For many who travel, visiting a new place comes with visiting the popular landmarks (e.g. Eiffel Tower, Machu Picchu, Sydney Opera House) in town. Such places are musts, especially when visiting for the first time. However, for subsequent visits or those desiring a more “off the beaten path” kind of travel, there are plenty of unique and quirky spots to check out that you wouldn’t be able to see elsewhere.
That said, I’ve decided to compile a list of distinctive (man-made) places worth visiting in Europe, as I spent a large bulk of my early adult years there. I consider these places lesser-known, but just as worth checking out if you’re ever in the area. I hope you get to visit these places someday! Here we go. 🙂
10 Quirky Attractions in Europe
1. Eye houses (Sibiu, Romania)
2. Le Palais Idéal (Hauterives, France)
3. Hill of Crosses (near Šiauliai, Lithuania)
4. Santuario di San Bernardino alle Ossa (Milan, Italy)
5. Maison Piccassiette (Chartres, France)
6. Cărturești Carusel (Bucharest, Romania)
7. The World’s Coolest McDonald’s building (Batumi, Georgia)
8. Jesus Tree (Rabat, Malta)
9. Kvika Footbath (Seltjarnarnes, Iceland)
10. Popeye Village (Mellieħa, Malta).
Which unique/quirky place have you visited (or would like to visit) in Europe? Let me know! 🙂
— Rebecca
Rebecca Goes Rendezvous 
Such a great list Rebecca. I’ve only been to the Hill of Crosses in Lithuania with a school trip from Latvia. Seeing hundreds of thousands of crosses in one place is a very interesting experience. Thanks for sharing and have a good day ☺️ Aiva xx
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Glad you went! What makes the Hill of Crosses so rewarding is that it’s really out in the middle of nowhere. So fascinating to see such a site built on a random plot of land!
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What an interesting post Rebecca containing an intriguing list of off the beaten track places to visit. I don’t believe I’ve been to any of them though I’ve visited several of the countries!
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Intriguing, they were! That gives you a reason to return to these countries to check them out!
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Cool post, worthy of Atlas Obscura. I haven’t visited any of these places. We were planning a trip to Romania last year, but all the Covid restrictions put the spanner in the works. Ooooone daaaaay…
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Yes, this is my version of Atlas Obscura. I actually found some of these places through Atlas Obscura! Romania is one of my favorite countries I’ve visited, and I hope you can head over there soon, now that the world has opened up to travel!
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I don’t believe I’ve been to any of these but I loved the movie Facteur Cheval, about the mail carrier who built Le Palais Idéal. Available on YouTube if you’re interested.
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I don’t think I’ve heard of the film before! Must check it out now. Thank you!
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I’ll join the chorus saying that I haven’t visited any of these places, so you must have been really lonely.
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I traveled to these places solo, but I didn’t feel lonely. I actually felt really independent and the freedom to go at my leisure was wonderful!
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…and me too. Haven’t been to any of them! What a great list you composed here. For some reason the eye houses got my attention.
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Yes! The eye houses are very distinctive of Romania. They seem to look at you, to follow your every move…
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One regret I have in the handful of our European trips is that we hardly had time to explore outside the tourist landmarks. I would love to have the chance to visit the Kvika Footbath.
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It’s understandable when you have limited time (and limited vacation days) to spend overseas. I hope you can return to explore new sites, including Kvika!
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Wow! Very interesting and fascinating places. I would love to visit them.
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Hope you can!
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I haven’t been to any of these places but will definitely add them to my ongoing list. How did the McDonald look inside? That’s such a fancy exterior.
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The inside was like a contemporary art gallery, with shelves of carrot heads and other strange produce. It’s also two stories, and it could seat hundreds of patrons!
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That’s so strange and interesting. I would definitely want to stop in there.
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Happy to see 2 places from Romania on your list!! Have you lived in Sibiu and / Bucharest?
Sibiu is such a lovely city, I enjoy a lot going on cycling holidays there 😀
And here’s another quirky recommendation from Romania – The Merry Cemetery from Sapanta 🙂 https://romaniatourism.com/press-the-merry-cemetery.html
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I’ve only visited Sibiu and Bucharest, but I wish I could’ve stayed longer! Never heard of the Merry Cemetery in Sapanta, but I’ll definitely need to check it out one day. Thank you! 😊
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I haven’t been to any if these, but they are my kind of thing! Very enjoyable post. For a quirky find in the English countryside, I like to walk up to the Bulford Kiwi. It has a fascinating but of history behind it too!
https://thingshelenloves.com/2020/05/22/quarantine-walks-the-bulford-kiwi/
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How lovely! I haven’t explored as much of England as I would’ve liked, so the Bulford Kiwi interests me. One of these days, I’ll need to head over!
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I’ve never heard of any of these. Clearly I need to spend more time in Europe. This looks like a fun variety of places to visit!
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Absolutely! I hope you can return to Europe to explore more in depth. 🙂
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I Love Iceland 🇮🇸
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vampire museum in San Marino for example:)
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I’ve never been to San Marino, but after watching a Rick Steves’ episode on it, it intrigued me to want to go! And vampires? I’m afraid of them, but I’d be interested in checking out the museum!
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It is like a film set,it is funny not scary
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Great post Rebecca👍🏾 I have only visited Popeye Village, found it very impressive. Would love to visit Sibiu.
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To be frank, I found Popeye Village kind of kitsch for my taste, although there’s no denying how colorful and cute it is! Hope you can head to Sibiu someday; it’s worth a trip over!
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That McDonalds made me say wow out loud! Amazing – I definitely need to visit one day 🙂 I am meant to be going to the Hill of Crosses in May – provided my 2 week Baltic trip is safe to travel of course given all the events going on in Eastern Europe at the moment.
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Yes, that McDonald’s really piqued my interest when I was researching places to check out in Batumi; it was even more impressive visiting in person! The situation in Eastern Europe is quite volatile, so if you end up still going, do be careful! Lithuania is a cute little country, and I enjoyed my time in Vilnius before heading to the Hill of Crosses. 🙂
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i’ve only been to the Hill of Crosses. these are so cool! i’d love to see these – especially number 2!
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The Hill of Crosses is truly a sight to see. Le Palais Idéal is a regional gem in France, and it’s worth a trip over; you can actually go on top of the “palace!”
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Wow. Those are great! I especially love Le Palais Ideal – it reminds me of Petra in Jordan in a way.
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You’re absolutely right! Never been to Petra, but it’s HIGH on my bucket list. Hope to see one of the Wonders of the World someday, but until then, le Palais Idéal will do the trick!
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Wow! Apart from the houses in Romania, I hadn’t heard of any of these places before and now want to check all of them out ahah! Thanks for sharing!
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I hope you can someday! The eye houses in Romania are truly something. 🙂
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all of them, I want to see all of them.
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Hope you can!
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Lovely. You’ve been to so many places Rebecca!
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You as well! Thank you. 🙂
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These are so interesting, and I haven’t seen any of them. I have visited a couple of those places but missed the quirky sights! Is that really a McD? Hard to believe.
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Yes, it is! I went inside. Even inside is unique; it looks like a museum!
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This is quite the interesting post! I’d love to know more about some of these places. I’d love to see more of the details of the maison in Chartres up close.
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Chartres isn’t too far from Paris, so I’m sure you could make it over one of these days. It’s beautiful in the spring, should you go then!
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I remember seeing a building like those with eyes in Innsbruck and it made me laugh as I wasn’t sure if they’d done it on purpose or not. These are such cool places, the only one I’d heard of was the hill of crosses but I didn’t go when I was in Vilnius because the weather was so rubbish. Good excuse to go back though, it looks cool!
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The eye houses are a sight to look at (pun intended), and apparently, they serve a useful purpose for ventilation! Hope you can return to Lithuania to check out the Hill of Crosses!
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Always love stuff like this! The eye houses are cool. I never knew there was a bone chapel in Milan, I’ve been to one in Portugal and I’d love to visit the one in the Czech Republic. Surprisingly I didn’t go to the Popeye Village OR see the Jesus tree in Malta!! Even though I knew about them!
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Yes, I had the chance to visit the bone church in Kutna Hora (Czech Republic), but I ended up swapping that out for a day trip elsewhere– would love to go someday, though! Perhaps you merit a return trip to Malta soon, just to see those unique sites! 😉
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