Places Edited by Tao Tao Holmes

The oldest operating hotel in Illinois enjoys a historic (and some say haunted) past.

Five mythical trolls have taken up residence in woods and hidden on paths at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.

This enormous abandoned prison was once dubbed the "Bastille of Romania."

Nine centuries-old fortresses guard the walls of this medieval Romanian city.

This memorial to the victims of the Romanian Revolution of 1989 is often compared to a potato on a skewer.

A bright turquoise river cascades beautifully down stepped terraces in southern China.

A crescent of 12 simple statues poised on a small windswept island off the coast of Newfoundland.

An old drug store full of mortars and pestles, pill-making machines, and medicines reputed to cure most any illness.

A World War II gun battery sits at the easternmost point of North America.

It's hard to believe the dizzying patterns covering this abandoned mine are completely natural.

Something's watching you.

A rotating cast of guys and dolls in front of a Washington, D.C. building.

Europe's largest collection of matchbox designs is a fascinating exploration of the cultural history of the world.

An ancient and majestic fortress that played an integral role in Portugal's road to independence.

A mountain pass in Bulgaria's Balkan Mountains was the site of four historic battles.

A glorious pub known for a spiteful printing feud and its famous typeface lost—then found—at the bottom of the Thames.

Barcelona's historic 19th-century sewers, whose foundations were laid in medieval times, are open to the public for exploring.

One of New York's best collections of pinball is hidden in a secret bar in the back of this laundromat.

A popular winter vacation destination for migrating monarch butterflies.

Thousands of narrow alleyways in an ancient medieval city make up what's believed to be the world's largest car-free urban zone.

During World War II, this rice mill became a Nazi concentration camp.

This overgrown Illinois water park offers a whole new type of adventure.

A Spanish forest is filled with mysterious stone carvings.

A curious art park at the geographic center of Europe is home to 3,000 television sets and other wonders.