Before the electric telegraph, a chain of stone towers carried messages across France.

This former Nazi castle was built as a school to train what would have been the future of the Third Reich.

This mysterious pig iron pillar does not rust, despite being weathered by the elements for centuries.

Swarovski's museum/theme park is a fake diamond fantasia overlooked by a giant.

The birthplace of an eccentric alchemist and possible inspiration for the fictional reanimator of monsters.

Built to test magnetically levitated elevators, the tower also boasts Germany's highest visitor platform.

The great Danube river starts here.

This museum tells the story of lake dwellers from 4000 BC to 850 BC, replete with stilt houses and goats.

Enter the cabin of a life-sized Hindenburg replica.

A lakeside footbridge that records Nobel Prize laureates' names in metal silhouette.

This 170-year-old Swiss guesthouse built into the side of a mountain is best accessed by a cable car.

This magnificent church allows travelers along one of Germany's busiest roadways a chance to rest and reflect.

This fascinating museum in an old water tower holds the world's largest collection of Vodou artifacts from western and central Africa.

The little tuxedo cat survived the trip, then languished in obscurity.

A striking 12th-century-style castle built on the edge of a cliff.

The narrowest street in the world is in danger of closing up entirely.

A long spiraling walkway winds through the woods, and around a copper beech tree at the center.

This giant wooden treehouse within a sprawling garden has its own eatery.

This Nazi-built amphitheater was constructed on a sacred mountain site used by various German cults.

This German art chapel is perfect for those who like their worship hard, modern, and utterly alien.

The largest mosque in Germany.

Coast along one of Japan’s mountain railways for coveted views of magnificent hydrangeas.

Existing for more than four centuries, the last of Hakone’s historic teahouses serves a sweet, mold-based rice drink.

Once the main gateway to Tokyo, sneaking through this checkpoint was a capital offense in feudal times.