A taste of Middle Earth, in the middle of the Bayou City.

A collection of 100 brains preserved in jars on the UT campus.

Home to an endangered salamander, a full moon celebration, and a large spring-fed outdoor swimming pool.

This eclectic Austin curiosity shop is home to all things strange and unusual.

The upstairs reading room is packed with millions of rare books, literary manuscripts, and historical treasures.

A store full of vintage and indie toys designed to bring out the kid in even the crustiest of adults.

A grove of colossal man-made flowers built to collect the sun's rays.

DIY collection of eclectic holdings.

Free public park and gardens filled with peacocks and peahens.

Home to the largest urban bat colony in North America, estimated at 1.5 million bats.

One part antique store, one part curiosities hodge-podge.

Continuing the tradition of the dime museum in style.

An amazing collection of wax anatomical models and terratological models.

An extraordinary collection of 18th century anatomical waxworks.

This zoological museum began as the first great curiosity cabinet.

A striking memorial recalls thousands of Bolognese men and women killed fighting fascists in World War II.

The remains of an ancient Roman city are hidden underneath Bologna's beautiful public library.

Once known for its horse-powered knife sharpening, this 200-year-old shop offers an array of blades and hard-to-find culinary tools.

A massive natural rock arch gives the Tuscan mountain its own window to the sky.

A unique Tuscan hideaway acts as an art mecca as well as a hotel.

An intact, still operating pharmacy from the 18th-century filled with numerous artifacts and paintings.

Anatomical cabinet holds unexpected treasures.

The first botanical garden, a feather in the cap of the Grand Duke of Tuscany.

A local student's chance encounter with Keith Haring led to the creation of one of Europe's largest murals.