popular shrine where the Blessed Virgin allegedly appeared in 1830, displaying a holy armchair and two incorruptible remains of Lady Saints.

A museum on the history of Paris, including a set of Napoleon's toiletries, Proust's room, and relics of the Revolution.

A museum of magic with a Sadist past.

A favorite Paris bar for U.S. expats, including Gershwin, Hemingway, and James Bond.

One of the oldest medical collections in Europe focusing on rare surgical instruments.

This massive library holds what was once the largest book collection in the world.

Escape the city for a meal where deep-fried caterpillars, heirloom corn, and cult local mezcals shine.

A former groundskeeper’s cottage, now famous for being the main location of a hit British comedy game show.

One of London’s rare Tudor-era buildings is a fate-defying gatehouse for a church.

A storied London perfume shop that supplies scents for royalty has been operating out of this storefront for nearly 300 years.

The real clothing store that inspired a fictional spy organization's front.

This pump on the bad side of Victorian London betrayed a horrifying revelation about the water supply.

Pop culture has helped to keep this iconic British building from being destroyed.

This beautiful Victorian ironwork masterpiece was built to keep London from smelling like poop.

An small and easily overlooked archaeology museum chock full of Egyptian artifacts.

An incarceration museum on the spot of possibly the oldest prison in England.

A historic London pub with prison cells in the cellar and a "spy room" on the second floor.

A little slice of Japan and its aesthetics in London's Holland Park.

This 1920s Dutch barge is now a floating bookstore.

Some of the best renditions of traditional British dishes can be found on the site of a 15th-century inn.