The floorboard scrawling of a tragic madman is on public display outside a Paris hospital, much to the dismay of its opponents.

The vast, legendary catacombs hold secrets much stranger than stacked bones.

Exquisite wall sculptures carved in secret by an early quarryman in an obscure corner of the Paris Catacombs.

This iconic Parisian bookstore doubles as the "Tumbleweed Hotel" for traveling writers.

Notorious artist squat renovated into legal studios.

Dolls of all shapes and sizes display the eras of femininity in this spooky and beautiful collection.

A Parisian exterminator's shop whose storefront displays stuffed rats hanging from traps.

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

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

An "inside out" building in the historical center of Paris, featuring Europe’s largest modern art museum.

A series of abstract, silly sculptures represent the works of a great modern classical composer.

Walk upon the mementos of the dead in this Parisian courtyard paved with medieval tombstones.

This century-old grotesque has a mysterious history and may not actually be a rabbit.

A familiar otherworldly creature guards this 12th-century Scottish abbey.

This former stomping grounds of the most eminent astronomers of the early 20th century.

A nursery specializing in strange and beautiful succulents and cacti.

Contemporary art inspired by natural history and science drawing on ancient techniques in a modern world.

An extraordinarily ornate museum in San Diego holds wondrous anthropological treasures.

This dark, quiet forest on the outskirts of San Diego is dense with rumor and lore.

This large collection of tiny things revels in the art of fine machinery well made.

Stripes of flowers bloom each spring in a 50 acre rainbow of color.

A museum dedicated to a sea that should have never been.

This strange seaside tower got its name from a wealthy eccentric who would hide coins among its stones.

The ghostly remains of an accidental sea.