Stone memorial that's said to predict the death of the pope and the site of the Cadaver Synod.

Romans decided this 16th-century "talking statue" was so ugly, they named it after a primate.

The ruins of the largest gladiatorial school in Rome are largely hidden under modern streets.

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

The remains of this 2nd-century Roman temple are incorporated into a modern building.

The lead horse on a Disneyland merry-go-round that is older than the park itself.

A family agreed to sell their property to Disney on the condition that this tree, planted as a wedding gift, would not be removed.

Allegedly haunted by Walt Disney himself, this inconspicuous lamp is always kept lit in his honor.

Inspiration struck on this seat outside the Griffith Park merry-go-round.

The second-largest giant sequoia in the world.

This mission, established in 1771, is the most remote of California’s Franciscan missions.

A modest reminder of treacherous waters at the Golden Gate.

A walk-in working camera obscura produces 360-degree live images of the San Francisco coast.

Every year, over 25,000 monarchs overwinter in Pacific Grove.

Carnivorous plants, medieval aphrodisiacs, and the largest original wood structure glass conservatory in the western hemisphere.

The oldest lawn bowling club in the United States.

One of the last remnants of the city's Chinese nightclub scene is now a dive bar selling killer mai tais.

More than 700 species live within this murky marvel of a swamp on California's coast.

Once close to extinction, there is no shortage of elephant seals on the beaches of Año Nuevo State Park.

A gathering of green robots at the Googleplex.

A fleet of automotive automatons sleep in this otherwise unremarkable urban garage.

An ominous concrete cube cuts a dystopian silhouette atop this California mountain.

One of the oldest adobe structures in Northern California.

Giant WWII fortresses that fired 8,000 rounds a minute, now home to thousands of pigeons.