A stellar example of Art & Crafts architecture, and a movie set to boot.

Each year these high desert hills are absolutely covered with poppy flowers in a surreal show of nature.

Odd outsider art installations surround a Gold Rush-era ghost town.

A glimpse into the lives of the the Miwok and Paiute people in Yosemite National Park.

The interior of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" was based on this Yosemite original.

Quite simply the largest tree in the world (by volume).

A slightly creepy gallery of plaster cast models in the same museum as Michelangelo's David.

Over 100 towers were built in Bologna during the Middle Ages, but only 22 survive.

In a city that boasts four separate inclined cable railways, this is one of the busiest funicular lines in the world.

The once forbidden "secret cabinet" of erotic art from excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The only "Egyptian" pyramid in Europe and the legendary tomb of Remus.

The skull of the patron saint of lovers lies in the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin—maybe.

The yawning maw of this pagan visage is said to bite off the hands of liars.

A master of trompe-l'oeil creates a stunning, tourist-fooling dome out of a flat ceiling.

Rome's semi-secret peephole vista is also a former Crusader stronghold.

Ingenious bakery opens up the first Cupcake ATM at their flagship location in Beverly Hills.

A sign at the end of the Santa Monica Pier marks the traditional end of the legendary American highway.

A second generation sun-powered marvel lights up the night.

Legendary prop shop filled with one man's collection of scientific curiosities.

Santa Monica's oldest restaurant, decorated with set pieces from the Mutiny on the Bounty.

In one Santa Monica parking lot a mushroom cloud made of chains heralds a message of peace.

A treasure hunter's tiny bar, harboring celebrities since 1959.

A Looff creation in Santa Monica best described as “a California-Byzantine-Moorish-style fantasy.”

One of the first skyscrapers in Santa Monica, and a famous getaway for the Hollywood elite of then and now.