The hallucinogenic center of the ancient world.

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

Natural history museum celebrating biodiversity with a parade of taxidermy animals.

The water-powered carriages are long gone, but for over a century this funicular railway has been the fastest route to the highest point in Paris.

Paris' fabled purveyor of exotic taxidermy and natural history curios.

Known as the "Dodo Manège," this carousel features a herd of animals that have disappeared—or may be gone soon.

This museum houses an imposing skeleton army comprised of creatures great and small.

A museum of magic with a Sadist past.

A haunting collection of the vanished and disappearing natural world.

France's most famous cemetery, with some of its most curious tombs.

The tradition of open-air secondhand and antiquarian bookselling in Paris dates back to the Renaissance.

Collection of antique taxidermy and natural specimens, near one of Paris's oldest flea markets.

In a quiet residential neighborhood, one restaurant fights to preserve heirloom corn, one tortilla at a time.

The internal railway of one of the biggest steel plants in America has been transformed into a linear park with unique industrial views.

Home to secret Eastern Bloc spy equipment and the largest stretch of the original Berlin Wall outside of Germany.

Honoring the famed folktale author, this California museum looks like it belongs in the Black Forest.

California's oldest wind harp represents a historic piece of America's Danish history.

Get up close to emus and ostriches, or buy their tasty meat.

A house built from trash known as the poor man's Hearst Castle.

This stretch of beach along California's central coast is a busy highway for the largest seal in the northern hemisphere.

A massive volcanic plug is now a protected area that hosts a number of bird species.

Centuries of crashing waves carved out this small hole in the rock, which lights up at certain parts of the year.

Offering commanding views of the California coastline, this restaurant was a hub for the artists and bohemians of Big Sur.

It's not your typical library, memorial, or book store.