Places Mat Wants to Go

This 8th-century Bavarian monastery is home to an exquisite Baroque-era library.

When a medieval fire claimed the original St. Stephen’s Cathedral, it sparked a pattern of unquenchable organ building.

This skeleton-filled altar piece served as a backdrop to one of the most iconic scenes in "The Sound of Music."

Austria’s oldest brewery makes beer with flaming-hot granite.

The personal charnel house of Anton Bruckner.

An Austrian house of bones filled with hundreds of intricately painted skulls.

A breathtaking viewing platform over the Alps.

Visitors dip into a variety of pools of what was once ice.

Bell tower juts out from a village buried under a lake.

Originally envisioned by King Ludwig II to rival Versailles, Herrenchiemsee's "New Palace" remains half-gilded for lack of funds.

A beautiful gorge filled with streams and waterfalls.

This giant statue of a vulva became internationally famous after an American exchange student got stuck in it.

This is not only one of the oldest collections in Europe, but also possibly the most beautiful.

The oldest surviving wooden bridge over Rhine lets travelers cross easily from Switzerland to Liechtensten.

A massive observation tower that features gorgeous views and unique architecture.

A 30-foot-high stream of chocolate flows continuously at the Lindt Home of Chocolate.

A mythically themed self-built sculpture park.

A Black Forest cuckoo clock theme park features one timepiece big enough to walk inside.

The castle was reconstructed to fit Kaiser Wilhelm II's romanticized vision of the Middle Ages.

The remains of this castle, known as the Witch’s Eye, watch over the Thur Valley.

A futuristic rocket marks the spot where three borders meet.

Cemetery honors Americans who died during WWII and is the resting place of Gen. George S. Patton.

Visit the ancient, mysterious Roman catacombs ... in the Netherlands.

Europe's longest Hornbeam tunnel.