A deserted hodgepodge of experimental structures designed by nearby university students.

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

A small island less than half a mile from Venice is a forbidden island with a dark and twisted past.

During the summer months, giant teddy bears take over Paris near Les Gobelins metro station.

The tradition of open-air secondhand and antiquarian bookselling in Paris dates back to the Renaissance.

One of the oldest masonic museums in Paris.

An iconic and eccentric bar for "Manouche" Jazz music keeps expanding its space—and its influence.

This Paris art space celebrates the creativity and ingenuity that springs from abject poverty, especially in Africa.

This museum in a Paris apartment gives a unique look at the iconic French singer's life.

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

In the best of all possible worlds, everyone will get a chance to see this statue in which Voltaire's heart is interred.

This Parisian fountain is a little bit fantasy and a little bit nightclub.

A sculpture serving as an homage to Pope John Paul II.

This hidden Art Nouveau courtyard is an opulent feast for the eyes.

Architectureal fantasy quarter of Rome.

An alchemist's "magic door" stands in the middle of a Roman park.

This graffitied 19th-century building was a prototype of European industrial architecture.

Scars of this building's past life as a violent prison still cover its walls.