Places marissaweekend Wants to Go

The largest whale museum in Europe allows visitors to walk among life-size giants.

The oldest (maybe) swimming pool in Iceland is a stunning oasis built into the side of a lush hill.

This fairytale-like structure is the last turf church ever constructed in Iceland.

The Icelandic Sea Monster Museum explores the area's history of aquatic cryptid sightings.

Every summer local children form "pysja patrols" to save young birds that have wandered from their nests.

Learn about Iceland's hidden folk at this school dedicated to the study of elves.

This modern monument to pagan belief looks like it was transported straight from ancient times.

An encyclopedic collection of mammal penises.

Staves, storm-calling, and of course, necropants.

This colorful and fiery mural depicts the Irish folk story of the beloved hero Cuchulain.

A two-storey cabinet of wonders filled with the bizarre, the macabre, and the downright uncanny.

The whiskey producer's archives includes a historical list of infractions committed by and associated penalties exacted upon employees.

Catholics make up 84% of Ireland's population but this Dublin museum remembers the small but important Jewish community.

Wallabies live naturally on this Irish island.

A restaurant with an extensive Irish whiskey bar also has several first editions of famous works by Irish authors.

The Grand Lodge of Ireland is one of the oldest in the world, full of fantastical, elaborately themed rooms.

Obelisks and stone pineapples in the Irish countryside.

A sacred well steeped in Pagan roots on the West Coast of Ireland.

A nun spent 16 years painting the stunning Celtic mural that covers the interior of this WWI memorial.

The oldest inn in Kilkenny was established by the first convicted witch in Ireland.

The oldest pub in Ireland may also be the oldest surviving bar in the entire world.

A museum that cashes in on its infamous little people while teaching you a thing or two about the Irish fey.

Perfectly preserved ancient monastery in an impossibly dramatic location on a rocky island in the Atlantic.

The barrel-made lookout from Shackleton's final ship is tucked away in the crypt of one of London's oldest churches.