olaobrien's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Loading map...
Budapest, Hungary

Vajdahunyad Castle

This Hungarian castle was built out of cardboard and wood until it proved so popular that it got upgraded to stone.
London, England

Wellington Monument

This once-controversial and slightly confusing statue of Achilles was built out of captured cannons.
London, England

The Lioness and the Lesser Kudu

This striking statue brings a scene from the African savannah into central London.
London, England

Memorial to the Women of World War II

The bronze uniforms commemorate the vital role of women during World War II.
London, England

Cleopatra's Needle Shrapnel Scars

This ancient Egyptian obelisk still bears the wounds of World War I.
London, England

Greenwich Foot Tunnel

A 1,215-foot tunnel transports pedestrians beneath the River Thames.
Munich, Germany

Orlando di Lasso Statue

This tribute to the 16th-century composer is now an unusual shrine to Michael Jackson.
Brighton, England

Old Time Amusements

A vintage penny arcade hidden in the back of a fun fair-themed bar.
Brighton, England

Anna's Museum

A private selection of curiosities, carefully curated by a young Brighton local.
Brighton, England

West Pier

The rotting skeleton of a shoreside fun fair that was destroyed by fire and storms still haunts the Brighton ocean view.
London, England

The Star Tavern

The bar where "The Great Train Robbery" was planned was once a nexus of high society and low morals.
London, England

Brunel Museum Grand Entrance Hall

The first tunnel to be dug beneath a river, repurposed as an art and museum space.
Brussels, Belgium

Black Tower

A fantastical 13th-century fortification sandwiched by a modern hotel in central Brussels.
London, England

Charing Cross Mural

The medieval woodcut-style artwork chronicles life in medieval London.
London, England

Mold Gold Cape

This intriguing Bronze Age artifact spent centuries hidden within a Welsh faerie hill.
London, England

The Blind Beggar

This East End pub gained notoriety as the site where gangster Ronnie Kray publicly shot a rival.
London, England

The Aurochs Skull

The gigantic skull of a long-extinct species that once roamed the forests of England and Ireland.
London, England

The Charterhouse Black Death Skeleton

This historic building displays the remains of a victim of the devastating 14th-century plague.
London, England

Tower Bridge Chimney

An architectural oddity hides in plain sight on this iconic London bridge.
London, England

Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries

This long-hidden space above Westminster Abbey now displays the battle gear of the legendary King Henry V.
London, England

Kyoto Garden

A little slice of Japan and its aesthetics in London's Holland Park.
London, England

William Wallace Memorial

A plaque hangs near the execution place of the Scottish Independence leader famously depicted in "Braveheart."
East Molesey, England

Chocolate Kitchen at Hampton Court Palace

In 2013, historians discovered a hidden room devoted to the art of making royals' hot chocolate.
London, England

Victoria and Albert Museum WWII Battle Scars

The pockmarks across the building's facade are remnants of the Blitz.