A common entry point to the Griffith Observatory trail holds its own wonders.

A "Titanic" superfan changed his name to Jack and set up this strange shrine to the blockbuster, complete with Korean food and Tarot readings.

Ancient ruins hidden underneath a modern luxury hotel.

Roman-era ships unearthed...

The mystic whose incorrupt corpse still attracts the faithful.

The mummified relic of St. Antoninus.

This grand old 80-foot sequoia towers above the buildings in the city’s retail center.

A museum befitting the city responsible for supplying the majority of the world's LSD.

A bizarre house filled with an astounding array of collections.

Julia Morgan's Moorish-Gothic labyrinth of fountains, trees, natural light and Oakland's notable dead.

One of few lasting examples of the brief octagon craze that developed into folly.

A hands-on traveling collection of the innovative devices of yesteryear.

A turn-of-the-century architectural marvel built on healing mineral springs and salt licks.

One man's vision and a labor of love of many.

One of the world's largest collections of rare and magnificent bird specimens.

One man's homage to the sun continues to grow like a glass fractal.

A museum now occupies the mansion in Samoa where the prolific Scottish writer chose to spend the last years of his life.

One-room museum dedicated to India's most enigmatic mathematician.

This museum of Hawaiian and Polynesian culture is the legacy of the last descendant of the Kamehameha Dynasty.

Where the father of Persian poetry is laid to rest.

A museum founded to reflect on and remember the human rights abuses under Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.

This stunning Brazilian library contains the largest collection of Portuguese texts outside of Portugal itself.

Golden Gate Park's historic collection of plants.

A century and a half of research in the sciences and natural history, still going strong.