The Laureates here get something even more coveted than a Nobel Prize: free parking for life.

One man's prolific, decade-long quest to turn trash into artistic treasure.

A storybook European village in Berkeley.

A private home built to resemble the shape of a microscopic creature.

Worker-owned cooperative and resource for those looking to lighten their ecological footprint.

The newsstand that never closes its doors—well, almost never.

A 90-acre park on former landfill that hosts an annual kite festival.

A living time capsule of the 1960s Richardson Bay water-front.

This simple highway curve has become a comedic pilgrimage site.

This subtle Berkeley paving stone actually marks off a lawless tube of air that extends into space.

The Zalud family experienced a number of tragedies in one decade, giving rise to rumors that the 19th century house is haunted.

A giant chess set, minus the psychedelic drug trip.

A mysterious painting of the self-declared Emperor of the United States watches over a local hof-brau.

One of the best absinthe distilleries in the United States.

A shape-shifting buy-sell-trade bookstore, born to Beatnik Era spirit.

A vast city of the dead, where the deceased outnumber the living by more than a million.

Two rocks in a perpetual kiss and one of "the most romantic spot in America."

An unassuming grey box sitting on San Francisco's Pier 17 is a "sky diary" of the coastal city's temperamental weather.

This sailor's boneyard was lost under a parking lot for decades before being rediscovered.

Once the fastest ship from San Francisco to Tahiti, the Galilee now lays in pieces in three different cities.

The taxidermied remains of the "last wild grizzly bear in California" and of the symbol of the state of California.

A library built during San Francisco's pioneer times is a student's retreat, bibliophile's sanctuary, and chess player's delight.

This private residence was the template for one of the most beloved television homes of all time.

A copy of the famous statue can be found in this Florence piazza, along with one of the most breathtaking views of the city below.