Where the high court feasted, frolicked, and high courtesans put their royal lovers' diamonds to the test.

This salt marsh in Southern France is as pink as the flamingos that inhabit it.

Two awe-inspiring globes from the reign of the Sun King hang from the ceiling of France's national library.

Noirish green neon marks the location of one of the oldest private detective agencies in France.

Hidden away in a modern library are the remains of one of the 18th century's most celebrated wunderkammers.

Skeletons, medical artifacts, and other obscure and precious treasures all displayed in a wooden pharmacist's cabinet.

This natural French spring has been turned into a magical grotto by Roman and medieval constructions.

Science fiction's grandfather has a fittingly marvelous tomb.

At Monet's beloved home you can still see the Japanese bridge, waterlilies, and weeping willows that were the subjects of some of his most iconic paintings.

This historic island prison holds one of the dungeons from the Count of Monte Cristo even though it is a work of fiction.

Hundreds of hidden passageways weave through the old quarters of Lyon.

A 14th century bridge built as a fortress, where the devil lurks on one of its towers.

A cave dwelling that was started by the Celts, expanded by monks, and finished by knights.

One of the last umbrella repair shops in Paris upholds the nostalgic art of umbrella making.

The subterranean "lake" below the Paris opera house inspired the Phantom of the Opera's lair.

The curious underground history of keeping Paris clean.

Ancient paintings known as the "Sistine Chapel of Cave Art."

Sacked by Vikings, blessed by William the Conqueror, dealt a fatal blow during the French Revolution—these ruins have seen it all.

A unrivaled and rather horrifying collection of wax dermatological models.

One of the greatest maze designer’s greatest mazes.

A majestic lion statue guards this Parisian botanical garden, and feeds on an unsettling item.

Stroll through retro Paris while shopping for old postcards and discarded doll heads.

The first green space constructed on an elevated viaduct.

Exquisite wall sculptures carved in secret by an early quarryman in an obscure corner of the Paris Catacombs.