Places HootEye Wants to Go

In an effort to escape the horrors of slavery, one man mailed himself to freedom.

Under a playground is a little-known sealed train tunnel that likely contains the bodies of workers trapped by cave-ins.

This museum devoted to the gothic author holds such interesting ephemera as his socks and walking stick.

His "Lionheart" is entombed separately from the rest of his body.

Walk upon the mementos of the dead in this Parisian courtyard paved with medieval tombstones.

This demon atop the Notre-Dame de Paris looks utterly bored.

This medieval tower is all that remains of the castle where Joan of Arc was held before being burned at the stake.

The industrial architecture honors the laborers who brought the Exposition Universelle of 1900 to life.

Under a church hides a forgotten 13th-century ossuary containing the remains of around 2,500 people.

The mystery of the Putim Ossuary involves a tricorn hat.

Underneath this small church are 15,000 bones, arranged by an obsessive academic.

The skulls and bones of thousands of soldiers line the walls of this small Italian chapel.

Exquisite wall sculptures carved in secret by an early quarryman in an obscure corner of the Paris Catacombs.

The vast, legendary catacombs hold secrets much stranger than stacked bones.

An overlooked marble is the only surviving in-place 18th century example of the measurement that changed how we define distance.

A poem by Arthur Rimbaud is inscribed on the wall of a street that, while it is only one block long, plays a key role in multiple novels.

This modest marker near Notre Dame identifies the very center of Paris.

This former “ante-chamber to the guillotine” has been refurbished to illustrate the brutal history of French justice.

A counter-culture bookstore like no other hides in plain sight in the streets of Paris.

The approximate spot where the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar was put to death.

Where the high court feasted, frolicked, and high courtesans put their royal lovers' diamonds to the test.

This frog-themed restaurant was frequented by Picasso, Saint-Exupéry, and more.

Known as the "Dodo Manège," this carousel features a herd of animals that have disappeared—or may be gone soon.

This roadside attraction has been serving out its fair share of hearty folklore and chaos since 1858.