This 170-year-old Swiss guesthouse built into the side of a mountain is best accessed by a cable car.

A historic observatory precariously perched at the "Top of Europe."

The second-highest train station in Europe.

This is not only one of the oldest collections in Europe, but also possibly the most beautiful.

Where Venice's gondolas go for a tune-up.

Take a giant yellow bird cage to the top of Elba's highest mountain.

Stone memorial that's said to predict the death of the pope and the site of the Cadaver Synod.

A fairytale island floats in the middle of Italy's little-known Lake Orta.

Dug as a secret royal escape route, the tunnel became a wartime bomb shelter and dumping ground for vintage cars.

This palatial spiral staircase was so unusual the name "snail" was given to the noble family who built it.

Milan's duomo is covered in beautiful carving including a curious "dinosaur-like" beast.

An incredible menagerie of more than 3 million taxidermied animals at the oldest science museum in Europe.

The Sighignola summit on the Swiss border offers views so breathtaking it's been named one of the most beautiful places in Italy.

Crushed coral and crystals give the sand its signature coloration.

This abandoned island off the Venetian coast has been a radical monastery, a political prison, and a secret Nazi base.

The bomb-ravaged remains of of a colossal Neptune.

Long-abandoned art nouveau baths beneath Milan's Piazza Oberdan.

Machismo turned on its head: the lady's hand goes to the dude with the bigger brain.

"Stairs of the Turks", a chalky white cliff eroded conveniently into stairs, allowing for easy pillaging.

Italian cave with exceptional acoustics and an unsavory history.

A mysterious chasm in the heart of the ancient Roman Forum, the Lacus Curtius was once believed to be a gateway to hell.

The world's most active stratovolcano is almost always erupting.

An underground paleo-Christian burial site composed of the remains of several cemeteries and Basilicas.

A labyrinth of ancient tunnels hidden below the city holds the ruins of 2,500 years of history.