Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

Carnivorous plants, medieval aphrodisiacs, and the largest original wood structure glass conservatory in the western hemisphere.

An underground mansion with fruit-bearing trees and grapes growing beneath the surface of central California.

The old Niles Canyon Aqueduct in the San Francisco Bay Area is a bemusing and secret trail through nature for wayward travelers.

A one-of-a-kind collection of a unique medium.

High on a hill overlooking Los Angeles lives a world famous, high power conical Tesla Coil.

The liveliest ghost town in the state.

A world-class observatory in the California desert.

Seemingly grown on some other world, these New Mexico rock formations look like a disused science fiction set.

A tiny collection of traditional Japanese woodblock prints, open only when the owner feels like it.

A 300-year-old tea shop that brought tea to the English people, not to mention the Queen herself.

A library built during San Francisco's pioneer times is a student's retreat, bibliophile's sanctuary, and chess player's delight.

Appropriation-friendly collection of books, periodicals, and more.

The randomness of this wall of lava lamps helps encrypt up to 10 percent of the internet.

In this century-old literary safehouse, print is alive and well.

Medical and zoological curiosities for sale.

This rare volcano spews the strangest and (literally) coolest lava in the world.

A tribute to a Ukrainian heroine who went undercover and killed several Nazi operatives.

Peruse rare tomes like poetry bound in pearls or books with branches and berries growing out of their spines.

The old tradition of drying laundry on poles in the public green is still guaranteed by Glasgow city law.

One of few surviving standpipe water towers in the U.S.

A spitting ode to a German serial killer.

The oldest hotel in the world has been operated by the same family for over 1,300 years, even catering to samurai.

130 replicas of world wonders squeezed into just 118 acres of space.