Erotic art covers the walls of the largest ancient pleasure palace.

This palatial spiral staircase was so unusual the name "snail" was given to the noble family who built it.

On this romantic tidal island reachable only at low tide the tomb of a famous French writer overlooks the sea.

This ritzy Italian market is built around a statue of an unforgiven heretic who was burned for his belief in an endless universe.

Go inside to really appreciate this 500-year-old technological masterpiece.

One of the most powerful religious centers in the Middle Ages, dubbed the founder of Western monasticism.

Trek up this glacier before it disappears.

A Christian retreat founded to welcome refugees fleeing from the Nazis during World War II.

Tables of secondhand books fill the inner courtyard of this 17th-century stock exchange.

This enormous "cloth of the conquest" depicts the Norman invasion of England in mind-blowing detail.

This community on a small Venetian island has taken to painting their houses in bright neon hues.

The world's most famous cheese caves.

This medieval tower is all that remains of the castle where Joan of Arc was held before being burned at the stake.

This ancient theater was once the home of fierce gladiatorial battles.

Museum in a swimming pool where the water still flows.

The world's tallest bridge is also possibly the most elegant.

A series of abstract, silly sculptures represent the works of a great modern classical composer.

A medieval military street hidden beneath a charming French fishing village.

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

Historic medieval fortified city in southwest France.

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.

Ancient paintings known as the "Sistine Chapel of Cave Art."

This statue was given to France by the United States to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution.

An "inside out" building in the historical center of Paris, featuring Europe’s largest modern art museum.