Places Schmales Wants to Go

Amsterdam's former hotspot for public executions and dissections.

An ancient passage filled with stalls selling used books, once frequented by Vincent Van Gogh.

This unattributed sculpture in Amsterdam is hiding in plain sight.

This impressive collection of rare books on ancient mysticism inspired author Dan Brown.

This gorgeous reading room houses the oldest and largest art history library in the Netherlands.

A peculiar mansion built by the troubled heir to the Winchester Rifle Company fortune.

This astonishingly geometric cave has inspired everyone from Jules Verne to Pink Floyd.

The world's oldest Jewish library was founded by Sephardic Jews in 17th century Amsterdam.

A rare tour of an aristocrat's private home reveals valuable 17th-century paintings from artists like Rembrandt.

Seven mini rowhouses fill the gap between 54 and 70 Westerstraat.

The attic of a four-century-old canal house hides a clandestine church.

Cat art as far as the eye can see.

A floating cat sanctuary on an Amsterdam canal.

Museum preserving torture methods from the past.

The world's only museum devoted to the wonders of fluorescence.

The very first subway station in New York City is beautiful, decked out in chandeliers, and ... abandoned?

An abandoned warehouse turned art sanctuary in New Orleans.

One of seven Jewish catacombs in Rome and one of only two open to the public.

The skull of the patron saint of lovers lies in the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin—maybe.

Rome’s legendary peephole vista is also a former Crusader stronghold.

Fonts are born and bred here at the oldest letterpress type foundry in the United States.

Notorious artist squat renovated into legal studios.

The ruins of a Duke's bucolic dream, where camels once roamed alongside "Dutch" windmills and faux-Italian vineyards.

An "inside out" building in the historical center of Paris, featuring Europe’s largest modern art museum.