Jonglez

Head off to explore the filming location of 12 Monkeys, Michael Jackson’s hometown turned ghost town, Berlin’s 1936 Olympic Village, deconsecrated churches, forgotten castles, deserted train stations, prisons and mental asylums, a cemetery of rusted locomotives, abandoned steel factories, phantom metro stations, and more. For 10 years, Sylvain Margaine has traveled the world in search of these forbidden and forgotten places. An exceptional photographic report.

Escape from the crowds of tourists to visit little-known artistic masterpieces, visit superb private gardens that even the Florentines don't know about, head off to hunt for the 34 plaques displaying quotes from the «Divine Comedy», visit a church in a prison, learn how Florence became the centre of hermetism during the Renaissance and where you can still find traces of it today, fill up your tank at a vintage service station, have your children count the number of bees sculpted on the monument to the glory of Ferdinand I, look for the last wine distributors of the Renaissance, notice the minuscule windows designed to let children look out quietly onto the street... Far from the crowds and usual cliches, Florence holds many well-hidden treasures that are revealed only to the city's inhabitants or travelers who know how to step off the beaten track. An essential guide for those who think they know Florence well or for those looking to discover the hidden side of the city.

Mingle with the most impressive handlebar moustaches in the country, pay your respects at the dog cemetery in Hyde Park, visit a masonic temple, take trapeze lessons in a former power station, pray in a floating church, sail on a disused reservoir, discover the stone from which Arthur drew Excalibur, admire the sacred penis of a pharaoh, have a game on the City's last bowling green, examine a cucumber straightener, a stuffed mermaid or a cow's heart, go stargazing at Greenwich Observatory... Far from the crowds and the usual cliches, London still reserves any number of hidden treasures for those who know how to wander off the beaten track. An indispensable guide for those who thought they knew London well, or who would like to discover the hidden face of the city.

Have your favourite pet blessed, visit an underground mine in the centre of Madrid, see the astounding liquefaction of the blood of Saint Pantaleon once a year, meet Spain's only Catholic exorcist, find out how the king had his medicine made using alchemy, smell the apple odour that wafts once a year from the still-intact body of Mariana de Jesus who died in the 17'th century, visit an underground art gallery, dine in a car park... Madrid is overflowing with extraordinary and little-known places and curiosities. You just have to know where to look... An essential guide for those who think they know Madrid well or for those looking to discover the hidden side of the city.

A statue of pregnant Virgin Mary, an astronomical observatory in a former nuclear missile silo, a hotel room in a tree or a gipsy caravan, primitive Provençal artists, the mark of Christ’s knee, a fountain that flows with wine, a caiman dedicated to the Virgin Mary, a church in a theatre, an erotic medieval bas relief, a countess who returned to life, a Provençal Villa Medicis, a false volcano at La Roquebrusane, a «sheep bridge» at Arles, a rain-making saint, an alchemist’s garden, a magic palindrome at Oppède... Provence is not limited to postcard clichés about fields of lavender or picturesque villages where pastis-drinking inhabitants pass the time playing pétanque. For those who manage to stray from the beaten paths, Provence is full of surprising features and curious sights that will amaze residents as well as visitors who thought they knew all there is to know about this region.

A “love hotel” where you can say a prayer, a reconstituted section of the Senne river at Saint-Géry, an extraordinary private museum devoted to plastic, a farm with sheep, goats, and turkeys at place de l’Yser, Masonic secrets in the Parc de Bruxelles, a hotel overlooking the Grand-Place, a surrealistic trip in a lift, a homage to the military pigeon, potholing at Koekelberg basilica, a swimming pool with a panoramic view of the city, a scandalous pavilion in the Parc du Cinquantenaire, an immense vegetable garden at Uccle, an 19th century artist’s studio at Schaerbeek, a camping ground in the heart of the Belgian capital, a forgotten garden-city at Forest.

A game of pétanque played with square boules, an astonishing aerial well, stained-plastic windows, a marble bench built in memory of the Queen of England’s haemophiliac son, the instruments of the Passion of Christ, a cannon that fires cherry stones, a good-luck pig, a mysterious pyramid, a monument to secret agents, an entire village that «moved house», a gas mask for horses, a statue sculpted by Saint Luke, a chapel showing the dead rising from their tombs, a trapdoor in the nave of a church that opens onto a rushing torrent, a restaurant in an Orient Express railway car, Babar’s beach, Tintin’s Black Island, and Sleeping Beauty’s château, a chance to admire the Riviera’s first pair of naked breasts, or spend the night sleeping in a tree… The French Riviera is not limited to the clichés of its beaches, private yachts, and luxury hotels. For those who know how to leave behind the beaten paths, the Riviera is full of surprising details and curious sights. It will even amaze its inhabitants as well as visitors who think they know it well.

Head off to discover hidden tunnels and a bomb shelter beneath the Old City, follow a secret passage open once a year, admire the cathedral’s Orpheus capital, pray at Calvin’s fake grave, look for the plaque that compares the pope with the Antichrist, visit the secret gardens of the Carouge districr, discover xhy the national monument represents two Savoyard women, learn where Frankenstein was created, sleep in Professor Calculus’room, and more… Far from the crowds and clichés, Geneva holds well-hidden treasures that are only revealed to residents and travellers who know how to wander off the beaten track. An indispensable guide for those who think they know Geneva well or who wants to discover the hidden side of the city.

A priest who blesses animals, wine producing firement, a tree in a church, an inverted phallus at a famous entrance, an atomic bomb shelter under the Gare de l’Est, a real Breton lighthouse near Montparnasse, unsuspected traces of former brothels, a patron saint of motorists, royal monograms hidden in the Louvre courtyard, the presentation of Christ’s crown of thorns, a prehistoric merry-go-round, a sundial designed by Dali, war-wounded palm trees, bullet holes at the ministry, biblical plants in a priest’s garden, a mysterious monument to freemasonry at the Champs-de-Mars, a solid gold sphere in parliament, a Chinese temple in a parking lot, the effect of the Bièvre river on Parisian geography, a blockhouse in the Bois de Boulogne... For those who thought they know Paris well, the city is still teeming with unusual and secret places that are easily accessible.

The oak tree where Pinocchio hanged himself, a fifteenth-century stained glass window with an image of Mussolini, a forgotten statue by Leonardo da Vinci, a luxury hotel that is now a public lavatory, a 17th-century milk distributor, a wine-drinking frog, a unique astronomical phenomenon, a staircase in Siena bearing St. Catherine’s teeth marks, a whale in Lucca, an authentic phial of Christ’s blood, a faith that moves rocks, diamonds within marble, the location of the amphora from the Mariage Feast of Cana, an extraordinary anatomical theatre in Pistoia, Fata Morgana’s spring of eternal youth, an unusual stroll along a marble quarry monorail... Far from the crowds and the usual clichés, Tuscany still reserves any number of hidden treasures for those who know how to wander off the beaten track. This is a guide that is indispensable for those who think they know Tuscany… or those who want to discover another side to the region.

Escaping the mass market to find unusual hotels, bed and breakfast properties as well as holiday lets, this guide lists UK and Ireland properties providing value-for-money memories that will last long after the bill has been paid. Selected from the award-winning online guide, this selection of properties offers unusual and unique accomodation choices for all budgets, from £25 for singles to suites costing more than £550 a night. Take your pick from vintage Airstream caravans, a converted naval gunboat, an enchanted manor, water towers, windmills, monuments and lighthouses, peaceful retreats in tipis and Mongolian yurts, as well as prisons, chapels and churches. Try staying at a property where you have to be accompanied by a dog. Enjoy the elegance of a a royal palace in Surrey or rock’n’roll chic in London. Stop the train at with a private railway platform in Snowdonia. Experience living in castles, follies and magnificent monuments, including one dedicated to a pineapple. Take a trip in a horse- drawn caravans in Ireland or aVolkswagen camper van in Bristol. You can even sleep with wildebeest outside your room on safari in Kent. Criss-crossing the UK and Ireland, from the Napoleonic fortifications and Second World War lookout towers of the Channel Islands, to railway carriages and a laird’s treehouse in Scotland, design masterpieces to down-to-earth dwellings, your travels need never be boring again.

Discover the historic location of Rembrandt's famous «Night Watch», the origin of the invention of cognac; homage to prostitutes; decypher facade stones; make love quite legally in the open air ; visit magnificent interior courtyards; ski in the heart of the town, or become an adept of «boat-in» — the Amsterdam version of drive-in — and eat a pizza in your own boat. Away from the crowds and the stereotypes, Amsterdam still keeps her treasures so well hidden that they only reveal themselves to the inhabitants and to travellers who know how to wander off the beaten track. An indispensable guide for those who think they know the Netherlands capital well or for those who want to discover the other face of the town.

Visit palaces closed to the public, admire exceptional works of art away from the tourist circuit, listen to a concert in a magnificent hidden oratory, have your dog or car blessed, observe the miraculous liquefaction of the blood of Saint Pantaleon, puzzle over a rare catoptric meridian or a wonderful anamorphic fresco, discover the remarkable motorised Rubens, enter into the secrets of the Vatican, rediscover a lost Bernini masterpiece, say a prayer before an image of the Holy Face of Jesus like that deposited on the moon in 1969, organise a dinner for two in a private palace, protect your throat from the rigours of winter. Far from the crowds and the usual clichés, Rome is still a reserve of well-concealed treasures that only reveal themselves to those who know how to wander off the beaten track, whether residents or visitors. An indispensable guide for those who thought they knew Rome well, or who would like to discover the hidden face of the city.

Discover the secrets of St. Mark’s Basilica with not a tourist in sight, finally crack the mystery of the pillars around the Doge’s Palace, take a trip on the only underground canal in Venice in search of the alchemical sculpture of the winged horse, lunch at a restaurant tucked away in a lagoon fisherman’s house, track down Teriaca, that miracle potion brewed in Venice from time immemorial, decode the paintings of the Scuola di San Rocco applying the principles of the Jewish Kabbalah and see how Kabbalistic music influenced the construction of San Francesco della Vigna, visit an unknown underground cemetery, stroll through unsuspected gardens beyond the gates of palazzos and monasteries, admire the extraordinary forgotten library of the Venice Seminary, sleep in a sublime bedroom concealed within a palazzo, go shopping in Giudecca women’s prison market, play petanque in the heart of the city, retreat to a wonderful lakeside monastery, away from the crowds... Five years of research have gone into the compilation of this exceptional guide, an opportunity for all who love Venice, as well as Venetians themselves, to leave the beaten track far behind and rediscover the most extraordinary city in the world.

Dine in the home of a perfect stranger, enjoy your meal on an extraordinary, little-known terrace looking out on the Parc de Monceau, eat lunch at a restaurant that’s totally invisible from the street, have a drink at a bar next to a man taking a shower in a glass box, join a band of artistic squatters for an afternoon barbecue, visit a Royalist bar, catch up with a moveable feast, get unbeatable value for money at a hostelry school, and experience numerous other timeless venues and atmospheres…. Beyond the traditional Parisian restaurant, the French capital is full of wonderful unusual places.

Observe the stars from the top of the Sorbonne, see a film in a private flat, spend an astonishing night in the company of transsexuals, watch lawyers match wits in an oratory debating contest, go for a swim in the nude, crash celebrity parties, listen to a rock group in a squat, cross Paris in a Zodiac boat, meet Master Jodorowsky in person, discover the Baha’i faith and or theosophy, buckle down at a gathering of fetishists, or sleep in the most astonishing hotel rooms in the French capital.

Have your hair cut on the night of the full moon, take a siesta while shopping, make a cast of your foot, top a birthday cake with your own photo, issue your own stamps, take pictures of your aura, visit a designer at home, join an art gallery open 24/24, buy shoes in a theatre, offer your cat or dog a massage or special cookies, relax in a flotation chamber, try out extraordinary Japanese toilets... Shopping in Paris has never been so stimulating, although you have to know where to go... As a change from traditional retailers, here are over a hundred unusual places where you can find really original presents.