It took more than 300 years to build this church, which is home to two sacred vessels believed to hold the blood of Christ.

The name of the only golden Buddhist temple in Korea translates as "the temple that protects the country."

This pagoda was once the central feature of a Buddhist temple that no longer exists.

A unique structure located on the grounds of one of five grand palaces that were built by the Joseon dynasty.

A flight of this "ghost staircase" has 40 steps on the way up, but only 39 steps on the way down.

A King Kong-like gorilla hangs from the top of this commercial building in Tokyo.

This subterranean spot might be the epitome of Japan's baroque, retro coffee houses.

A taste of the macabre Tokyo's ritzy shopping district.

Just your average Marie Antoinette–themed speakeasy in an abandoned 19th-century subway tunnel.

This medieval monastery represents an architectural blend of eastern and western European culture.

A detailed pachyderm supports Rome's smallest Egyptian obelisk.

A wunderkammer of curious objects and intriguing art nestled within a hub of ancient Roman sites.

The first Russian Orthodox church in the Catholic city of Rome in almost a thousand years.

Installed in an act of one-upsmanship, the annual sundial in this church is also a symbolic victory for the Gregorian calendar.

One of several skulls claiming to belong to the beheaded St. John the Baptist is on display at this Roman church.

A collection of objects supposedly singed by the hands of souls in purgatory.

A hospital where antique dolls are given new life.

This former Roman Catholic Church still contains the embalmed hearts and organs of 22 popes.

A fairy tale castle in modern Rome.

Architectural monsters are devouring this palace's every door and window.

The skull of the patron saint of lovers lies in the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin—maybe.

The final resting place of the poets Shelley and Keats.

The underground sanctuary of a mysterious ancient cult.

At the crypt of St. Mary of Eulogies and the Dead you are left alone to ponder mortality among piles of skulls.