A focal point of the Cuban government, this city square features one of the most iconic images in the country.

Castro's communist ice cream mothership has been serving five-scoop "salads" for over 50 years.

Once a favorite playground for the world's most illustrious guests, Hotel Nacional's secret weapons and bunkers reveal a more menacing side to its golden history.

This staircase in a lush tropical grotto was built by enslaved laborers and renamed to honor Queen Victoria's role in ending slavery in the British Empire.

Latvia's symbolic mountain-shaped national library is home to millions of cultural tomes.

Flamboyant architecture from the turn of 20th century.

A black cat protests the City Guild in Riga's Old Town.

This statue is dedicated to the animal cosmonauts that perished during space flight experiments.

3,000 market stands in five former Zeppelin hangars.

The reconstruction of this prominent building fulfilled a long-written command.

A preserved oak tree about 3,500 years old found in Riga, Latvia.

This charming Latvian lane doubled as Baker Street on the Soviet Union’s version of Sherlock Holmes.

This enigmatic artifact remained buried in a churchyard for years.

A stone marker and sculpture in the city of Riga stake a claim for the very first community Christmas tree.

This celebration of Latvia’s freedom and independence avoided demolition over half a century of Soviet occupation.

This controversial statue once honoured a Russian Field Marshall, before ultimately being dismantled in a push to remove symbols of Russian influence.

A former Latvian headquarters of the brutal KGB secret police is now open as a grim reminder of their atrocities.

The most metal church of all time was built in record time because of an international, pious pissing contest.

On stormy days debris from this unfinished and abandoned skyscraper rains down on the Bangkok streets.

A collection of venomous snakes and reptiles for the whole family to enjoy.

The bank's whimsical shape was inspired by a child’s toy.

Walk through a clothing store, across a courtyard, and up several flights of stairs for delicious coffee with a side of beautiful views.

Life-sized painted illusions let pedestrians blend in with the street art.

Ho Chi Minh's perfectly preserved body has been on display here since 1975.