France

Places in this region

Musée, Archives et Bibliothèque de la Grande Loge de France

A Masonic Lodge and Museum of Free Masonery with a pretty peculiar history

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Rites and Rituals | Edited by Laetitia

Argonaute Submarine

The Argonaute submarine was the French navy's pride and joy in the 1950's.

The Argonaute French submarine, also known as the S636, was launched on October 23rd, 1958 as a flagship within the Toulon submarine squadron. With its stealthy, silent diesel engines and its... »

Watery Wonders, Unusual Monuments | Edited by katiebaker4 and Rachel

The Burle Triangle

The snowy highland notorious for unexplained aircraft crashes- France's own Bermuda Triangle.

La Burle is a wild highland, sparsely populated, with a harsh environment. It also holds the French record of unexplained aircraft accidents. Bounded by Mt. Pilat, Mount Mézenc, and the town of... »

Martian Landscapes, Will-O-Wisps and Spooklights, Disaster Areas | Edited by katiebaker4 and Rachel

Amnesia Nightclub Ruins

What was once the hottest nightclub in France, Amnesia now lies in ruins after a 2000 bombing

Amnesia was founded by André Boudou, who is the father-in-law of famed French singer, Johnny Halliday. Opening in 1995, it hosted famous guest stars and DJ's such as Carl Cox and Paul Johnson. The... »

Architectural Oddities, Incredible Ruins | Edited by katiebaker4 and Rachel

'Le Pouce,' The Giant Thumb Sculpture

César Baldaccini's iconic sculpture of a 40-foot thumb stands tall in Paris' La Défense corporate park

Amongst the blur of towering glass skyscrapers, immaculately kept shops and cafes, glossy black cars, people rushing around in suits and everything else one expects to find in a financial... »

Unusual Monuments, Strange Statues, Architectural Oddities | Edited by Mark_Casey and Rachel

Relics of St. Valentine in Roquemaure

Celebrate the end of the Great French Wine Blight with a festival of kissing

In 1866 the vineyards of Roquemaure, France were descended upon by tiny, voracious insects. These phylloxera caused so much damage it became known as the Great French Wine Blight. In an appeal... »

Relics and Reliquaries | Edited by Annetta and Rachel

La Maison à Vaisselle Cassée

A former milk-delivery driver and his wife turn their home into a glimmering mosaic.

In Louviers, France, Robert Vasseur with the help of his wife decided to deviate from the conventional domestic decorations of wall-paper and paint and decorate their house with mosaics made from... »

Outsider Art, Eccentric Homes | Edited by bboas and Rachel

Foucoult's Pendulum and the Paris Pantheon

19th century pendulum and a clock restored by a rogue group of guerilla artists

In 1851, physicist Léon Foucault demonstrated the rotation of the Earth with an experiment conducted in the Paris Panthéon. By constructing a fixed 67-meter swinging lead bob beneath the central... »

Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries, Marvelous Maps and Measures, Subterranean Sites | Edited by Dampo, Dylan and 2 others

Gilis à Barras

A bizarre sculpture garden in the south of France

In the late 1960's, artist and mason Jean Prosper Gilis began creating his own sculpture yard and within five years it was complete. Stocked with cement figures that take the form of animals and... »

Outsider Art, Unique Collections, Strange Statues | Edited by bboas and atimian

I Love You Wall

Paris' linguistic guide to the international language

Spanning 416 square feet, the I Love You Wall ( Le mur des je t'aime) in Paris' Jehan-Rictus Square was created by two artists as a rendezvous location for lovers and a lasting monument to eternal... »

| Edited by serflac, atimian and others