A stunning 18th-century site where pilgrims ascend by a series of punishing stairs only to return via funicular.

The medieval castle built as headquarters for the Pope's secretive Knights Templar.

One of the most beautiful bookstores in the world hides a neo-Gothic interior behind an art nouveau facade.

This eccentrically decorated palace is replete with grottoes, fountains, tunnels, and caves.

A 16th century chapel decorated with bones, skulls, and entire bodies hanging from the wall.

Houses are tucked between, on, and underneath giant boulders.

This unreal Portuguese palace looks as though it's made from a pile of different castles.

The stunning interior of this Gothic church is covered in ornate gold details.

Perhaps the most spectacular grotto along the Algarve coastline.

This gaping hole in the middle of a remote mountain lake looks like a portal to another dimension.

This restored Portuguese cafe may well be the most beautiful place in the world to grab a Big Mac.

An ancient and majestic fortress that played an integral role in Portugal's road to independence.

A submerged village appears when dam levels drop.

A unique seaside cave where Aleister Crowley faked his own death.

The verdant mossy ruins of a Franciscan monastery lie in the remote Sintra hills awaiting exploration.

An early work of the architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, these swimming pools blend into the beach.

In Portugal, a secluded stretch of untouched natural beauty hides at the bottom of a steep hill.

Picturesque intersection of witchcraft and ancient Christianity.

This fairy-tale, neo-Gothic church in the Azores is a world of magical realism.

A hidden three-foot-wide house separates these two regal churches.

The scorched Lisbon church that survived two earthquakes and a massive fire.

This oddly shaped church resembles a rocket.

This unique architectural wonder is also tied to one of the 20th-century's most renowned writers.

After the owner of this Art Nouveau home died, it was turned into a museum displaying a lifetime dedicated to art.