The railway carts travelers to central Athens's highest peak, which offers stunning vistas of the city.

This 15th-century island fortress later served as home to the executioners no one wanted to live near.

This ancient Greek place of assembly and marketplace is being revealed layer by layer below the modern Athens cityscape.

The hallucinogenic center of the ancient world.

The lost Latin words were reconstructed using the holes from the nails that once pinned them in place.

Beneath the city of Lourdes, France is a massive, concrete church.

Pigduck of Turku.

The Guardian of Tallinn.

This medieval Estonian tower provides access to a series of tunnels that have been home to soldiers, punks, and fine art.

Copenhagen's celebrated theme park and gardens.

The big toe of this towering monument to a Croatian national hero is worn from years of superstitious rubbing.

When a supermarket opened up shop within a medieval building it became protected by UNESCO on a technicality.

The complex has been abandoned since the Croatian War of Independence, barring a stint as a set for 'Game of Thrones.'

Gargoyle head that brings good luck.

When you're a great Russian Tsar, even your vomit gets a statue.

This fairytale castle was built as a show of power but was nearly torn down thanks to its history of torture.

The topiary maze at the Habsburg hunting lodge.

The bears of Bern have been a city highlight for over 500 years.

This simple apartment may have inspired some of the most important theories in the history of science.

This fairy-tale, neo-Gothic church in the Azores is a world of magical realism.

One of the most beautiful bookstores in the world hides a neo-Gothic interior behind an art nouveau facade.

Iceland's tribute to its thankless civil servants.

Cairns built to bring travelers good luck stretch across the land like miniature stone mountains.

This black church sits alone among a field of lava rock.