Places Michael J Bielawa Wants to Go

The ruins of an abbey believed to have been founded by Charlemagne in the 9th century.

A massive marble foot is tucked away in a small alley near the Pantheon.

A literary park dedicated to the memory of a filmmaker, writer, and intellectual who was killed in 1975.

An artist of the American Revolution is entombed beneath the Yale art gallery he founded.

Religion and personal struggle gave birth to this collection of concrete angels.

A little piece of Paris in the sultry south of the U.S.

Royals, rebels, and artists have all conversed at this grand 19th-century Viennese coffee house.

A glimpse into the festive and private lives of medieval Europe.

Vienna's giant wonder wheel had a starring role in one of the greatest noir movies of all time.

Op-art architecture designed for happiness.

War prevented this Polish composer's body from being returned to his home country for 51 years. Though his ashes eventually made it home, his heart stayed behind.

The largest of London's subterranean rivers and once a mad, bad center of London life.

In 1810, free people of color made up more of New Orleans's population than any other Southern city.

Some believe this tree to be more than 1,500 years old.

The LSU mascot lived on the college campus in one of the most impressive tiger habitats in the country.

This ancient settlement contains some of the largest earthen mounds in North America.

A Cajun-style Christmas on the river also involves sky-high pyres and explosives.

In 1857, the Mardi Gras parade tradition began at this intersection.

The beautiful, fruit-covered facade hints at this building's former life.

This New Orleans boutique and nursery specializes in rare flora, with a focus on carnivorous plants.

The only home of the famous French impressionist painter open to the public is now a museum and bed and breakfast.

Parts of the civil rights movement unfolded in this historic eatery, helmed by the "Queen of Creole Cuisine."

New Orleans' famous cemetery, located on the site of a former race track.

This macabre shop, filled with art, oddities, and taxidermy is hidden in the heart of the French Quarter.