Places bleachedrhodopsin Wants to Go

Built by prisoners of war, the largest small-scale model ever built includes eight miles of tiny streams that now sit abandoned.

Hidden in a metro shop under a shopping mall, this small museum tells the story of one of the world's largest urban transit systems.

Seemingly grown on some other world, these New Mexico rock formations look like a disused science fiction set.

This Alaska library may be the only one in the country that allows you to check out pieces of taxidermy.

A high school astronomy enthusiast designed this model of our solar system to be traversed on foot.

One of the largest mechanical models of the solar system in the world.

An uber-secure, windowless tower of doom in the center of Manhattan is an NSA spyscraper.

Trick water gardens from 1619 featuring a 200 piece mechanical theater powered by water.

The world's only museum devoted to the wonders of fluorescence.

The largest drain hole in the world.

This town named for the ancient God of War is home to fewer than a thousand people, but it's the birthplace of the Greek Revolution.

These 18th century gardens tell a rocky story of the son of Odysseus.

An elaborate Mayan city shrouded in alien conspiracy revealed the tomb of Pacal the Great.

An aluminum skeleton brings Chinese mythology to the French shore.

Tucked away near more famous landmarks lies a statue meant to symbolize the confluence and continuing development of human culture.

A planned settlement in Pennsylvania once housed the aristocratic refugees of the French Revolution.

One artist's love letter to his city and its citizens plays out across dozens of bright murals painted on the sides of decrepit buildings.

This museum boasts a bucket of teeth and tells the tale of a 20th-century dental circus.

A rare view of a preserved Victorian science museum.

A winged-helmed, sword-brandishing tribute to German Americans.

Golden and naked, the figure that was once the highest point in New York is all that remains of the second Madison Square Garden.

A spiritual retreat in the heart of Los Angeles offers stunning gardens and a labyrinth to lose yourself in.

Philadelphia boasts one of the best — and most often overlooked — traditional Japanese gardens in North America.

Said to be the only museum in the world dedicated to the most classic of all blooms, the rose.