The oldest housing complex in Riga is a mini timeline of architectural trends.

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

The former Field Marshall and Minister of War to the Russian Imperial Army.

A former Latvian headquarters of the brutal KGB secret police is now open as a grim reminder of their atrocities.

This quiet, unassuming spot in Budapest was the birthplace of the bloody 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

The island home of an unlucky whaling captain whose story inspired a great American novel.

The statue of John Harvard isn't actually John Harvard—or even, technically, the founder of the school.

This headstone marks the grave of an 11-year-old boy killed during clashes in the streets over the boycotting of British goods.

This rare polygonal meeting house is rumored to be built in a circle so that the devil has nowhere to hide.

The building that inspired Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House."

The Vermont square that inspired Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery."

Danish tourist destination well known for open stalls where vendors sell marijuana on the street.

Climb to the top of its spiral spire for spectacular views of Copenhagen.

The gilded, masterful astronomical clock will calculate time, dates, and planetary positions for thousands of years to come.

Copenhagen's celebrated theme park and gardens.

This pair of gilded girls atop an Art Deco building in Copenhagen were built to function as a weather indicator.

The only surviving piece of Copenhagen's 16th-century defensive wall.

One of the oldest Mexican restaurants in the United States air-dries its trademark beef in a dangling outdoor cage.

Religious statues built because of one man's bargain with God fill this peaceful sculpture garden.

Make a wish at what might be America's only Catholic shrine to a sinner.

Sleep where gangsters fell amidst smoke and flame, with nary a bullethole to show for the legendary struggle.

These whimsical works of art tell the story of the city's past and present.

One woman’s obsession gave birth to this lovely oddity at the Boston Public Library.

A Victorian-style home known as the “Castle on the Hill.”