Fodor's Expert Review Lola Montez House

In the center of town, on the site of the original, stands a reproduction of the home of Lola Montez, the notorious dancer, singer, and courtesan whose popularity with gold-rush-era miners derived from her suggestive "spider dance." Lola repaired to Grass Valley after wearing out her welcome in Europe, where her lovers included the composer Franz Liszt and the ill-fated King Ludwig of Bavaria. (Her calls for democracy contributed to Ludwig's overthrow and her banishment as a witch—or so the story goes.) Religion has recently found Lola: a local church now owns this site.