JoAnne's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Ponta do Pargo, Portugal

Ponta do Pargo Lighthouse

Portugal’s highest lighthouse has one of the most impressive focal planes in the world.
Braga, Portugal

Bom Jesus do Monte

A stunning 18th-century site where pilgrims ascend by a series of punishing stairs only to return via funicular.
São Miguel, Portugal

Chapel of Nossa Senhora das Vitórias

This fairy-tale, neo-Gothic church in the Azores is a world of magical realism.
Tomar, Portugal

Convento de Cristo

The medieval castle built as headquarters for the Pope's secretive Knights Templar.
Sintra, Portugal

Castelo dos Mouros (Castle of the Moors)

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

Convent of the Capuchos

The verdant mossy ruins of a Franciscan monastery lie in the remote Sintra hills awaiting exploration.
Sintra, Portugal

Pena National Palace

This unreal Portuguese palace looks as though it's made from a pile of different castles.
Montevideo, Uruguay

Palacio Salvo

The design of the Palacio Salvo has been described as "a lighthouse on top of a building."
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Largest Street Art Mural in the World

Eduardo Kobra’s breathtaking 32,300-square-foot graffiti wall took over Rio’s Olympic Boulevard.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Escadaria Selarón Mosaic Steps

A 125-meter long "tribute to the Brazilian people."
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro Cathedral

This massive Brazilian church is built like an angular, technicolor pyramid left by Mayans from the future.
Bern, Switzerland

The Child Eater of Bern

A nearly 500-year-old sculpture depicts a man eating a sack of babies, and no one is sure why.
Denizli, Turkey

Pamukkale Water Terraces

Roman ruins top white travertine terraces formed by ancient hot springs.
Aksaray, Turkey

Cappadocia

In this historic region, homes and churches are carved into ancient volcanic rock formations.
Rome, Italy

The Mouth of Truth

The yawning maw of this pagan visage is said to bite off the hands of liars.
Rome, Italy

The Dome Illusion

A master of trompe-l'oeil creates a stunning, tourist-fooling dome out of a flat ceiling.
Vatican City

Gallery of Maps - Galleria delle Carte Geografiche

Breathtaking and huge 430 year old maps of Italy.
Rome, Italy

Quartiere Coppedè

Architectureal fantasy quarter of Rome.
Eltham, New Zealand

Eltham Toy Wall

What began as a makeshift lost and found, now exists as a unique art installation.
Bulls, New Zealand

The Town of Bulls

The "punniest place on Earth” has nearly as many bull-themed puns as it does people.
Stratford, New Zealand

Stratford Glockenspiel Clock Tower

This mechanical clock performs "Romeo and Juliet" in a Shakespeare-themed New Zealand town.