Architectural monsters are devouring this palace's every door and window.

Hundreds of lucky felines haunt the ruins where Caesar was murdered.

An alchemist's "magic door" stands in the middle of a Roman park.

Installed in an act of one-upsmanship, the annual sundial in this church is also a symbolic victory for the Gregorian calendar.

This ritzy Italian market is built around a statue of an unforgiven heretic who was burned for his belief in an endless universe.

World War II-era Nazi compound nestled in the Santa Monica hills.

A cult following celebrates the legend that belies this curious podiatrists' office sign which has worked its way into song, literature, animation, and the visual arts.

An historic and oft-filmed spot for musclebound iron pumpers on the Pacific coast.

This well-traveled chess park offers scenic views of the pacific and a colorful, eclectic clientele.

First LEED-certified gas station in the United States.

What began with a single, 357-pound chunk of the Canyon Diablo meteorite grew to be an impressive collection. 

Once strictly off-limits, this lower level housing curious and priceless vehicles of the Petersen Automotive Museum is now open to the public.

Scores of vintage street lamps shine along L.A.’s Miracle Mile.

The L.A. Zoo has a secret garden of rare bootleg cycads, a palm specimen dating back 280 million years.

After starting as a whimsical tourist attraction that eventually found its way to ruin, these renovated canals offer a lush and exotic locale on the Pacific Coast.

In a city filled with Frank Gehry buildings, one stands out as one of the architect's weirder works.

This glamorous old building is said to have inspired the Tower of Terror.

These delicate buggers are some of the rarest fossils that have bubbled up from the Tar Pits.

The final resting place of a space program monolith.

This serene oasis in an affluent Los Angeles neighborhood holds some of Gandhi's ashes and got Elvis into Eastern Philosophy.

World-famous, Pink's still manages to keep its prized cult fetish status.

The private clubhouse for the members of the Academy of Magical Arts.

The last of its kind in the country.

Resting place of Hollywood's immortals is also site of summer film screenings.