An architectural oddity where the triglyphs of the courtyard of walls create an optical illusion.

These lights mark the area of Rotterdam that was bombed and burned in 1940.

These slanted cubic abodes are a creative if odd solution to a zoning pickle.

A strangely curved lamppost stands tall over this avenue in Rotterdam.

A condensed piece of China floating in a Dutch harbor.

An enormous Polaroid picture adds an artistic flair to Rotterdam.

A dramatic art installation features a BMW flying out of a building in Rotterdam.

Rotterdammers' dirty minds gave this santa a dirty nickname and cursed it to a life of wandering.

This restored Portuguese cafe may well be the most beautiful place in the world to grab a Big Mac.

César Baldaccini's iconic sculpture of a 40-foot thumb stands tall in La Défense.

Paris' fabled purveyor of exotic taxidermy and natural history curios.

135 bronze medallions mark a French meridian line which once rivaled the hotshot Greenwich timeline.

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

A modern-day Lascaux cave underneath Paris.

This life-size replica of the Statue of Liberty's flame is also a tribute to Princess Diana by default.

The curious underground history of keeping Paris clean.

A scandalous Art Nouveau collaboration that set Paris all atwitter at the turn of the century.

Once a 19th-century brasserie, this McDonald's exterior celebrates Alsatian design and the "King of Beer."

This structure atop a craggy cliff in one of the most beautiful parks in Paris boasts an unbeatable view.

The vast, legendary catacombs hold secrets much stranger than stacked bones.

This 1,300 year old monastery built atop a single rock was once only accessible depending on the whims of the tide.

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

This pair of running lions engraved on animal bone is one of the earliest artistic depictions of big cats.

This prehistoric figurine is the oldest known realistic depiction of a human face.