The healing properties of this well attracted royals and commoners throughout the Middle Ages.

This repurposed church offers a more literal way to get closer to the heavens.

Enter this small nook and you'll be surrounded by 360 degrees of street art.

The U.K.'s first underground railway line is now a lively thoroughfare for runners and cyclists.

Anonymously sculpted and donated, these sculptures made from poetry books and pages are sprinkled around the city.

A succession of eerily contemplative iron figures lead from a Scottish museum to the sea.

This 16th-century house tells the city's history through old artifacts and quirky tales.

A library where thousands of books explain how to avoid another Great Recession.

This obscure walkway links Edinburgh’s Old Town with one of the city's prime vantage points.

A beautiful Greco-Roman structure houses a well once believed to have healing powers.

Long abandoned underground complex to keep royals safe from a nuclear war that never came.

An American ghost town hides along a side street in Scotland's capital.

Summer in Scotland begins with a spectacularly wild and colorful event rooted in ancient pagan traditions.

There are plenty of wonderful panoramic vistas in Edinburgh, but not many are hidden smack in the middle of the Old Town.

A book bound in the skin of an infamous criminal, along with countless other specimens.

This historic pub has maintained much of its 1906 decor, including a small sequestered room for women, where orders were slipped through a tiny window.

Near the former site of numerous witch burnings, this lavish Edinburgh mainstay pays homage to Scotland's brutal history.

Accessible only at low tide, the deserted island is dotted with World War II ruins.

This series of Scottish caves has no clear purpose other than baffling historians.

Known as the most scenic route in Sri Lanka, this train line is steeped in history and offers an unparalleled view of the country.

Pettah's beautiful floating market was once a stinky canal in a sketchy industrial area.

A Bohemian "anti-hotel" offers off-kilter stays in Sri Lanka.

This off-beat, quirky communism-themed bar isn't afraid to poke fun at its history.

A former coastal watch post has been turned into a bothy with unrivaled views of the sea and its inhabitants.