Elaborately carved to showcase the glorious wealth that the age of exploration brought to the Portuguese empire.

A king's pet, a pope's gift, an artist's inspiration, and a tragic shipwreck.

An ancient and majestic fortress that played an integral role in Portugal's road to independence.

The stunning interior of this Gothic church is covered in ornate gold details.

This unreal Portuguese palace looks as though it's made from a pile of different castles.

Legacy of the earthquake that nearly wiped Lisbon off the face of the Earth.

A 16th century chapel decorated with bones, skulls, and entire bodies hanging from the wall.

One of the most beautiful bookstores in the world hides a neo-Gothic interior behind an art nouveau facade.

This eccentrically decorated palace is replete with grottoes, fountains, tunnels, and caves.

Museum preserving torture methods from the past.

Hidden beneath a restaurant, underground tunnels tell the story of Malta’s tragic role in World War II.

Abandoned Roman Catholic chapel abused by Satanists before being restored.

The floor of this spectacular Baroque sanctuary is covered in memento mori.

Overshadowed by other, more famous Maltese catacombs, this ancient burial chamber has one of the best examples of a ritual agape table.

Burial grounds for more than 1,000 bodies deep under the modern town of Rabat.

This subterranean necropolis holds three floors of antler-dug grave caves.

Stone Age solar temple is aligned with the sun on each equinox and solstice.

An abandoned set from the 1980 film "Popeye," claimed and repurposed as a theme park by creative locals.

This strange statue depicts a young boy's body with an adult Mozart's head and a single wing.

Locals say the stone that marks the spot where the gallows once stood can lead you astray.

This hanging crocodile is thought to be the "dragon" that once plagued a Czech city.

Tiny communists hammer away on the Olomouc Astronomical Clock.

A peculiar clock commemorates a historic victory won by ringing the noonday bell an hour early.

An ornate plague column – built to celebrate life – claimed the lives of numerous artisans during its construction.