claresmith's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Places visited in Saint Davids, Wales
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Places visited in Pontarfynach, Wales
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Les Sables-d'Olonne, France

L'île Penotte Seashell Art

Wall after wall of this French seaside neighborhood is intricately decorated with seashells and corals.
Marseille, France

Unite d'Habitation and the Radiant City

What if all public housing projects had been designed by "the Pygmalion of modern architecture," not only their prototype?
Èze, France

Nietzsche's Path

This mountain trail inspired Nietzsche to complete his magnum opus.
Roquevaire, France

Maison de celle-qui-peint

Artist Danielle Jacqui decorates nearly every inch of her home inside and out with her work.
Lyon, France

Curiosities Garden

This hidden garden boasts amazing views of Lyon.
Lille, France

Porte de Paris

This triumphal arch celebrating the Sun King's conquest of Lille is a masterpiece of military architecture.
Montpellier, France

Villa Des Cent Regards

100-windowed castle turned art gallery, built by one dedicated mason.
Lyon, France

'Le Mur des Canuts'

Lyon's "Wall of the Silk Weavers" is one of the largest murals in Europe.
Cheverny, France

Château de Cheverny

The opulent home that inspired Tintin's Marlinspike Hall and the adventures within.
Paris, France

Notre-Dame-de-Lorette

Claude Monet was baptized in this lavishly ornate Paris church.
Marseille, France

Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations

This modern museum of Mediterranean culture is surrounded by a surreal concrete honeycomb.
Nice, France

St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral

An Orthodox church built by the Royal Family for the Russian community exiled to the French Riviera.
Réotier, France

Petrified Fountain of Réotier

This otherworldly French waterfall looks like its waters have turned to stone.
Montrichard Val de Cher, France

La Cave des Roches (Mushroom Caves)

Miles of man-made caves and tunnels are currently used for cultivating mushrooms.
Verzy, France

Faux de Verzy

Hundreds of dwarf beeches create an unusual, haunting forest in the north of France.
Haute-Isle, France

Troglodyte Church

The Church of the Annunciation was carved into the face of a cliff, just like the rest of the town of Haute-Isle.
Leffrinckoucke, France

Leffrinckoucke Bunkers

These crumbling Nazi artillery bunkers are now fair game for massive graffiti projects.
Lille, France

Vieille Bourse Book Market

Tables of secondhand books fill the inner courtyard of this 17th-century stock exchange.
Amiens, France

The Head of St. John the Baptist at Amiens Cathedral

The encased skull that is widely believed to belong to St. John the Baptist.
Paris, France

Treaty of Paris Plaque

A simple plaque on the facade is the only reminder that the treaty ending the American Revolution was signed inside.
Couëron, France

House in the Loire

The sunken structure looks like the victim of a catastrophic flood.
Le Puy, France

Saint Michel d'Aiguilhe (St. Michael of the Needle)

A chapel on a volcanic core, marking the end of a successful journey.
Blois, France

Catherine de Medici's Chamber of Secrets

Hundreds of secret cabinets built into the walls of legendary poisoner's private work room.
Paris, France

145 Rue Lafayette

What looks like a normal building is really a hollow facade hiding a subway vent.