ipa's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Baku, Azerbaijan

Heydar Aliyev Center

The building's fluid, wavelike walls are a true feat of architectural ingenuity.
Baku, Azerbaijan

Museum of Miniature Books

A gigantic collection of teeny, tiny books.
Baku, Azerbaijan

The Maiden Tower

This mysterious but iconic tapered tower appears in many Azeri fairytales and legends.
Skopje, North Macedonia

The Statues of Skopje

These abundant, over-the-top monuments are so widely scattered that they define the entire compact capital cityscape, often leading to jokes about whether there are more statues than residents.
Warsaw, Poland

'A Footbridge of Memory'

At night, this memorial illuminates a ghostly outline of a footbridge that connected two sections of the Warsaw Ghetto.
Warsaw, Poland

Keret House

The world’s narrowest house makes for an awkward, four-foot-wide living space.
Warsaw, Poland

Old Town Wishing Bell

This bell stars in a tragic love tale and is said to make wishes come true.
Lisbon, Portugal

Livraria Bertrand

The world's oldest bookshop still in operation.
Porto, Portugal

Sao Bento Station

Elaborate tile work in this railway station tells the story of Portugal.
Ngong Ping, Hong Kong

Tian Tan Buddha

Climb to the top of the world's largest seated bronze Buddha.
Hong Kong

Chungking Mansions

Teeming with illegal goods and services, this towering maze of vice is also a popular tourist accommodation.
Hong Kong

Central-Mid-Levels Escalators

The world's longest outdoor covered escalator system transports commuters through Hong Kong's hilly terrain.
Hong Kong

HSBC Building Feng Shui Cannons

Two cannon-like cranes were installed on top of the bank building to fend off bad feng shui.
Tirana, Albania

Pyramid of Tirana

An Albanian monument to the Communism that nearly crushed the country is now a crumbling wreck.
Tirana, Albania

Bunk'Art

Once the fallout shelter of a dictator, this sprawling bunker is now a combined history museum and contemporary art gallery.
Kotor, Montenegro

Fortifications of Kotor

These historic defenses ensured the city within would survive hundreds of years of occupations, sieges, and invasions.
Sopot, Poland

Krzywy Domek - Crooked House

This fairytale inspired, warped building houses restaurants, shops, and a radio station.
Beijing, China

China's Wonderland

Beijing's version of Disneyland, completely abandoned, mostly destroyed.
Leśniewo, Poland

Leśniewo U-Boat Locks

Built to transport German U-boats through the never-completed Masurian Canal, the locks near this Polish village are now home to a rope course.
Detroit, Michigan

Packard Automotive Plant

The concrete shell of an industry giant remains as a playground for graffiti artists, auto scrappers, and paintball warriors.
Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow City Chambers' Staircase

The ornate structure is part of a building boasting more marble than the Vatican.
Ketrzyn, Poland

The Wolf's Lair

This Nazi ruin was the site where Hitler was almost blown up by a suitcase bomb.
New York, New York

New Yorker Hotel

The New York hotel where tragic visionary Nikola Tesla spent his final hours, destitute and alone but for the pigeons.
New York, New York

The High Line

Elevated freight railway turned wildly successful urban park.