A closer look

Walking down Alberta Street in Latvia's capital means being stared at by hundreds of screaming stone faces. Riga holds the highest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture on the planet, largely designed by Mikhail Eisenstein, a man who clearly believed blank wall space was a sin. The facades are violently over-decorated with dragons, sphinxes, terrifying gargoyles, and floral motifs, offering an architectural fever dream for anyone willing to simply look up.