Bruges, Belgium
House Bouchoute
The compass on its front was a handy tool for 17th-century merchants who needed to know the direction of the wind.
Places I want to go
Places on this traveler's wishlist.
Bruges, Belgium
The compass on its front was a handy tool for 17th-century merchants who needed to know the direction of the wind.
Bruges, Belgium
Explore 400,000 years of humans' "battle against darkness" in this offbeat but thorough lamp museum.
Bruges, Belgium
Christ's blood allegedly preserved in a Belgian town.
Rotterdam, Netherlands
An early 19th-century English style garden hidden in the Rotterdam cityscape.
Spijkenisse, Netherlands
Peek through a transparent pyramid and drink in the mountain made of books.
Florence, Italy
The doodles of a genius line the walls of a secret room under the Medici Chapel, where they were hidden for nearly 500 years.
Florence, Italy
Over 50 exquisite hand-painted Renaissance maps decorate a Medici storage room.
Florence, Italy
Secret refuge and museum of the Duke of Florence.
Florence, Italy
The famous sculptor left his mark on this Italian wall in an internationally protected example of street art.
Bologna, Italy
In the world's oldest university is a stunning 17th century anatomical theater carved from spruce.
Bologna, Italy
The mummified relic of St. Catherine sits forever on a golden throne.
Bologna, Italy
An amazing collection of wax anatomical models and terratological models.
Brussels, Belgium
Lavish royal estate punctuated with heated greenhouses.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
This gorgeous reading room houses the oldest and largest art history library in the Netherlands.
Leiden, Netherlands
One of the oldest masonic temples in the Netherlands, built in 1757.
Venice, Italy
This Venice bookstore has resigned itself to constant flooding by keeping its books in bathtubs and boats.
Asciano, Italy
Stumbling upon this whimsical wooded garden is like stepping into an enchanted forest full of philosophical musings.
Reggello, Italy
On rare days, this abandoned castle's gatekeepers open its doors, revealing the eye-popping splendor hidden inside.
Vaglia, Italy
Renaissance villa and gardens complete with a tormented colossus.
Florence, Italy
Art and armour fill every inch of this rich kid's Italian villa.
Florence, Italy
This private skyway is filled with art and was expanded explicitly so that Hitler could appreciate a river.
Paris, France
Former hunting lodge of a duke who was an avid collector of impressionist works.
Paris, France
High atop the Eiffel Tower is a small apartment built exclusively to entertain the science elite and make the rest of Paris jealous.
Paris, France
The ruins of a Duke's bucolic dream, where camels once roamed alongside "Dutch" windmills and faux-Italian vineyards.