Places catand Wants to Go

Hans Christian Andersen for the postmodern world.

Pre-Nazi swastikas adorn the sculpted pachyderms flanking this brewhouse portal.

This sublime architectural marvel is a rare example of an expressionist church.

An ultra-modern diversity park in Denmark has turned an entire city block electric pink.

An ancient oak forest where, legend has it, a wedding party was magically transformed into trees.

This beautiful 14th-century castle perched on a promontory overlooks the Bay of Trieste.

To the great disappointment of doomsdayers, this codex merely contains records of the Moon and Venus.

A remote candy-striped mountain in the Peruvian Andes straight out of the pages of Dr. Seuss.

This secluded aqua waterfall in the Grand Canyon is the perfect swimming hole, and the Havasupai tribe's fiercely protected natural wonder.

The remnants of an early American attempt at missile defense.

An intricately carved Viking church overlooks a glistening fjord.

An ancient stone fortress considered by many to be the eighth wonder of the world.

Soaring over 6,000 feet in the Bavarian Alps, this beer garden was once Hitler's 50th birthday present.

On rare days, this abandoned castle's gatekeepers open its doors, revealing the eye-popping splendor hidden inside.

A tower built by an emperor for an antelope.

One of the largest necropolises in the world is home to a stunning array of historic Middle Eastern tombs.

These stairs were built to accommodate royals mounted on elephants.

This 18th-century dissection theater's frescoes display a gorgeous tension between the terrestrial and esoteric.

The oldest teak bridge in the world is made from the remains of a royal palace.

A grand imperial capital left to fall into magnificent ruin.

This 16th-century monastery has been turned into a surrealist architecture compound.

This lost city belongs to one of the earliest civilizations in the world.

Italian poet Dante Alighieri is entombed in this small mausoleum in Ravenna, and his hometown of Florence has never been too happy about it.

A fiery crater has been burning in the Karakum Desert since 1971.