The architect of this fanciful complex called it an "oasis for humanity and nature in a sea of rational houses."

These jeweled relics have a scandalous and contested past.

These blingy, baubled skeletons lie in glass boxes inside a baroque Bavarian church.

A 16th-century monastery boasts a lush array of plants native to Mexico’s most biodiverse region.

The first public library in the Americas has more than 45,000 books dating back to the 15th century.

This museum inside Amsterdam's largest cemetery explores how people deal with death.

In Rome’s Jewish ghetto, a 200-year-old bakery still makes the neighborhood’s historic sweets.

One man's personal kunstkammer, museum and shop.

One of the most easily accessible examples of the rare 1960s UFO houses.

This house is one of the most colorful in the country, and is the last remaining example of a historic villa.

The busy transport hub is home to the tallest airport slide in the world.

This mosque was based on Sub-Saharan Islamic architecture and created for the Senegalese Tirailleurs.

The final resting place for a wealthy Roman family, this tomb might be the best preserved of its kind outside Italy.

A church filled with the bones of hundreds of virgins martyrs—or so they say.

On the shores of Lake Superior, a small group of monks makes sacred sweets.

It's clear this abandoned Art Deco gem was no ordinary cleaners.

Skeletons dressed in extravagant 18th century royal costumes cavort in the aisles of this German basilica.

By night, this auto repair shop turns into a taquería serving up some of the city's finest al pastor tacos.

This unimaginably large pile of sand near Nazca is one of the tallest dunes in the world.

The sophisticated hydraulic system of the Nazca civilization.

This archaeological museum in one of Peru’s most intriguing regions exhibits ancient artifacts from the Nazca civilization.

These overlooked ruins give an intimate look at the Inca Empire's urban planning prowess.

A set of seven houses, each built in a style that represents a European country.

A solemn, monumental, kitschy palace of worship honoring victory in the Great Patriotic War.