Centuries before the modern seismograph, Armenian monks measured quakes with this tilting pillar.

The world's longest nonstop reversible cable car soars through spectacular scenery to the medieval Tatev Monastery.

The luxurious circular mansion built for a Communist leader now lies abandoned.

Men and special assistants stand by the road to sell the day's catch in this lakeside village.

This ancient monastery complex was transformed from an island to a peninsula when the lake was partially drained.

Giant stone letters dedicated to the founder of Armenia's alphabet.

The ruins of a medieval monastery built on a perilous slope.

This small shrine is dedicated to the designer of the first Russian fighter jet and his brother, who became Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.

This futuristic German television spire is actually the world's largest digital clock.

Lombardy poplars planted to imitate the size and shape of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims.

This gigantic monument hidden in the woods was built to thank the Dutch for sheltering Belgian refugees during World War I.

The mummified heart of Louis XVII, the lost dauphin of the French Revolution.

Despite being considered a thoroughly American sport, basketball's oldest surviving playing field is found in the basement of a Paris YMCA.

Fully loaded, Tunisian-style sandwiches are on the menu at this unassuming hole-in-the-wall.

Order a boozy baba au rhum at the oldest patisserie in Paris.

With a history of slaughter, feast, and famine, remnants of the pork industry decorate this area--even its church.

Offal and flawless onion soup are on the menu at this restaurant that once catered to the workers of Les Halles.

Shop at the 200-year-old store where Julia Child stocked up on copper cookware.

The water-powered carriages are long gone, but for over a century this funicular railway has been the fastest route to the highest point in Paris.

The oldest and smallest cemetery in Paris is only open to the public twice a year.

This surreal statue brings a famous French novel about a supernatural cad to arresting life.

Montmartre's sole surviving windmill became an iconic landmark for 19th-century painters, artists, and bohemians.

The vast, legendary catacombs hold secrets much stranger than stacked bones.

Marvel at the opulent Art Nouveau interior while dining on dirt-cheap French classics.