The taxidermied remains of a once-great parrot.

A hidden world of exotic succulents and cacti.

A small literary museum remembers the life and works of the author of The Thirty-Nine Steps.

A 200-year-old collection of oddities and medical paraphernalia.

A succession of eerily contemplative iron figures lead from a Scottish museum to the sea.

A church that bred legends, and served as an inspiration for the Da Vinci Code.

This series of Scottish caves has no clear purpose other than baffling historians.

A sweet symbol marks the place where torturous executions were once carried out.

Traditional 15th century Chinese garden in the middle of Vancouver.

A working steam clock, one of only a few in the world, located in Vancouver's Victorian Gastown.

This Art Deco masterpiece has stood in for some of the most famous buildings in comic book history.

The second building of its name to occupy this location might be the finest flatiron building in San Francisco.

Only hotel where you can legally launder money.

The giant pair of sexy legs sticking out the window of this costume store have become its main draw.

Guns that have been defending San Francisco since 1904.

An enormous illuminated figure dances on the Las Vegas strip.

These subterranean storage areas hold emergency water reserves.

The key to turning shifting dunes into the green oasis of Golden Gate Park.

Faceless white figures loom over the city from the rooftop.

The miraculous hydrant that saved the Mission District in 1906.

Early prototype for Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim.

Tiki luxury on Nob Hill.

Not merely a museum – but a whirring powerhouse that offers a subterranean peek into the heart and soul of cable car operations.

An overlooked and unassuming engineering marvel.