Two awe-inspiring globes from the reign of the Sun King hang from the ceiling of France's national library.

This massive library holds what was once the largest book collection in the world.

19th century pendulum and a clock restored by a rogue group of guerilla artists.

Remains of Roman amphitheater hidden in a sleepy quarter of Paris.

This banal Parisian entranceway is not what it seems.

The narrowest street in the world is in danger of closing up entirely.

The old castle kitchen where nucleic acid was first isolated is considered the "cradle of biochemistry."

This statue has a painful history, but activists have since recontextualized it as a way to educate visitors about the dangers posed by fascist regimes.

It's safe—and permitted—to walk across these twin natural sandstone arches.

A favorite Paris bar for U.S. expats, including Gershwin, Hemingway, and James Bond.

The curious underground history of keeping Paris clean.

135 bronze medallions mark a French meridian line which once rivaled the hotshot Greenwich timeline.

The industrial architecture honors the laborers who brought the Exposition Universelle of 1900 to life.

The floorboard scrawling of a tragic madman is on public display outside a Paris hospital, much to the dismay of its opponents.

The vast, legendary catacombs hold secrets much stranger than stacked bones.

The headless bodies of more than 1,300 guillotined victims of the Reign of Terror are buried here in mass graves.

César Baldaccini's iconic sculpture of a 40-foot thumb stands tall in La Défense.

A short distance from the Eiffel Tower is the final resting place of several of the city’s more well-known and interesting characters.

The approximate spot where the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar was put to death.

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

This recessed garden protects thousands of mountain plants by creating its own microclimates.

The spiral staircase hidden inside this giant Parisian column was likely built for Catherine de Medici's astrologer.

The tomb of history's greatest potato promoter is surrounded by tubers.

This surreal statue brings a famous French novel about a supernatural cad to arresting life.