Chapel of Bones (Capela dos Ossos), Evora

Advantages: History, World Heritage Site, gastronomy, authenticity
Disadvantages: Distance from main tourism spots

...bones that are here await yours” (Nós ossos que aqui estamos, pelos vossos esperamos). The chapel is an annex to the São Francisco church and is open daily. =Sé (Cathedral)= Completed in the 13th century this cathedral is a mix of roman and gothic style. At the entrance you can see 14th century sculpted apostles, an 18th century altar and an ivory Virgin with a book like body that opens to tell her life in nine episodes, among other art treasures that will certainly appeal to the art lovers. =Praça do Giraldo= This is Évora main square, with cobbled streets and Moorish arcades. The square was named after “Giraldo Sem-Pavor” (the fearless) who threw out the Moors and gave the city to the Portuguese King Don Afonso Henriques. This square is the city’s meeting point, hosting a plethora of small shops, cafés and restaurants... Read review

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Advantages: Inspiration for humanitarian conduct
Disadvantages: The ongoing pain of loss

...•••Introduction••• The manmade landscape of Lower Manhattan consists of a wondrously eclectic assemblage of intriguing structures. In the midst of this landscape, a carefully roving eye will detect an unnatural hole--unnatural, in that it is devoid of a skyline. That hole, of course, is the space where the World Trade Center once stood and where a kind of frenzied, reverent construction process is now the order of the day. Just a few hundred yards away--indeed, right across the street--is another Manhattan anomaly, St. Paul's Chapel. As one of the few remaining colonial structures in Lower Manhattan, it is the area's oldest continuously used public building, not to mention its only remaining colonial church, St. Paul's is an exceedingly rare reminder that this corner of Manhattan Island was once... Read review

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Advantages: Different, cheap, easy to get to by car
Disadvantages: A somewhat chilling experience

...). The local tourist board has placed signposts pretty much all the way along the road to keep you on the right track, which is no bad thing. The walk takes you past one old church, which is locked, and then gives fabulous views of some cracking Soviet-period concrete architecture which can be a bit depressing, but the ossuary (bone chapel) is well worth the walk out of town. There is a small entrance fee to be paid, plus a small surcharge if you want to take photos, and you can get a printed visitor guide in various languages (including English) which gives you plenty of historical background. Apparently, the abbot of the monastery in Sedlec returned from a pilgrimage in the 13th century with a handful of earth from Golgotha, and as a result many people chose to be buried there, and many victims of the plague had this as their final resting... Read review

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