An artsy hidden staircase leads to breathtaking views of San Francisco.

A terrific purveyor of natural history objects and curios.

A huge musical instrument played by the ocean.

During prohibition, corrupt city officials ran drinking dens under the streets of Downtown Los Angeles.

An abandoned castle owned and ignored by Masons carries a cursed history.

This massive store is home to an eccentric collection of vintage, retro, and peculiar goods.

The oldest hotel in the world has been operated by the same family for over 1,300 years, even catering to samurai.

The 10,000 Torii shrine.

The name of this famed hospital was once a byword for the horrors of medical and psychiatric care.

The mysterious wonder of an underground waterfall is illuminated by multicolored lights.

The crypt of the imposing Stephensdom holds royal intestines and thousands of skeletons.

Eons ago, a rushing lava river formed this pristine passage through solid rock.

A fiery crater has been burning in the Karakum Desert since 1971.

This quirky curiosity shop takes its cues from the world's bazaars.

One of the oldest scientific gardens in Britain, containing more than 13,302 plant species in its core collection.

The second oldest continuously operating bar in Louisiana.

A special shop catering to the needs of things that go bump in the night, and also helps kids become writers.

This volcanic cave lake is essentially hard proof that Iceland is the most magical place on Earth.

One of the most scenic stretches of road in America winds between some of the country's oldest trees.

The fountain marks the area where hundreds of accused witches were burned at the stake.

Amazing and mysterious Neolithic settlement on Scotland's Orkney Islands.

The curios of pharmacist and collector Henry Wellcome.

Breathtakingly blue walls shimmer inside the "Glacier Behind the Town."

Ruins of the elaborate house where the enigmatic costume designer threw glamorous parties for New York's theatrical elite.