And despite it’s well-trodden tourist trail, Europe is also scattered with unique, odd, and extremely obscure sites and attractions that visitors often overlook. Museums dedicated to currywurst in Germany or phallic objects in Iceland; odd sculptures and street art installations in Sarajevo, Prague, and Paris; and the uniqueness of Antoni Gaudi’s works in Barcelona offer visitors respite from admiring yet another baroque church or breathtaking vista.

While the Eiffel Tower or Colosseum are at little risk of losing their prestige to many these lesser-known sites, visitors seeking offbeat attractions will find plenty to marvel at in Europe. During our time exploring this continent we stumbled onto our fair share of unique, obscure, and sometimes plain weird sites. Here are a few of our favorites.

Gnome Sculptures – Wroclaw, Poland

Hundreds of small bronze gnome sculpture, about a foot in height, are scattered through the historic core of Wroclaw, Poland and surrounding neighbourhoods. “Cool” gnomes riding motorcycles, wizard gnomes in tall pointy hats, and environmentally conscious gnomes pushing recycling bins are tucked into corners, suspended form lampposts, and hidden in plain sight for those that know where to look. Anyone want to play I spy?

Comic Strip Murals – Brussels, Belgium

“Yoko Tsuno” – You can really see the size

Much like Gdansk’s gnomes, the city of Brussels is dotted with epic murals depicting a range of famous and obscure comic book characters. Tintin (and his little dog Snowy) is likely the most famous characters to appear in these murals, however even non-comic book reading visitors are sure to spot a few other familiar faces while exploring the city. They murals even have a Wikipedia page.

Pregnant Lady Street Art Installation – Prague, Czech Republic

image via

A contender for the strangest piece of public art we’ve seen to date, this sculpture depicts a pregnant lady, kneeling on the ground with her legs spread and her hands firmly clasped behind her head. Still not obscure enough for Prague, the sculpture is created out of shiny aluminum and is very reminiscent of a lego sculpture.  Overtly sexual, somehow the sculpture works in Prague, even if passing school children look up at it with puzzled expressions.

Carmo Convent – Lisbon, Portugal

Rows of large arches

Ruined by earthquake in 1755, today all that remains of Carmo Convent are the beautiful Gothic pillars of the former church and a small museum. These exterior elements of Carmo Convent are quite stunning, especially on a sunny day, and the site’s museum houses two Peruvian mummies from the 16th century – an off-putting display that only gets creepier upon closer inspection. A real contender for oldest human hair we’ve ever seen in person.

Pere Lachaise Cemetery – Paris, France

The presence of graffiti shows we are in the right place

As far as cemeteries go, Pere Lachaise is far from the strangest we’ve had the chance to explore. What makes Pere Lachaise so unique is that it is the final resting place for The Doors frontman Jim Morrison, whose headstone has grown into something of a shrine. Forty plus years since his death, fans still leave flowers, graffiti, and the odd joint in tribute to Morrison, while a security guard watches to ensure no one jumps the guard rails surrounding his headstone.

Museum of Broken Relationships – Zagreb, Croatia

Rage and Fury Room (via)

It’s always a good sign when you first hear about a quirky museum like this while washing your laundry in an equally quirky laundromat in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and as promised, the Museum of Broken Relationships did not disappoint. The museum’s premise is quite simple – helping people emotionally overcome a failed relationship by contributing to their collection. In under an hour we browsed the personal belongings of hundreds of contributors from around the world. Some of these displays were funny, others angering, touching, or the equivalent of emotional napalm, but all were wonderfully quirky.

Abandoned Beelitz Sanitorium – Berlin, Germany

Delving deeper into Berlin and it’s tumultuous history, I signed up for a tour of the abandoned Beelitz Sanitorium just outside the city limits. A short walk from the primitive train station, in a small clearing, three buildings sit in a horseshoe shape. Constructed in 1902, these buildings first served as a tuberculosis clinic before becoming a hospital during both World Wars, even treating then soldier Adolf Hitler during the first World War. During the Cold War, this site was the largest Soviet hospital outside of Russia before being deserted in the early nineties. Many a rave have been held here since, and while the crumbling buildings are beginning to show their age, their original beauty is still evident.

Museum of Art Fakes – Vienna, Austria

Small space, big art (fakes)

Incorrectly reading the hours of operation for this tiny museum, Travis and I returned three times before we finally got our timing right, however all this back and forth was completely worth it to delve into the world of art fakes. In addition to learning about the immense level of effort that goes into creating an art fake, from the aged paper used to specific hardening processes, brush strokes, and in one case egg yolk washes, we were able to come face to face with fakes so good that they were verified as authentic and sold for millions of dollars.

Europe offers visitors so many different types of attractions, it really is a mixed bag of so many wonderful things. Have you had a chance to visit Europe? What’s the most off-beat or quirky attraction you’ve seen there?

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We couldn’t leave Paris without a visit to its (and probably the world’s) most famous museum, the Louvre. After postponing our visit until Friday night, when entrance is free to those under 26, we entered the iconic glass pyramid and descended into the museum’s entrance hall.

The famous glass pyramid and Tuileries Garden

The Louvre…well, half of it anyways.

One of the more spectacular buildings we’ve laid eyes on this trip, which is really saying something, the Louvre is both elegant and a bit intimidating. With over sixty thousand square feet to explore, and thirty five thousand items on display, it’s nearly impossible to see everything in just one visit; however, we were determined to give it a shot for as long as our feet could handle.

The glorious, golden Apollo Gallery

Upon entering the impressive lobby under the great glass pyramid, we were surprised to find no lines…seriously, none at all – and after waiting for hours at the Vatican, Uffizi, Prado, and others this was simply amazing.. After taking a minute to warm up (it was freezing outside) we simply walked to one of the collection entrances and presented our passports for our free entry. With map in hand we decided on a rudimentary plan of action and set off.

Looking out through the glass pyramid

 

The amazing salon of French sculptures

 

In addition to the museum’s stunning architecture and displays, we really loved the way our visit to the Louvre brought together many of the parts of our trip. We were able to see Islamic carvings from Cordoba and Granada, pieces of the Parthenon marbles from the Acropolis in Athens, “halves” and “pieces” of sculptures that we’d seen “the rest of” somewhere else, and many others. This, and the British Museum (stay tuned), has really allowed us to put the historical part of our trip into perspective.

The Codex of Hammurabi (via)

 

Perhaps the Louvre’s most famous resident, the Mona Lisa receives the majority of the acclaim. However, despite the fact that a good number of visitors skip the rest of the museum and only see it, it is a fairly underwhelming piece of art, especially compared to Leonardo Da Vinci’s many other paintings and sketches. Nonetheless, this doesn’t stop the crowds from forming, and it is one of the few places in the museum where you notice the crowds (amazing considering 15,000 people visit every day).

The Mona Lisa  by da Vinci (via)

We ended up using almost every minute of our time at the museum and were able to see a good amount of the things we wanted. Here are some more of our highlights:

Psyche revived by the kiss of Cupid (via)

Winged victory of Samothrace

Assyrian relief sculpture (via)

The Seated Scribe, over 4000 years old (via)

 

If you are planning on visiting the Louvre, there are many excellent articles out there to make your visit a more efficient and rewarding one. We would suggest at least looking at the map online if you are going to be pressed for time. You can visit the website of the Louvre here, and if you are interested in seeing some of the best and most interesting objects, the collection catalogue can be found here. There is free entry for everyone on the first Sunday of the month, and for under-26’s on Friday evenings from 6:00-9:45.

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The second museum on our docket in Paris was the Musee de l’Orangerie. Located in the corner of the beautiful Tuileries Garden beside the giant Ferris wheel, it is another of Paris’ fantastic museums focusing on impressionist and post-impressionist painting.

The Tuileries Garden – a lovely place for relaxation

The Ferris Wheel and pond at the end of the Tuileries Garden

Once inside, the hustle and bustle of the busy Place de la Concorde is quickly forgotten as you are transported to a world of calm and reflection. Natural light filters down through the ceiling and the recently renovated pale stone interior create the perfect habitat for a couple of hours of art enjoyment.

The museum itself has two main sections, the bottom floor containing the collection of Paul Gillaume, and the upper floor containing Monet’s eight Water Lily murals in two oval rooms.

The collection of Paul Gillaume, a mechanic turned art dealer turned art collector, is comprised of the works of many of the masters of the past 2 centuries, including Matisse, Picasso, Monet, Cezanne, and many others. Like any of the museums we’ve been to, there were some we loved and some we didn’t love (and even some we REALLY didn’t love).

Paul Gillaume as painted by Amedeo Modigliani (via)

Claude Monet – l’Argenteuil (via)

Paul Gauguin – Paysage (via)

Andre Derain – Arlequin et Pierrot (via)

Although this collection is fantastic on its own, the real reason that people make a stop here is the two rooms of Monet murals. Displayed in two ovular rooms designed by Monet himself, the canvases follow the curvature of the room and depict the water lilies in the gardens surrounding his home at different times and in different lights. He wanted a place for people to come following the end of WWI to be at peace, and this is definitely achieved through the diffused light and sparse decoration of the two rooms.

One of the rooms containing Monet’s Water Lilies (via)

 

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The Eiffel Tower, our first stop

Hotel National des Invalides

Sunset on the River Seine

Over those days we wandered around the magnificent architecture of the Louvre, through the beautiful Tuileries Garden, past the Grande Roue de Paris (aka the giant ferris wheel), across the Place de la Concorde, and along the bustling Champs-Elysees with its enormous Christmas market.

The Louvre by day…

… by evening…

… and by night!

In addition to the major sites, we thoroughly enjoyed wandering through some of Paris’ most charming neighbourhoods like Le Marais and Montmartre with their great Basilicas of Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur towering above their surroundings.

A glimpse of the bell towers of Notre Dame

Details of the cathedral, up close

The gothic interior

La Basilique du Sacre Coeur.

We also made sure to enjoy some of the local – and not so local – fare while in Paris, including macaroons, falafels and spicy Sri Lankan curries!

Expensive macaroons in a store window

Our cheap macaroons from McCafe

 

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The Pont de l’Archeveche, aka the “Love-lock” Bridge

However illogical or not, there is now a bridge in Paris with one more lock on it – our lock. Perhaps it was a moment of romantic weakness, or the fact that we already had a lock* and were in the right place at the right time, but after passing numerous other bridges throughout the trip Travis and I finally decided to go for it.

Our lock!

Freezing cold thanks to the harsh December winds, we quickly snapped a couple photos, affixed our lock to one of only a handful of free spots remaining, threw our key into the river Seine below (Travis would like to point out that he does not support throwing the key in the river…he considers this blatant pollution), and swapped a quick kiss before getting the heck out of there.

There it is

We hadn’t planned any of this so I’m not even sure which bridge our lock is currently hanging from and our names are absent from the lock, unlike so many of the others nudged up next to it, however the spontaneity of the situation suited us well, meaning there was no bickering ahead of time over how to get there and when to go.

Funnily enough, many cities with these “love padlock” bridges, including Paris, have recently started cutting off locks – so much for eternal love. The reasons behind the removals are often structural or environmental, however the city of Paris has gone so far as to say that walking over these lock covered bridges has become “insufferable” for it’s citizens – oh the therapy they will need!

We even had time for a quick photo – not too bad considering the cold!

Perhaps our lock will soon be removed, or remain anonymous amongst thousands of others, however we now know one thing for certain, you never really know if you love someone until you’ve traveled halfway around the world together.

*My mom slipped the lock into my bag before we left. A not-so-subtle hint perhaps Travis?

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Of all of Paris’ wonderful museums, perhaps the one most in line with our artistic preferences was the Musee d’Orsay. Featuring the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings in the world, we knew that we would be spending more than a couple of hours there.

You can see the old station

Great view from the 5th floor

Although it had a lot to live up to, as we’d just enjoyed an early morning stroll around the Eiffel Tower, it didn’t disappoint and impressed us right from the start. Housed in a former “Beaux-artes” train station that narrowly avoided demolition, the building is as spectacular as the art (a common thread in the best museums we’ve been to). The first sight we were treated to was the amazing open-air central “courtyard” filled with great examples of French sculpture including the likes of Rodin and Carpeaux.

Vincent Van Gogh – Starry Night over the Rhone (via)

Vincent Van Gogh – The Church at Auvers (via)

After wandering through the sculpture gallery, we began exploring the seemingly endless rooms of paintings. The likes of Monet, Degas, Renoir, Cezanne, Van Gogh, and many other masters of 19th and early 20th centuries are very well represented here. The bottom two floors explore various styles (symbolism, naturalism, etc.), some early work by the impressionist masters, and some of the foreign painters (Van Gogh, etc.); However, the piece de resistance is the top floor, reserved for the true masterpieces of French impressionism. Room after room of world-famous paintings await in the Gallerie des Impressionnistes. Here are a few of our favorites.

Claude Monet – Le Givre (via)

Paul Signac – Entree du Port de Marseille (via)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir – Le Moulin de Galette (via)

Leon Belly – Pilgrims Going to Mecca (via)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir – The Mosque (via)

Claude Monet – Woman with a Parasol (via)

Claude Monet – Cathedrale de Rouen Harmonie Blanche (via)

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However, always wanting to instill a good work ethic in their children, my parents made sure that summer vacation wasn’t a complete holiday. We had chores, hauling water and picking rocks off the beach were my least favorite, and without running water or a septic system we also lacked some of the basic comforts at home.

As such, my dad built an outhouse for use when nature called, and plastered posters along the interior to help distract my brother and I from the (hundreds) of spiders that soon made it home. Amongst others was an 80’s Lamborghini, a magazine pull-out of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in Grease, and on the inside of the door, right at eye level, was an over sized poster of Jim Morrison’s headstone. A bit morbid perhaps, but that poster became just as much a part of my summers at the lake as building sand castles, catching minnows, and learning to water ski.

And this is where everything begins to loop back into a trip through Europe fifteen years or so later because, as it turns out, Jim Morrison is buried in Paris’ Pere Lachaise Cemetery. Needless to say, when it came time to plan our trip I quickly added a visit to our “to-do list”.

Fallen leaves scattered amongst the headstones

Mini-chapels line the walkways

Located in the 20th arrondissement, Pere Lachaise Cemetary was opened in 1804 and is 44 hectares in size, making it the largest in Paris. With many crumbling headstones and moss covered mini-chapels, the cemetery is actually quite beautiful in a lonely and hauntingly romantic way. As we strolled along the uneven brick paths, it was easy to pick out the forgotten residents – their cracked headstones and cobwebbed chapel doors are a sure sign no one has visited for awhile. However, more difficult to decipher was the age of some of the residents, as many headstones have been worn smooth by the elements.

A sign of a recent visitor

Moss growing within the engraved lines of a star

A stone finial, one of many embellishments in Pere Lachaise

Rust on this door gives a hint to its age

A single rose left in remembrance

With many famous people buried there (Proust, Wilde, and Chopin), Pere Lachaise is actually frequented by many curious tourists (like us) and provides a map of it’s more prominent grave-sites. Unfortunately for us the maps were located at the main entrance, and we entered from the side. Despite this, finding Jim Morrison’s final resting place was actually relatively easy.

The presence of graffiti shows we are in the right place

Candles, flowers, and poems left by adoring fans

Due to the rock star’s loyal and rambunctious fan base, a guard rail has been set up to dissuade people from having sex on, taking drugs off of, or vandalizing the tomb stone (apparently all, and more, have occurred in the past). However, we still saw a couple people easily jump the rail to place candles or joints on the headstone and pose for the necessary photos.

After snapping a few photos ourselves we set off to wander again, leaving the Lizard King to rest in peace.

Three little mini-chapels all in a row

A bright blue door stands out amongst the gray

Have you taken the time to explore a cemetery while traveling? What’s you’re take on this – creepy or cool?

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Pure decadence

The large tree that greeted us

The colours really were this amazing

Beautiful stained glass dome ceiling

Ceiling details up close

It was a bit more crowded when we were there (via)

Cosmetics counters on the main floor (via)

The Opera Hall

Great rooftop views of the Eiffel Tower

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