Alleyway plaque commemorating the death of a fictional character in The Maltese Falcon, not far from the author's home.

An all-American grocery store in Paris sells U.S. "cuisine" like Pop-Tarts and Heinz ketchup to homesick ex-pats.

This Dresden church was purposely rebuilt Protestant after being demolished in World War II.

A spitting ode to a German serial killer.

A stunning gilt bronze relief denounced by Hitler as "degenerate art"—even though it was dedicated to the Nazi leader.

Böttcherstraße's bells, extolling Nordic virtues and the great conquerors of the world.

A monument to the three wars that led to German unification towers within a Berlin traffic circle.

This unique Renaissance castle was turned into a home for Nazi occultism.

Where once there was a train station bathroom, there is now this German burger joint.

Thousands of coffin-like pillars make up this controversial Holocaust memorial.

The most visited, and possibly most controversial, museum in Germany.

The family compound and final resting place for the philosopher, Confucius, and over 100,000 of his descendants.

The powerful party began with a secret meeting in this shikumen in 1921.

This Tibetan monastery has survived multiple attacks and is also a sky burial site.

An out-of-place slice of France, smack in the middle of Shanghai.

A son-and-daughter meat market, hawked by mom and dad.

The once highest point in China blends symbolic design with a kick of adrenaline.

999 stairs lead visitors through a massive hole in a mountain known as the Gateway to Heaven.

The most famous location in China was home to whole dynasties worth of imperial rulers.

The picturesque birthplace of Icelandic democracy is drenched in the blood of its brutal past.

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

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

If a glacial river suddenly diving into a sheer chasm via a dramatic, multi-stage waterfall isn't peak Iceland, it's certainly close.

This valley of hot springs and boiling mud pots is home to the record-holding "Geysir," which originated the English word.