The largest whale museum in Europe allows visitors to walk among life-size giants.

This verdant, tree-lined Reykjavik graveyard is both enchanting and eerie.

This aromatherapy shop and mini-museum cofounded by the Sigur Rós frontman documents Icelandic history through scents.

The exhibition explores the Icelandic city's Viking Age history.

The first woman to become a member of the parliament of Iceland.

A monument dedicated to the civil uprisings that took place during the Pots and Pans Revolution.

Iceland's tribute to its thankless civil servants.

An encyclopedic collection of mammal penises.

This stunning concert hall has become a symbol of Iceland's national recovery.

This tiny museum's sizable collection is jammed into a former underground public toilet.

An unusual building on a "desolate hill" features the works of an Icelandic sculptor.

One of the tallest buildings in Iceland, and perhaps, the most visually impressive.

Iceland's first pagan temple in 1,000 years is underway in Reykjavík.

A bit of the Berlin Wall was gifted to the Icelandic capital to commemorate the 25th anniversary of German reunification.

This oceanside Reykjavik spot is speckled with recycled sculptures and large stones.

Learn about Iceland's hidden folk at this school dedicated to the study of elves.

Visible below the waves are memorials to the city's Gold Rush dead.

A free, public museum dedicated to the fascinating science of sight.

Prone to disastrous fires, the city of San Francisco has the Guardian, a fireboat gifted by residents, to watch over them from the bay.

San Francisco's newly reopened hands-on science museum.

This concrete tangle of square pipes has stood as a proud thorn in the city's side since the '70s.

A collection of memorabilia from the Beat era in the back of a San Francisco bookstore.

Noble beasts perhaps, but not the Emperor's dogs.

One of the last remnants of the city's Chinese nightclub scene is now a dive bar selling killer mai tais.