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.

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

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

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

This restored Portuguese cafe may well be the most beautiful place in the world to grab a Big Mac.

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

Elaborate tile work in this railway station tells the story of Portugal.

An abandoned whaling station on an active volcano offers hot springs in Antarctica, surrounded by ruined giants of industry.

The best place to send your postcards home from Antarctica.

This ancient structure is widely thought to be the oldest intact pyramid in the world.

Charnel house at the foot of Mount Sinai.

Road signs in Namibia mark the location of one of the five major circles of latitude.

A desert that rolls right up to the ocean, where it's so dry animals live off the fog.

This "dead marsh" sits among the largest sand dunes in the world, a forest frozen in time.

This African beach is home to thousands of rare mainland penguins that are known for their annoying voice.

Every equinox this Maya pyramid puts on a spooky ancient light show.

No telescopes, no power, no gift shop: The Observatory of Chichen Itza, one of the world's oldest observatories, takes astronomy back to basics.

Underwater art project will double as a massive artificial coral reef to help regenerate the damaged ecosystem.

A massive underwater sinkhole made famous by Jacques Cousteau.

Central America's deepest lake is actually a volcanic caldera, surrounded by three volcanoes.

Home of the "true" equator.

A turquoise lake within a volcanic crater.

A swing to dangle you off the very edge.