Curious Traveler

What did Alfred Nobel invent that led him to create the Nobel Prize? What is Gamla Stan? What's so important about the throne inside the Royal Palace of Stockholm? What is the Djurgarden Canal, and why was it only for the Royal Family? Why did the Swedes grow grass on their rooftops, and what's the history of their folk costumes?

Why did the famous French architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc only work on one residence: the historic Roquetaillade Castle? Why is there a monolithic church in Saint-Emilion? And why did its monk sleep underground? Why is there a giant wall around the tiny village of Blaye? And why was beautiful Bourg-en-Gironde built into the side of a cliff? And how do Cadillac and Pauillac make time stand still?

Why does Paris look like Paris? Why were the Eiffel Tower and the Pont Alexandre III built for World Expos? Why is the Opera Garnier so ornate? Why is there a Romano-Byzantine Basilica atop the highest point in Paris? Why are the streets so windy in Montmartre? Why was a famous cabaret built inside a red mill: the Moulin Rouge?

Why is there a giant hole in the top of the Pantheon? And how is it still standing after more than two millennia? Why does Piazza Navona look like a racetrack? And why did it used to be a swimming pool? Where did the bronze for St. Peter's Basilica come from, and why are those windows in the dome so heavenly?

Why did Shakespeare use Kronborg Castle as the setting for Hamlet? Was picturesque Nyhavn really the playground for sailors and brothels? Christiansborg Palace, Amalienborg Palace, Rosenborg Castle — why so many palaces in one small European country?