sakura matsuda's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Wicklow, Ireland

The Round Tower of Glendalough

This ancient Irish tower could easily have stood in for Rapunzel's prison.
Clermont-Ferrand, France

Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral

A Gothic cathedral created from volcanic rocks.
Le Puy, France

Saint Michel d'Aiguilhe (St. Michael of the Needle)

A chapel on a volcanic core, marking the end of a successful journey.
Hauterives, France

Le Palais Idéal

This whimsical castle of grottoes was the labor of love of a French postman, and one of the greatest achievements of outsider architecture.
Hatsukaichi, Japan

Itsukushima Shrine

Japanese national treasure originally built in 593 CE.
Hatsukaichi, Japan

World's Largest Rice Scoop

This enormous "shamoji" means more to the people of Miyajima than just a way getting rice onto a plate.
Hiroshima, Japan

Hiroshima's Hypocenter

A plaque marks the site directly below the mid-air detonation of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima.
Hiroshima, Japan

Hiroshima Peace Memorial

Peace Park and the Atomic Bomb Dome.
Tokyo, Japan

Fantasy Dining Alice in a Labyrinth

Fine dining in the bizarre world of Lewis Carroll.
County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Giant's Causeway

Northern Ireland's Brobdingnagian stepping stones.
Iceland

Krýsuvíkurbjarg (Krýsuvík Cliffs)

The summer tourists on these cliffs are thousands of seabirds.
Schwangau, Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle

The fairy tale castle of the "fairy-tale king."
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia City Hall

This elaborate towering structure was once famed for its revolutionary height.
Washington, D.C.

The Winfield Scott Memorial

The sculptor was instructed to add “stallion attributes” to the general's bronze mare.
Washington, D.C.

Washington Monument Lightning Rod

The monument's pointy aluminum tip has been melted down by repeated lightning strikes.
Washington, D.C.

Lincoln Memorial Undercroft

A cavernous three-story, 43,800-square-foot basement that was forgotten about for 60 years.
Washington, D.C.

Inside the Capitol Dome

The walls of the iconic dome are hollow and have a secret stairway.
Washington, D.C.

Library of Congress Card Catalog

A nostalgic bibliographic gem.
Washington, D.C.

House of the Temple

This imposing Masonic temple a mile from the White House was the first public library in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

The Dupont Underground

Long-abandoned trolley tunnels just a mile away from the White House are turning into an art space.
Washington, D.C.

International Spy Museum

Home to items never before seen by the public.
Miami, Florida

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens

Former villa and estate of James Deering developed to preserve native tropical forests.
Heimaey, Iceland

Volcanic Island of Heimaey

A modern Nordic Pompeii on the Icelandic island of Heimaey.
Iceland

Skeiðará Bridge Monument

Twisted girders are all that remain of an Icelandic bridge that was wiped out by a combination of volcanic heat and glacial floods.