This 1,300 year old monastery built atop a single rock was once only accessible depending on the whims of the tide.

This medieval tower is all that remains of the castle where Joan of Arc was held before being burned at the stake.

Collection of fossils, plants, and ancient animals encased in amber.

The heaviest gold coin ever minted.

Museum on French naval history, with magnificent figureheads, a historic diving suit, and a boat used by Napoleon.

The curious underground history of keeping Paris clean.

This former “ante-chamber to the guillotine” has been refurbished to illustrate the brutal history of French justice.

Twelve grave-faced marble angels guard the emperor's tomb at Les Invalides.

Original cabaret handbills, posters, and feline artwork are a purrfect highlight of the Museum of Montmartre.

An overlooked marble is the only surviving in-place 18th century example of the measurement that changed how we define distance.

A museum on the history of Paris, including a set of Napoleon's toiletries, Proust's room, and relics of the Revolution.

Behind the pink curtain, Au Bonheur du Jour, an art gallery of erotic archives.

Indents in the pavement are all that remain from a grisly death machine in Paris.

The very center of Paris is surrounded by a bevy of strange good luck rituals.

Paris' linguistic guide to the international language of, yes, love.

The oldest stone house in Paris was built by its most famous alchemist.

This massive library holds what was once the largest book collection in the world.

Richard III supposedly disposed of his nephews' bodies here in an effort to seal his claim to the throne.

This one has sailed five times as far as Sir Francis Drake's famous ship.

The barrel-made lookout from Shackleton's final ship is tucked away in the crypt of one of London's oldest churches.

A plaque hangs near the execution place of the Scottish Independence leader famously depicted in "Braveheart."

The childhood home of Earth's alien chameleon is a humble Brixton flat.

Pop culture has helped to keep this iconic British building from being destroyed.

The Metropolitan Police refurbished the blue box (perhaps not coincidentally) the same year "Doctor Who" returned to TV screens.