St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans – Photo credit

10. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico

A dank, dark, clammy cave system full of bats, crawly insects and pointy stalactites? Perfect for Halloween. Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site 475 km from Santa Fe (go to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum) and 490 km from Albuquerque (take the Breaking Bad tour, also perfect for Halloween).

Where to stay: Fairfield Inn & Suites Carlsbad

9. The Omni Parker House, Boston

The Omni Parker House is a linchpin of heritage ghost walks in Boston, of which the city has many. Original owner Harvey D. Parker apparently haunts the place and former guests include Charles Dickens, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and John F. Kennedy. Malcolm X was a busboy in the 1940s and Ho Chi Minh, incredibly, a baker in the early 1910s.

Where to stay: Boston Omni Parker House Hotel

Boston City Guide

8. Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site, Philadelphia

You can visit the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum in Baltimore (take The Wire tour) but the poet wrote “The Raven” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” in Philadelphia.

Where to stay: Palomar Philadelphia Kimpton Hotel

Philadelphia City Guide

7. The Stanley Hotel, Colorado

Alas, Stephen King’s muse for The Shining did not figure in Stanley Kubrick’s film version (the Timberline Lodge in Mount Hood, Oregon did) but The Stanley in Estes Park chills nonetheless. Tune in to Channel 42.

Where to stay: The Stanley Hotel Estes Park

6. Chinatown, San Francisco

Other than Roman Polanski’s classic film noir, what is so grim about San Francisco’s famous Chinatown? A lot, apparently. Take a ghost tour of the eminent district and find out for yourself.

Where to stay: Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco

San Francisco City Guide

5. Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky

Mammoth Cave, the most extensive cave system in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981, is ominous at the best of times. The National Park Service offers special tours of the park on Halloween.

Where to stay: The Brown Hotel Louisville

Louisville City Guide

4. Village Halloween Parade, New York City

The best Halloween parade north of Key West will scare up big crowds on 6th Avenue from Spring Street to 16th Street from 7:00pm to 10:30pm on October 31.

Where to stay: Warwick Hotel New York

New York City Guide

3. Savannah, Georgia

Anyone who owns a copy of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil can tell you that Savannah is a weird, wild place. Take a tour of the heritage district, past epic landmarks like the Pink House, Sorrel Weed House, Green-Meldrim House, Mercer-Williams House, Colonial Park Cemetery, Laurel Grove Cemetery and Bonaventure Cemetery.

Where to stay: Bohemian Hotel Savannah Riverfront

Savannah City Guide

2. Key West, Florida

Fantasy Fest, the most infamous Halloween bash in the U.S., is less scary than kinky. Ten days of adults-only, wanton fun in the former home of Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams.

Where to stay: Crowne Plaza Hotel Key West-La Concha

Key West City Guide

1. St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans

From Anne Rice to Voodoo Queens, New Orleans has a strong claim on the Halloween top spot. The Big Easy’s Saint Louis Cemetery complex, however, is the best place to be on October 31.

Where to stay: Maison Perrier

New Orleans City Guide

U.S. Army soldiers take cover from a sandstorm in Iraq – Photo credit

The truth is that while some of us connect the rise in the planet’s temperatures with events like the disappearance of polar ice caps, floods and precarious sea levels, another dangerous spin-off is more and worse dust storms in otherwise immune places.

Early sandstorm traces on the way to Lüderitz, Namibia – Photo credit

The desertification of vast new swaths of land across the globe has already wrought disastrous effects. Beijing, the capital of the People’s Republic of China, receives millions of tons of sand from the Gobi desert every spring.

Desert dunes stir in Namibia – Photo credit

In turn, clouds of dust from China swoop over the Pacific Coast of the United States. Dust and sandstorms form relatively easily in proper conditions and just like that, can blot out the sun, cover a city and gust across oceans, to other continents.

Sandstorm over Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia- Photo credit

The photograph above demonstrates how a sandstorm can cripple a major world capital like Riyadh. The city of 7 million people is the commercial and political heart of Saudi Arabia, but the sand comes of course, nonetheless.

Jet soars through a dust storm in Utah, U.S.A. – Photo credit

The United States of America, home to the Dust Bowl of The Grapes of Wrath, is not immune to sudden, immense dust storms. In the face of mass monoculture, once fertile land has undergone decades of degradation. The phrase “reap what you sow” has a sad irony now when you consider the negative consequences of a cold industrial approach to agriculture.

Dust storm threatens 2007 Burning Man festival in Black Rock Desert, Nevada – Photo credit

The potential for a dust storm to originate from once usable, arable land, on a perpetual basis, is now a major threat. While states like Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico have had storms before, global climate experts worry that current conditions may exacerbate dust squalls in new states.

Burning Man dust storm – Photo credit

For a country like Nepal, which wavers between severe monsoons in one season and often, famine and drought in another, dust storms can be a stiff price to pay.

Dust storm in Nepal – Photo credit

The world class city of Sydney was a murky haze of red dust one day in late September 2009, as a mammoth particle cloud fell on the New South Wales capital.

Dust storm covers the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia – Photo credit

The Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, Taronga Zoo, parks and hotels in Sydney – indeed, a generous portion of Australia – came under fire.

Dust storm in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia – Photo credit

Fire is one consequence of climate change Australia has had to grapple with lately, worse than ever in fact, in the form of forest and brush fires. Even Brisbane however, contends with the odd dust storm now and then.

Dust storm off the coast of Oman – Photo credit

This NASA satellite image of a dust storm off the coast of Oman demonstrates what an abject monstrosity it can be. It simply takes over and moves with the winds.

Dust storm approaches Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, border of Utah and Arizona, U.S.A. – Photo credit

So while eerily beautiful with a capable photographer behind the lens, dust and sandstorms are a real menace from time to time. Those of us fortunate enough to live in areas free from both have our own weather nuisances to contend with of course. But again, if climate change experts are correct, more of us may feel the brunt of a dust storm in the foreseeable future.

Dust storm in Ouagadougou, Burkina Fasso – Photo credit

Huangshan, China

One of China’s most famous scenic spots, Mount Huang is also one of the best places to hang a love padlock. Thousands of them hang from Lotus Peak’s chain fence, placed by tourists from all around the world. Couples’ names are carved on the padlock and the key is thrown into the abyss, thus locking their love and luck to Hunagshan Mountain forever.

Photo by Yabbox

Rome, Italy

Once the symbol of Rome’s military might and the empire’s victory over Carthage, Ponte Milvio is now a love padlock sanctuary. A memorable scene from a popular Italian book and film initiated the trend several years ago. In the film, a teenage couple write their names on a padlock, hang it on a Ponte Milvio lamppost and throw the key in the Tiber River. The ritual was subsequently imitated by Roman teens on a regular basis – so much so that the lamppost buckled under the weight.

Photo by Renatonee

Moscow, Russia

Luzhkov Bridge, in downtown Moscow, has become a romantic tourist destination, thanks to a forest of “ love trees”. While no one knows exactly when young couples began to hang love padlocks on Luzhkov Bridge, it became such a popular tradition that officials had to install tree-like sculptures to provide more space for the locks.

Photo by Superchilum

Cologne, Germany

The first love padlocks on Cologne’s Hohenzollern Bridge appeared in 2008. Local lovers and tourists alike either carve their names onto the locks or have them especially engraved. After the lock is added to the pedestrian bridge railing, the key is thrown into the waters of the Rhine as a symbol of eternal love (and river water pollution!). Easily accessible from most hotels in Cologne, Hohenzollern Bridge has become one of Europe’s most popular destinations for young couples.

Commons-Licence (cc-by-sa 3.0) – Photo by Superbass

Seoul, South Korea

On Mount Namsam in central Seoul, North Seoul Tower is Asia’s most popular location for love padlocks. Along the fence that encircles the tower are thousands of locks hung by locals and foreign couples to symbolize their love. Most of the love padlocks on North Seoul Tower are signed and often contain special vows.

Photo by Daderot

Pécs, Hungary

This lovely UNESCO World Heritage town on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains is where it all began. Smitten students at the University of Pécs started hanging padlocks on an iron fence linking the main square to the town’s medieval cathedral. The idea caught on quickly and soon the fence was completely covered with padlocks. Despite attempts to thwart the overt expression of love, people kept hanging their padlocks in various places around the town square. Pécs soon gained a reputation as a paramount romantic destination.

Photo by vikkvakk

The point of course is to illustrate that diverse catalysts compel us to travel. Different reasons motivate different people to leave home and explore the world. With that expressly in mind, here are five types of alternative tourism:

Disaster Tourism

“Disaster Tourism” is somewhat of a paradox. In the name of self-preservation after all, most people flee from natural disasters. A slim, intrepid minority however, prefer to fling themselves in the eye of the storm, as it were, or show up to observe the aftermath. Less aid workers and more storm chasers, these adrenaline fiends just like to watch.

Aceh, Sumatra tsunami damage – Photo credit

Some notable disaster tourism sites include South Asia and South East Asia after the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of 2004, New Orleans and the U.S. Gulf Coast post-Hurricane Katrina, and the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption in Iceland.

2010 Haiti earthquake aftermath – Photo credit

Dark Tourism

The name is self-explanatory but to expound further, dark tourism is travel to some of the most somber and grim historical points of interest on the planet. Think sites of unspeakable horror, like the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps in Poland, Khmer Rouge “Killing Fields” of Cambodia and Robben Island off the Cape Town coast.

Murambi Genocide Museum, Rwanda – Photo credit

Other noteworthy dark tourism destinations include Ground Zero in New York City, the American Cemetery and Memorial in Normandy and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Rwanda’s Murambi Genocide Museum, Goree Island off the coast of Dakar, Senegal, Ghana’s Cape Coast Castle and the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool also embody this austere, yet vital and significant, type of travel.

Auschwitz – Photo credit

Ghost Tourism

A fascination with the supernatural drives some people to travel in search of the paranormal. Behind many a famous landmark is a great ghost story and indeed, popular tours in places like Dublin, St. Augustine, Florida, Quebec City and Brisbane explore historic, “haunted” city quarters.

Amityville “Horror” House – Photo credit

Offshoots of “ghost tourism” include proverbial ghost towns, from barren mine, mill and railroad towns across America, Canada and Australia to notorious places like Jonestown, Guyana and Chernobyl, Ukraine. Salem, Massachusetts, of infamous witch trial fame, and parts of Transylvania also fit the bill.

Bran Castle, Transylvania – Photo credit

Slum Tourism

One of the most controversial types of travel involves tours of vast urban slums in places like Rio de Janeiro, Soweto, Mumbai, Manila, Cairo and Mexico City. “Shanty tourism” or “poverty tourism” is certifiably questionable and on the ethical borderline when the experience is utterly passive. If however, visitors engage in some kind of community outreach or volunteer program, the collective positive impact falls beyond the realm of mere “slum tourism”.

Rocinha Favela, Rio de Janeiro – Photo credit

From the favelas of Rio to Orangi Town, Karachi, Khayelitsha township in Cape Town to Cité Soleil, Port-au-Prince, the major slums of the world do manage to lure tourists. Is slum tourism inherently good or bad? The answer is complex and elusive. Ultimately, if areas of dire poverty incur some immediate net benefit, the pros may outnumber the cons. If however, this alternative form of travel veers on cheap voyeurism, then we can safely call it like it is: inhumane.

Mumbai slum – Photo credit

Pop-Culture Tourism

Pop-culture tourism, unlike some other types of travel, is by definition, harmless fun. Simply put, it involves destinations with indelible connections to popular books, films, television shows, music, major events or a particular celebrity.

Vulcan, Alberta – Photo credit

Countless fans of The Beatles who flock to Liverpool hotels safely fit the description of pop-culture tourists. Vulcan, Alberta, so named in 1915 after the Roman god of fire, shot to cult-like prominence decades later because of Star Trek. The diminutive Canadian town now ranks as a famously kitschy sci-fi pilgrimage point.

Other significant pop-culture destinations include the town of Burkitsville, Maryland (of Blair Witch Project fame), the Tatooine Star Wars sets of Matmata, Tunisia and last but not least, parts of New Zealand that evoke Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings visions of Middle Earth.

Star Wars set in Matmata, Tunisia – Photo credit

Ryugyong Hotel

Photo by Timur

It may be the tallest structure in North Korea, and one of the tallest hotels in the world, but Ryugyong still looks like one of those cheap hotels only communists know how to build. Its construction started in 1987, but it was halted, in 1992, due to serious financial difficulties. Ryugyong Hotel remained deserted for 16 years, until 2008, when, under the supervision of an Egyptian company, construction of the building was resumed.

Photo by Misha

The existence of Rygyong Hotel was denied for several years, after construction had begun, and the North Korean government went to great lengths to manipulate photos and keep it off printed maps of Pyongyang. Even now, it’s hard to obtain much information about the giant structure.

Marques de Riscal

Designed by renowned architect, Frank O. Gehry, the man behind Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum, Marques de Riscal has become one of the most recognized structures in Spain. Located on the edge of Elciego, in the middle of the Spanish “City of Wine”, Marques de Riscal was commissioned by a local winery, to promote the international interest in Spanish wine.

This unique structure is covered with sheets of mirror-finish stainless steel and golden-pink titanium. The hues were obtained by passing the titanium through an electric current in an acid bath, and it’s said they were inspired by the colors used for the wine bottles, by the company that commissioned Marques de Riscal Hotel

Hotel Spirit

Photo by look-closer

According to the official site of this establishment, the uniqueness of Hotel Spirit comes from the complex services it offers, but I’d say it has a lot more to do with its crazy design. Located in the broad center of Bratislava, Hotel Spirit features an abstract architecture complemented by a wide range of colors.

A true rarity in a city like Bratislava, Hotel Spirit has become much more than just a place of temporary residence, it’s now one of the local tourist attractions.

Hotel Unique

Photo by richardsummers

One look at these photos and you can see the name of this bizarre hotel states the obvious. Designed by Ruy Ohtake, one of the most famous architects in Brazil, Hotel Unique resembles a half a coin, placed on its edge. It looks strange, but it was a great way to make the most of the 85-meter-height restriction.

Photo by seier

If you’re looking for a nice view over the incredible Sao Paolo, Hotel Unique is the place to go. Thanks to its crazy design, this place has 30 rooms on the top floor, compared to just 4, on its narrow second floor.

Crazy House

Photo by 43391993@N03

One of the weirdest hotels in the world, Vietnam’s Crazy House was built to look like a tree house, when it was really made with common construction materials. The credit for this bizarre hotel goes to Hang Nga, the woman who designed it. She is the daughter of a former Vietnamese dictator, so she was allowed to let her imagination run wild, without having to consider architectural rules and regulations.

Photo by upyernoz

The end result of Hang Nga’s design efforts was named Crazy House, by locals, and that’s name that gained it international fame. Unfortunately for its designer, who lives in her masterpiece, most of the tourists choose to take a few photos and look for a more conventional hotel, to spend the night.

Vodka Museum

Photo by szene

I’m sure you’re asking yourself what vodka has to do with Amsterdam. Apparently nothing, but the city’s wild nightlife made vodka quite popular, so somebody decided to open a museum in its honor. Vodka fans have the opportunity to learn everything there is to know about the popular drink, see a collection of over 80 different vodka bottles. Visitors often get carried away when it comes to the complementary shots, but luckily, there are many hotels in Amsterdam, where they can sleep it off.

National Museum of Spectacles

Located in an old four story historical building, above a traditional optician’s shop, the National Museum of Spectacles was established out of pure passion. It first opened 35 years ago, but the Theunissen family’s obsession with spectacles can be traced back to the 19th century. The Amsterdam Brill museum features a unique array of glasses, from the nerdiest and tackiest to the most modern and fashionable.

Torture Museum

With a tagline like “Scaring the hell out of you”, the Torture Museum of Amsterdam would have you believe it’s one of the scariest in the world. But, in reality, the only thing that can be considered somewhat scary is the darkness. It might not succeed in frightening its visitors, but the Torture Museum does a great job documenting human cruelty, over the centuries. Its exhibits consist mainly of old prints shown on light boxes, and a few rusty torture devices, from the dark ages.

NEMO Science Center

Underneath its giant green hull, NEMO houses some of the coolest, most amazing technological and scientific exhibits and experiments you could ever hope to find. Based in a ship-like structure, this Mecca of science experiments is a great place to visit, for children and adults alike. From the giant soap bubble maker, to solving murders with the help of DNA technology, or disassembling old electronic devices, there’s plenty to do at the NEMO Science Center, in Amsterdam.

Sex Museum – The Temple of Venus

The first and oldest sex museum in the world, The Temple of Venus features all kinds of sexual artworks, from ancient to modern. Its name might sound a bit shocking, to some people, but it’s nowhere near as vulgar and offensive as you might think. Amsterdam’s Sex Museum simply tries to celebrate sexual beauty, through a series of wax figurines, old photos and artworks that depict the history of sex.

Hash, Marijuana and Hemp Museum

If there was ever going to be such a thing as a museum dedicated to hash, marijuana and hemp, it had to be in Amsterdam. This particular attraction is more of a “2 for the price of one” museum, the first concentrates on the history of hemp and its industrial use, in our times, and the second one focused one the civilized use of cannabis. If you have any questions, regarding the use of medicinal hemp, they will all be answered at Amsterdam’s Hash, Marijuana and Hemp Museum.

Museum of Bags and Purses

About three decades age, Hendrikje Ivo, an antique dealer from Amstelven, bought an antique handbag, from 1820. Her fascination for bags and handbags kept growing, and with the help of her husband and daughter, she collected over 3,000 purses and handbags. Aware of the importance of her collection, she decided to share it with the public. That’s how one of the most interesting museums in Amsterdam came to be. If you’re interested in fashion and design, the Museum of Bags and Purses is a must-see.

Erotic Museum

While the Amsterdam Sex Museum is more about sexual artworks, the Erotic Museum is much blunter, showcasing pornographic films like a version of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” unfit for minors. Located right in the middle of the famous Red District, the Erotic Museum of Amsterdam tries to catch the essence of its popular surroundings and show it in concentrated form.

1. International Rotten Sneaker Contest

Apparently there are 250,000 sweat glands that dot each of your feet and can be very productive when it comes to the usually much unwelcome wetness. With the Odor Eaters expertise one cannot be mistaken. But this time, it’s sweat time, no time for embarrassment! Give your sneakers a very special wear-and-tear and make them the grimiest and grungiest footwear to ever tread the Earth. Wear off the soles, lose the laces and grommets, let your toes wiggle and don’t forget – offensive smell is essential. Raise your head high and proud for this time there are qualified specialists with di-stink-tive titles of “odorologists” to appreciate your effort at the annual International Rotten Sneaker Contest in Montpelier, Vermont. Held in March, no foot talc or baths before recommended!

_{Rotten sneakers anyone? Photo by claire.m}

2. Two Harbors Outhouse Race

One might think a privy is an intimate matter. Not in Two Harbors, Minnesota where every February you’re given a one-of-a-kind chance to display your outhouse creativity. Before you let your imagination bubble with images of how imaginative one can be in a toilet, let’s put it straight – Outhouse Classic is a race. Just use your DIY and a bit of design skills, put your very own privy together, fit it with a seat and a roll of toilet paper and ready … steady… flush! Similar events take place in Mackinaw City, Michigan, Conocully, Washington, and Trenary, Michigan.

_{Show your creative streak, too! Photo by Brian Rossow}

3. Emma Crawford Coffin Race

If morbid skeletons, half-rotten corpses and taking a peek inside a coffin make your heart beat faster head for Manitou Springs, Colorado, where every weekend prior to Halloween the town hosts some macabre events in memory of Emma Crawford. As the local lore goes, Emma came to Manitou to take advantage of the healing climate and fight her tuberculosis. In vain. She died and was buried atop the Red Mountain where she rested peacefully till one rainy summer which washed her coffin down the mountain and into the canyon below. As you can imagine that was enough of an incentive to start commemorating her death in a somewhat original way. Feel it yourself and join the crowds of mourners parading along the streets, racing their coffins and showing off their spooky costumes.

_{Emma, is that you? Photo by Lars Leber}

_{Memento mori. Photo by normreich}

4. Sidewalk Egg Frying Contest

To spice up you Route 66 ride pull over at Oatman, Arizona, which becomes pretty hot and sizzling every July 4th for its annual egg frying contest. Piece of cake, you might think. Not if you have to use solar heat to fry. It is a feast of creativity and DIY for the contestants who use anything from the humble aluminum foil and magnifying glasses to more sophisticated homegrown solar gadgets to get an egg fried in maximum 15 minutes. Bon appetit!

_{And becon? Photo by Dragan}

5. Burning Man Festival

There is an ephemeral city in Nevada desert that turns into the epicenter of shocking art and free-spirited minds for one week. Out-of-this-world installations, extraterrestrial sculptures and architectural experiments intermingle with naked body-painted humans and wacky vehicles. No tags, no labels attached – it’s the art and imagination that rule here, not the names and artists. Bizarre as it is, the Burning Man is a world-class event. Don’t waste your time if you want to be a part of it, after a week the city is disassembled and burned leaving the desert wilderness barren as it is before the festival starts.

_{Desert fauna or flora? Photo by light bloom}

_{Sand-proof merry-go-round. Photo by loupiote (Old Skool)}

A crazy world, isn’t it? Yet so compelling and irresistible.

This is a guest post by OpenTravel – a perfect avenue on the world wide web to share your travel experiences, plan your trips and connect with other like-minded travelers.

Blessed Kinga Chapel

Located only 20 km from Krakow, Bochnia is the oldest salt mine in Poland and one of the oldest in the world. It has been functioning for 750 years and the salt extracted from it has contributed to the development of Bochnia County. Nowadays, salt extraction is ceased and Bochnia operates mainly as a tourist attraction and a sanatorium.

Wazyn Chamber, considered the heart of the mine, houses one of the most unusual sacred places on Earth, Blessed Kinga Chapel. It was founded in 1747 and features a pulpit carved in salt, various salt sculptures and salt altars. On Christmas Eve and Patron’s Day, high masses are conducted in this main chapel of Bochnia Salt Mine.

Catacomb Underground Church

Named after the catacombs of Rome, where the people used to bury their dead and meet in times of persecution, the Catacomb Underground Church is one of the main attractions of Coober Pedy, in the Australian Outback. Unlike the Romans, Aussies use this underground sanctuary to get away from the scorching sun.

There are five underground churches in Coober Pedy, a town famous for its beautiful opals and known as the Underground Town. Catacomb Underground Church was carved in the shape of a cross, into a giant sandstone rock.

St. Kinga’s Chapel

Located 101 meters underground, in the Wieliczka Salt Mine, St. Kinga’s Chapel is considered the most impressive salt-carved sanctuary on Earth. Carved from a block of salt, by a group of self-taught miners, St. Kinga’s Chapel has acted as a place of worship ever since 1896.

The salt decorations spread all over the chapel were created over a period of 100 years. Even today, the artworks are made by a new generation of talented miners. One of the most impressive things found in St. Kinga’s Chapel are the chandeliers carved from blocks of salt.

Zipaquira

[Photo Credits]
One of Colombia’s most important pilgrimage sites, the cathedral of Zipaquira lies 200 meters underground, in an old salt mine. Zipaquira attracts around 3,000 Roman-Catholic followers every Sunday, but it is also one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.

[Photo Credits]
The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira began as a small praying sanctuary carved by the hard-working miners. It had three naves and a giant cross, but was shut down by authorities, for safety reasons. After a complete redesign, a larger, more beautiful Salt Cathedral was reopened in 1995 and began attracting an even larger number of tourists.

Church of Saint Jean

[Photo Credits]
In southern France, close to the picturesque village of Aubeterre, lies one of religion’s hidden gems, the underground Church of Saint Jean. The village itself is charming enough, traversed of cobbled alleys, full of friendly people and located in a verdant setting, but the true treasure of Aubeterre-sur-Dronne can be found beneath.

[Photo Credits]
The centuries-old Church of Saint Jean was hand-carved out of a rock hanging above the river Dronne. This monolithic structure is 88 feet long, 52 feet wide and reaches 20 meters at its highest point. Saint Jean Church is available for tourist visits seven days a week.