César Baldaccini's iconic sculpture of a 40-foot thumb stands tall in La Défense.

French Time Capsule-19th Century home revealed to the public.

Live-in sculpture begun by one family in 1979.

One man's stunning attempt at eco-friendly living.

Balconies that have a most unusual accent.

An architectural oddity of six stories, accessed by graceful ramps.

Walk upon the mementos of the dead in this Parisian courtyard paved with medieval tombstones.

Egyptian Revival movie palace abandoned for decades and restored in 2013.

A French library that makes sure its love of books is writ large... giant in fact.

Immortalized by artists, this church incorporates a medieval lighthouse into its shoreside structure.

These quaint French houses dangle precariously over a precipice.

What if all public housing projects had been designed by "the Pygmalion of modern architecture," not only their prototype?

This modern museum of Mediterranean culture is surrounded by a surreal concrete honeycomb.

One architect's organic, human-centric design has been fully realized in this alien art house.

There is a strange little carving of a person seemingly crushed by a pillar behind the remains of St. Thomas Aquinas.

The industrial architecture honors the laborers who brought the Exposition Universelle of 1900 to life.

This church looks more like a spaceship than a house of worship.

These rustic holiday homes are made from discarded fishing boat hulls.

This building’s ghostly exterior reflects its former lives as a prison, school, and funeral home.

Was the twisted roof on this church's belltower an intentional design or a happy accident?

This Paris art space celebrates the creativity and ingenuity that springs from abject poverty, especially in Africa.

A colorful piece of contemporary art cheerfully clashes with Lyon's historical architecture.

The mental institution where Van Gogh created some of his most famous work now allows guests to walk in the artist's footsteps.

This collection of French root art looks like an indoor fairy wonderland.