Thousand-year-old Viking runes adorn an ancient Greek lion at the entrance to the Venetian Arsenal.

This Roman statue is missing a limb from when the Venetians stole it from Constantinople during the Crusades.

Those who own or stay at this 500-year-old, allegedly cursed house often meet terrible fates.

The only museum with its curator—and her pets—buried inside.

Two stone columns flank the grand Venice square, but there were supposed to be three.

An extensive collection of reliquaries containing the bones of saints housed in the largest Catholic church in Venice.

The small peaceful island off the Venice tourist circuit is where the city began more than 1,500 years ago.

This palatial spiral staircase was so unusual the name "snail" was given to the noble family who built it.

Go inside to really appreciate this 500-year-old technological masterpiece.

As can be expected from a centuries old church built in a canal city, the undercroft of this house of worship is beautifully flooded.

This community on a small Venetian island has taken to painting their houses in bright neon hues.

Former hunting lodge of a duke who was an avid collector of impressionist works.

A series of abstract, silly sculptures represent the works of a great modern classical composer.

The water-powered carriages are long gone, but for over a century this funicular railway has been the fastest route to the highest point in Paris.

Twelve grave-faced marble angels guard the emperor's tomb at Les Invalides.

This former “ante-chamber to the guillotine” has been refurbished to illustrate the brutal history of French justice.

The first green space constructed on an elevated viaduct.

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

This statue was given to France by the United States to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution.

Medieval museum built over Roman baths that features famous tapestries of a lady and a unicorn.

A museum on the history of Paris, including a set of Napoleon's toiletries, Proust's room, and relics of the Revolution.

19th century pendulum and a clock restored by a rogue group of guerilla artists.

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

A Parisian cemetery where the elite and artistic are interred beneath an eccentric collection of tombs.