In this Parisian garden's grotesque former life as a zoo it fed exotic animals to the bourgeois and put humans on exhibit.

This little-known relic crypt holds stolen parts of a Roman Empress.

Got apples?

BDSM, 1930s Style.

This Paris art space celebrates the creativity and ingenuity that springs from abject poverty, especially in Africa.

An off-the-beaten-path boutique stuffed with an eclectic collection of upcycled goods.

This off-limits room in the National Library of France is home to a system of pneumatic tubes, once used to bring books to readers.

Where the high court feasted, frolicked, and high courtesans put their royal lovers' diamonds to the test.

Original cabaret handbills, posters, and feline artwork are a purrfect highlight of the Museum of Montmartre.

Noirish green neon marks the location of one of the oldest private detective agencies in France.

One of the last umbrella repair shops in Paris upholds the nostalgic art of umbrella making.

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

Pitié-Salpêtrière was the dumping grounds for women who received the dreaded diagnosis of "hysterical."

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.

The first green space constructed on an elevated viaduct.

How did a French journalist’s grave become the sexiest statue in the cemetery?

A grotto-like lodge decorated with gilded mosaics, rocks and a noisy waterfall was the setting for the most sumptuous pleasure house of 1900s Europe.

Exquisite wall sculptures carved in secret by an early quarryman in an obscure corner of the Paris Catacombs.

This Parisian fountain is a little bit fantasy and a little bit nightclub.

The ruins of a Duke's bucolic dream, where camels once roamed alongside "Dutch" windmills and faux-Italian vineyards.

Down a cobblestone alleyway is a museum dedicated to Romanticism, with a secret garden.

Statue of death tucked in the University of Medicine courtyard.

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

A museum on the history of Paris, including a set of Napoleon's toiletries, Proust's room, and relics of the Revolution.