Places rigor Wants to Go

Winter roadtrips are a little more exciting on this seasonal, slippery expansion of Sweden's national highway system.

A series of modernist treehouse hotel rooms grace the outskirts of an Arctic forest.

The world's largest underground iron ore mine.

The design of this beautifully crafted building was inspired by Norwegian glaciers.

What might look like a cliffside sacrificial altar at first glance is actually a stone compass pointing to cities and lighthouses all around the world.

The last fully functional fortress of Germany's World War II Atlantikwall.

Monuments don't get much more metal than these three giant viking swords planted in a Nordic hill.

This "preacher's pulpit" once used for pagan ritual, is home to a new, and dangerous ritual.

For six months of the year, three giant mirrors direct a pool of sunshine onto this otherwise occluded town.

Walk 2,300 feet above the ground on the "Troll's Tongue."

Stay overnight in the world's most sleekly designed rabbit hole, free of charge.

A favorite with sightseers and locals alike, this Norwegian funicular provides easy access to a stunning view of Bergen and its environs.

Walk behind a 50-meter-high waterfall.

A thin pane of glass keeps visitors from sliding off this futuristic skywalk.

Longest road tunnel in the world features an air treatment plant and the illusion of daylight.

The world's largest moose statue towers above the highway between Oslo and Trondheim.

A serpentine highway twists and turns over the treacherous Norwegian Sea.

Norway has built what may be the world's most beautiful public toilet.

At the very tippity-top of Europe is a cliff from which you can view the midnight sun.

This cairn marks the only place where Central European Time, Eastern European Time, and Further-eastern European Time meet.

Rent out a glass igloo to watch the Northern Lights like you live in the future.

Roughly 17 million letters to Santa have found their way to this Arctic Circle post office.

This modernist island church incorporates the Finnish nature into its worship practices.

A 246-foot-high revolving restaurant rises unexpectedly from a forested Finnish hilltop.