Catalonia Tradition: Beating the hollow Christmas log until it defecates in your fireplace.

A vista of the city and sea from atop the little-known viewing deck on an unassuming Columbus statue.

The iconic boulevard is the perfect place to catch sight of a bicycling skeleton, a levitating Satan, or a chef with his head stuck in a pizza.

Step inside the first house designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, considered to be one of the first Art Nouveau buildings.

Gaudí's famously flamboyant architectural style is on full display in this sprawling park and garden.

One of Antoni Gaudí's most classic buildings is well-known for its "dragon-back" design.

Construction of Barcelona's iconic (but controversial) church is expected to be completed in 2026—a century after the death of its architect.

A 16th-century Andalusian palace.

The final resting place of the great navigator, or maybe his brother.

The world's largest wooden structure.

A solitary lighthouse in Spain was an inspiration to the great Jules Verne.

Originally slated to become a luxurious resort, this structure is now a graffiti haunt reclaimed by nature.

The facade of this 16th-century building is decorated with carvings of 300 seashells.

The Cathedral of Salamanca has a number of unusual carvings but none so surprising as a modern astronaut.

These magnificent city walls rise from the barren sun-baked Spanish plains like something straight out of a fairytale.

A display of torture devices used in the Spanish Inquisition and other scourges of medieval Europe.

This magnificent castle grew from a small Moorish fortress, and reportedly inspired two iconic Disney castles.

The first mechanized factory in Spain is also one of the most significant mints in the history of money.

A curious memento mori hangs in the magnificent Cathedral of Segovia.

These "mermaids" that surround a plaza in Segovia are rather sphinx-like.

One of the few remaining ancient aqueducts described by Frontinus as 'the most solemn testimony of the Empire.'

This influential Renaissance-era library was once the haunt of kings and monks.

A rare set of strings by famed instrument maker Antonio Stradivarius is on display in the Royal Palace.

An ancient Egyptian temple in the middle of Madrid, Spain.