Europe

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Paris

Haute Stuff: Nine Unique Gifts to Buy in Paris

Leave room in your suitcase for these irresistible items made by French artisans

American-born novelist and playwright Jake Lamar says of living in Paris that life's easier when he gets in an elevator and "no one's clutching her purse."

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Paris

Is Paris Still a Haven for Black Americans?

The City of Light once drew thousands of black expats across the Atlantic, but does it still have the same appeal?

Only a Handful of People Can Enter the Chauvet Cave Each Year. Our Reporter Was One of Them.

A rare trip inside the home of the world’s most breathtaking cave painting leaves lasting memories

In an eerie green hue, this upside-down Medusa head threatens to turn onlookers to stone. The color seems to come partly from a slick covering of algae.

Europe

Two Eerie Medusa Heads Watch Over Turkey’s Waterways

Why the Greek monster stares out from an ancient cistern in Istanbul

Journalists walk along the new Caminito del Rey in El Chorro-Alora, March 15, 2015.

"The World's Most Dangerous Trail" Reopens This Week

A once-deadly path is now a modern tourist attraction

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Ask Smithsonian: Will the Leaning Tower of Pisa Ever Topple?

Imperceptible changes are occurring, but no worries, a collapse is not in the forecast

One of two newly installed wind turbines at the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower Gets a Green Upgrade

The landmark now has two wind turbines above its second level

7 , 5 ° Rø, designed by German artists Wolfgang-A. Lüchow, Sebastian Andreas Scheller and Anja Kilian, offers a unique take on space by dividing the suite into 12 frames, each at an angle of 7.5 degrees from the other, forming a spiral-like suite that creates the illusion of infinity.

The Making and Remaking of the Original Ice Hotel

Often imitated but never duplicated, the world's original ice hotel turns 25 this year

Neuschwanstein Castle, the ultimate fairy-tale castle, is the 13th most visited castle in the world.

The World’s Most-Visited Castles and Palaces

From Paris to Beijing, these historic castles and palaces draw millions of visitors for a glimpse of the lifestyles of the rich and famous

A devil burns gunpowder during the festival of Els Foguerons de Sa Pobla.

Catalonia

One Night Each Winter, Devils Run Through the Streets of Barcelona

Since the early 1990s, Barcelona's winter bonfire festival has celebrated the intersection of Catalan and Majorcan cultures

A finely crafted galley ship, with a dragon's head, is built and burned every year.

Europe

Vikings Storm the Streets at Up Helly Aa, Europe's Biggest Fire Festival (Photos)

Hundreds of local residents took to the streets, brandishing thousands of flaming torches, in an homage to Shetland's Viking heritage

Journey back to the Paris of the Marquis de Sade by strolling around the Marais, one of the city's oldest neighborhoods.

Tour Paris With the Marquis de Sade as Your Guide

Traces still remain in the City of Love of the famed author and sex icon

A gala celebrated the opening of “Sade: Marquis of the Shadows, Prince of the Enlightment” at the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts.

Who Was the Marquis de Sade?

Even in the age of <i>Fifty Shades of Grey</i>, the 18th-century libertine is as shocking as ever

A toilet on the tundra at a gasoline stop on the road to Oymyakon. A sharp spire of frozen excrement rose almost to ground level from the pit beneath.

Photos From the Coldest City on Earth

What's it like to live and work in the coldest inhabited place on Earth? Photographer Amos Chapple shares his stories from the frozen cities of Siberia

Highclere Castle, home of the Earl of Carnarvon but perhaps more famous for its role as the setting for "Downton Abbey," is opening part of its grounds to overnight guests for the first time this spring.

Soon, You'll Be Able to Spend the Night on the Grounds of Downton Abbey

Beginning February 13, interested parties can book a night (or two) in a lodge one mile from Highclere Castle, made famous by "Downton Abbey"

Abandoned pool in Pripyat.

Haunting Drone Footage of Chernobyl Town

"Postcards from Pripyat, Chernobyl" shows a drone's-eye view of the city nearly three decades after nuclear disaster

The Lennon Wall, a public art landmark in Prague. This picture was taken in 2010, and shows the wall before it was painted almost completely white on November 17, 2014.

Prague's Famous John Lennon Wall: Is It Over, or Reborn?

Art students painted over the famous landmark to make space for the next generation of artists—and people are already festooning the wall with new graffiti

The earliest surviving photograph, taken in 1826 or 1827, titled View from the Window at Le Gras.

Armenia: Smithsonian Guide

Where to See the Oldest Artifacts in the World

From a royal soccer ball to a very old book, see humanity's history of innovation in ten amazing everyday objects

Nuenen, where Van Gogh lived from 1883 to 1885, is located within the Brabant province.

Experience Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' on This Beautiful Illuminated Bike Path

To mark the 125th anniversary of the artists' death, a group of designers have lit a solar-powered path through historic Van Gogh sites

Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia

Halloween

World’s Most Beautiful Cemeteries

A visit to these hauntingly beautiful cemeteries illuminates more than just mortality

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