vialofgrace's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Paris, France

Le Stryge

This demon atop the Notre-Dame de Paris looks utterly bored.
Edinburgh, Scotland

Greyfriars Bobby

The most loyal of little dogs, or a Victorian era publicity stunt?
Saint Andrews, Scotland

Saint Salvator's Unlucky PH

Every St. Andrews student knows to avoid this inscription for fear of a martyr's curse.
Montreal, Québec

Notre Dame Basilica

A grand Gothic Revival basilica with stained glass depictions of Montreal's religious history has only one soul resting in its crypt.
Torre Annunziata, Italy

Ruins of Oplontis

Buried next to Pompeii, this lesser-known Roman villa was the opulent vacation home of Emperor Nero's wife.
Cerveteri, Italy

Necropolis of the Banditaccia

Largest necropolis in the Mediterranean.
Venice, Italy

St. Mark's Clock Tower (Torre dell'Orologio)

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

Libreria Acqua Alta

This Venice bookstore has resigned itself to constant flooding by keeping its books in bathtubs and boats.
Pompeii, Italy

The Brothels of Pompeii

Erotic art covers the walls of the largest ancient pleasure palace.
Orvieto, Italy

Orvieto Underground

This picturesque Umbrian city has a subterranean side that has long remained hidden.
Florence, Italy

Gipsoteca Bartolini

A slightly creepy gallery of plaster cast models in the same museum as Michelangelo's David.
Santorini, Greece

Prehistoric Town of Akrotiri

A Bronze age settlement on the Greek island of Santorini might have been the inspiration for Plato's Atlantis.
Oía, Greece

Atlantis Books

A quirky bookstore hidden beneath a sea of whitewashed Greek villas.
Wellington, New Zealand

Colossal Squid

The world's only complete colossal squid specimen is on display at the Te Papa Museum.
Wellington, New Zealand

Wellington Cable Car

New Zealand's only running funicular railway.
New Zealand

Kapiti Island Nature Reserve

Only 68 people per day are allowed to visit this New Zealand bird-watcher’s paradise.
Spanish Town, British Virgin Islands

The Baths

This huge pile of volcanic boulders hides a stunning network of secret grottoes.
Concord, Massachusetts

Walden Pond

"the sweltering inhabitants of Charleston and New Orleans, of Madras and Bombay and Calcutta, drink at my well . . . The pure Walden water is mingled with the sacred water of the Ganges."
Concord, Massachusetts

Orchard House

Louisa May Alcott based “Little Women” on her experiences growing up in this house with her sisters.
Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts

Flying Horses Carousel

The oldest platform carousel built in the United States continues to delight children in Martha’s Vineyard.
Kyoto, Japan

Sanjūsangen-dō

1,001 carved statues of the Buddhist God of Mercy, each with a unique face.
Nara, Japan

Tōdai-ji Daibutsuden (The Great Buddha Hall)

This massive wooden building contains a giant Buddha, healing pillars, and tame deer wandering the grounds.
Hiroshima, Japan

Hiroshima Peace Memorial

Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Dome.
Kyoto, Japan

Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine

The 10,000 Torii shrine.