Curious Traveler

Why does Paris look like it does? Why were the Eiffel Tower and the Pont Alexandre III built? Why is the Opera Garnier so ornate? Why is there an eastern-style basilica atop the highest point in Paris? Why was a cabaret built inside a red mill (the Moulin Rouge)?

Why is there a giant hole in the top of the Pantheon? How is it still standing after more than 2,000 years? Why does Piazza Navona look like a racetrack? Where did the bronze for St. Peter's Basilica come from, and why are its windows so heavenly?

Why is Bluetooth technology named after a Danish king? Why did Shakespeare use Kronborg Castle as the setting for Hamlet? Was picturesque Nyhavn really the playground for sailors and brothels? Christiansborg Palace, Amalienborg Palace, Rosenborg Palace - why so many palaces in one small country?

Why were so many chateaux built in central France? Why does a river run through Chateau de Chenonceau, and what did the ladies of the castle have to do with it? Why does Château de Chambord have 440 rooms, yet no one ever lived there? Why is there a porcupine over the entrance to Chateau d'Amboise?

Where is the hidden symbol of Venice on a gondola? Why are there two different saints on the gateway columns? Why is the solar system off on Torre dell'Orologio? Why does Saint Mark's Basilica look like Hagia Sophia? Why does the Doge's Palace have a Stairway of Giants, and what do the symbols mean?

Why is there a graceful, tiny, blue-domed church floating in Kotorska Bay? Why did someone build 1,350 steps up the side of Kotor's mountain? Why is the Cathedral of Saint Tryphon pink, and why are the towers mismatched? Why were the streets within the fortress walls intentionally created in a maze?

Why are you encouraged to walk on the rooftop of the Oslo Opera House? Why did Vikings live here, and why were their ships shaped so extraordinarily? Why was the Oslo National Theatre built, and what is that secret staircase? What is the troll legend, and why did it happen here?

Who got hitched at Bordeaux Cathedral? Did Parisian architecture really come from Bordeaux? Why is Bordeaux so synonymous with wine? What was the Place de la Bourse hiding? What is with the rooster, the swan, and the duck at Place des Quinconces? And what is so gross about the Gross Cloche?

Why did ancient Romans vacation here? Why did the Greeks settle here? Who opened the gate for bad guys in the 1500s? What does the clocktower symbolize? What's the history of majolica tile art? Why are Sorrento lemons and limoncello famous? Which saint saved a boy (no, not Pinocchio) from a whale?

What did Alfred Nobel invent that led him to create the Nobel Prize? What is Gamla Stan? What is so important about the silver throne at the Royal Palace of Stockholm? Why did the Swedes grow grass on their rooftops, and what is the history of their folk costumes?

Why did the architect Viollet-le-Duc only work on Roquetaillade Castle? Why is there a monolithic church in St. Emilion? Why is there a wall around the village of Blaye? Why was the Bourg-en-Gironde built into a cliff? What is the King's Fig? And how do Cadillac and Pauillac make time stand still?