Heads were rolling in Paris in the summer of 1794, and when you have that many bodies baking in the sun you need a convenient and quick place to dump them. Luckily for the revolutionaries... »

Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries | Edited by Annetta and allison

The Petite Ceinture railway circling through the city of Paris served urban travelers from 1862 to 1934 before being abandoned. Predating the Paris Métro, the “little belt” railroad connected the... »

Intriguing Environs, Architectural Oddities | Edited by allison

The Désert de Retz is an unusual French estate. Constructed by the French aristocrat François Racine de Monville, the estate covers more than ninety acres and includes a variety of buildings, each... »

Eccentric Homes | Edited by Nathan_Risinger and Nicholas Jackson

Long a symbol of royal authority, the Bastille fell on July 14, 1789, to an insurrection of the people, marking the ignition of the French Revolution. Although there were only seven prisoners in... »

Architectural Oddities | Edited by allison and wythe

Behind the altar at the Cathédrale Saint-Apollinaire in Valence, the heart of Pope Pius VI is encased in a marble cenotaph. Three years after Pius’ death in 1799 while exiled in the French town,... »

Relics and Reliquaries | Edited by allison and Annetta

Raymond Isidore was frustrated, recently released from the mental hospital, when he began building his house. The French graveyard sweeper collected plates, cups, and any other ceramics he could... »

Outsider Architecture | Edited by Dylan, Henry and others

Robert Tatin was the third in a line of Frenchmen who became obsessed with creating his own astounding living environment. Like Postman Cheval and Raymond Isidore before him, Robert Tatin too had... »

Outsider Architecture | Edited by Dylan

"Paris has another Paris under herself; a Paris of sewers; which has its streets, its crossings, its squares, its blind alleys, its arteries, and its circulation, which is slime, minus the human... »

Unique Collections, Subterranean Sites | Edited by Dylan, Josh and others

The collection of the Musées d'Anatomie Delmas-Orfila-Rouviere has a long, complex history that is manifest in its name. The collection was begun by French anatomical master and professor of... »

Medical Museums | Edited by Dylan, Henry and others

The Musée des Arts et Métiers houses one of the world's most outstanding collections of scientific and industrial instruments. Founded by anti-clerical French revolutionaries to celebrate the... »

Unique Collections, Instruments of Science | Edited by Josh, Henry and others