brianvanbruggen's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Porto, Portugal

Porto's Heritage Streetcar System and Museum

This historic streetcar system has been running since the 19th-century.
Porto, Portugal

Jardim Botânico do Porto (Porto Botanical Garden)

A small but charming botanical garden that contains many exotic plant species.
Valongo, Portugal

Valongo Sanatorium

An abandoned tuberculosis hospital said to be haunted by the patients who died within its walls.
Braga, Portugal

Polychrome Augustus of Prima Porta

A replica of the Roman emperor in glorious full color.
Moreira do Rei, Portugal

Stone House

A small Portuguese cottage formed between boulders in the countryside.
Vila Nova de Foz Côa, Portugal

Penascosa Petroglyph

These rock drawings in the Côa Valley also create an ancient optical illusion.
Portugal

Igreja de Vera Cruz de Marmelar

A chunk of the "true cross" is held in this small Portuguese church where modern day exorcisms are said to be common place.
Valencia de Alcántara, Spain

Valencia de Alcántara Dolmens

One of Europe's largest groups of dolmens remains largely off the typical tourist track.
Esperança, Portugal

The World’s Shortest International Bridge

You can cross from one country to another in a single hop on this little bridge.
Lagoa, Portugal

Benagil Caves

Perhaps the most spectacular grotto along the Algarve coastline.
Alcantarilha, Portugal

Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones)

This unassuming chapel in Portugal plays host to a ghoulish collection of bones.
Faro, Portugal

Capela de Ossos Bone Chapel

This small chapel is built of human bones and decorated with a golden skeleton.
Santa Luzia, Portugal

Cemetery of Anchors

Dead weights honor the dead of Portugal's fishing industry.
Portugal

The Sobreiro Monumental (Monumental Cork Oak)

For more than two centuries, the canopy of this venerable tree has been a haven for songbirds and lovers.
Colares, Portugal

Cabo da Roca

One Portuguese poet described this cape, the westernmost point in mainland Europe, as "where the land ends and the sea begins."
Lisbon, Portugal

Panorâmico de Monsanto

This now abandoned restaurant provides some of the most amazing views of Lisboa.
Monsanto, Portugal

Necropolis of São Miguel

A windswept necropolis carved into the rocks overlooks the "most Portuguese town in Portugal."
Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal

The Village of Monsanto

Houses are tucked between, on, and underneath giant boulders.
Covilha, Portugal

Miradouro do Sanatório (Sanatorium Viewpoint)

Panoramic views from the mountains over a facility built to provide tuberculosis patients with fresh mountain air.
Loriga, Portugal

Covão da Ametade

A glacial valley filled with silver beech trees in the mountains of Portugal.
Portugal

Covão dos Conchos

This gaping hole in the middle of a remote mountain lake looks like a portal to another dimension.
Fleury-devant-Douaumont, France

Trench of Bayonets

Site of one of World War I's most horrific scenes.
Blegny, Belgium

Blegny-Mine

Descend into the tunnels to experience the life of a coal miner.
Liège, Belgium

Fort de la Chartreuse

This abandoned Belgian fortress is purposefully being left to nature.