Jaunted

The Louvre, Paris
Mona Lisa and a macchiato, sil vous plait? While coffee is necessary in order to plow through even just half of a wing at the Louvre, we still don't think that French kings like Philip II, who had the Louvre built in the 12th century as a fortress, or Louis XIV, who turned it into a place to house the royal collections, would approve of Starbucks serving its Americanized coffees on the ground floor of what is now the world's finest museum.
[Photo: StephenCarlile]

La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
Perhaps the construction workers who have been toiling away for over a hundred years on this never-ending masterpiece by Antoni Gaudi need a java jolt to get the job done. A Starbucks has opened on the Plaça Sagrada Familia 19 near the famous unfinished cathedral. (It's actually located across from where the big red tourist buses do their drop-offs.)
[Photo: Chjab]

Ibn Battuta Mall, Dubai
Starbucks within malls are a given but only in Dubai will you find such a fancy mall as the massive (and themed!) Ibn Battuta Mall. While the Starbucks store is nothing special to gawk at, the Persia Court where it's located is a stunning tiled dome. The mall is essentially a homage to the Arab traveller and adventurer Ibn Battuta and each part of the mall represents a different land he traveled to. This Starbucks is located in Persia and the dome is made up of Persian blue art and tiles. But we don't think Battuta actually encountered any Starbucks on his travels.
[Photo: Joi]

Next to Harvard Sleep Clinic, Boston, MA
Less then a block away from Boston's most recognized Sleep Clinic at Beth Israel is, you guessed it, a Starbucks. The world renowned sleep clinic provides care for patients with a variety of sleep disorders -- insomnia, daytime sleepiness, sleep apnea and narcolepsy.

Furthermore, the attached sleep laboratory provides state-of-the-art diagnostic treatment facilities where over 1,000 overnight sleep studies are done each year. While these top notch facilities are probably one of the many reasons why Harvard Medical School uses this clinic as ground zero for their Sleep Medicine division, the irony of a Starbucks less then a block from the sleep clinic is not lost on us.

It is a bit tricky to find this Starbucks, it is located in the basement of the Shapiro building at Beth Israel. The location is small and is without indoor seating, however the temptation for sleep disorder sufferers to down caffeine less than a block away from the sleep center is awkward to say the least.

Moscow
It took a while but after the Cold War finally thawed out, Starbucks opened up shop in Moscow in 2007. Imagine, the best example of capitalism thriving inside what was once the "best" example of communism. Now, there are 12 places for Muscovites to get their daily caffeine fix. But the one we have to give a shout-out to has to be the one on the Old Arbat Street, a pedestrian street which has been in existence since the 15th century.

It began as important trade route favored amongst craftsmen before becoming a desirable area for Russian nobility to live. It was nearly destroyed by Napolean in 1812 and had to be completely rebuilt. Today the street is undergoing gentrification (there's also a McDonald's on Arbat) and more modern shops and restaurants have opened there recently.
[Photo: American Girls in Moscow]

Honorable Mentions
Forbidden City: For a while, the Forbidden City in China had its very own Starbucks but it was closed back in July 2007. Despite still having a store listing on Starbucks website, a Jaunted contributor who recently visited the Forbidden City said she did not see one

Shanghai Pagoda: What do you need after a day traipsing around Shanghai studying its pagodas? A latte, apparently.

Related Stories:
· Walk The Path Of The Berlin Wall And Crash Into A Starbucks [Jaunted]
· The Most Shocking McDonald's Locations in the World [Jaunted]