This vertical pinnacle in China was the inspiration for the floating mountains in the movie “Avatar.”

A fifth-century temple improbably built into the side of a cliff.

Underneath the historic center of Mexico City, the remains of a temple dedicated to the Aztec god of the wind.

A scientific repository of goiters, boils and other ailments throughout Mexican history.

The ruins of an ancient temple to the Aztec wind god discovered in the middle of a metro station.

Gilded heaven for philatelists and architecture freaks, still in full working order despite sitting atop tremulous ground.

A museum in the former home of Marxist revolutionary Leon Trotsky.

A jaw-dropping "megalibrary" that turns book-browsing into a geometric adventure.

This immense scene of a cosmic battle between a jaguar and serpent illustrates the Aztec concept of the duality of life.

Beneath the most controversial monument in Mexico City is a cultural center that exhibits only digital art.

This clock was gifted to Mexico as a show of gratitude for its long history of welcoming Arab migrants.

These biodiverse university gardens form a green oasis amid the urban chaos of Mexico City.

One of the world's richest men bought this former paper factory and transformed it into a mall.

66,000 pieces of art, donated by one of the world's richest men.

The unique collection often goes unnoticed by visitors focused only on the archaeological objects.

This crumbling Art Deco movie palace in Mexico City has been abandoned for two decades.

Twelve natural mummies are displayed in the crypt of this former monastery school.

At a museum of everyday objects, it is the act of collecting that is really on display.

This foreboding building was the headquarters of the terrifying Spanish Inquisition in Mexico.

The only castle in North America to ever house European sovereigns.

A 500-year-old series of tunnels long believed to be folkloric was uncovered beneath the streets of Puebla.

Diego Rivera's massive tiled fountain and failed infrastructure project.

Visit this small Mexican church to pray to a mushroom that is supposedly marked with the image of Christ.

The now-public home of a renowned art collector is full of unique pieces from viceregal and 19th-century Mexico.