zoya's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Trakai, Lithuania

Trakai Island Castle

Over time, this castle grew to encompass the entire island.
Helsinki, Finland

Suomenlinna Church

This church also serves as a lighthouse complete with a beacon.
Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul Railway Museum at Sirkeci Terminal

The legendary luxury train passage is commemorated with a charming museum inside its former eastern terminus.
Colares, Portugal

Cabo da Roca

One Portuguese poet described this cape, the westernmost point in mainland Europe, as "where the land ends and the sea begins."
Utrecht, Netherlands

Poem With No End

'The Letters of Utrecht' lays out a ribbon of poetry one letter at a time, with no final verse in sight.
Zaandam, Netherlands

The Clog Museum

A Dutch clog company in the town of Zaandam loves the wooden shoes so much it made a museum for them.
Lisse, Netherlands

Keukenhof Gardens

Unsurprisingly, Holland is home to one of the most magnificent flower gardens in the world.
Vilnius, Lithuania

The Church of St. Anne

Legend has it that Napoleon Bonaparte fell in love with this Gothic church.
Riga, Latvia

Freedom Monument

This celebration of Latvia’s freedom and independence avoided demolition over half a century of Soviet occupation.
Bologna, Italy

Fountain of Neptune

Legend has it this fountain built to symbolize the Pope’s power hides a strange secret concerning Neptune's manliness.
Florence, Italy

Gipsoteca Bartolini

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

The Brothels of Pompeii

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

Libreria Acqua Alta

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

Caves of Filopappou Hill

These caves secretly held national treasures during World War II.
Athens, Greece

Choragic Monument of Lysicrates

The only surviving choragic monument is a trophy awarded in 334 BC for the winning dramatic chorus.
Athens, Greece

Syntagma Square Metro Station

Where commuters walk through remnants of an ancient Greek necropolis.
Nafplio, Greece

Bourtzi

This 15th-century island fortress later served as home to the executioners no one wanted to live near.
Athens, Greece

Tower of the Winds

An ancient octagonal weather station named for the eight Greek gods of wind.
Athens, Greece

Lycabettus Funicular

The railway carts travelers to central Athens's highest peak, which offers stunning vistas of the city.
Greece

The Oracle of Delphi

The hallucinogenic center of the ancient world.
Kalabaka, Greece

Meteora

Monasteries on rock pillars, once accessible only by frayed ropes.
Cologne, Germany

Senfmuseum (Mustard Museum)

This small condiment museum makes all manner of mustards with a 200-year-old mill.
Cologne, Germany

Cologne's Love Locks Bridge

Thousands of tourists and residents in Cologne affix "love padlocks" on the Hohenzollernbrücke Bridge to symbolize their affections.
Berlin, Germany

Burgermeister

Where once there was a train station bathroom, there is now this German burger joint.