Places flaneux Wants to Go

Russian history in San Francisco.

A burnt orange monolithic dome structure perched on a hillside near Interstate 280.

A free, public museum dedicated to the fascinating science of sight.

A raised boardwalk winds through a thicket of stunted, century-old trees no more than nine feet tall.

The illuminating collection of L.A. street lights is run by the city and only opens one day per month.

A 1920s home transformed into an immersive art experience, where every room is a portal to another realm.

Two rocks in a perpetual kiss and one of "the most romantic spot in America."

Home to the "Circus" trees created by Axel Erlandson.

A fake town founded by Western movie stars is now becoming a hip desert community.

Neither Spanish settlers nor anyone since has been able to tell who built these strange California rock walls.

Built by the inventor of the radio, this abandoned hotel has housed early radio employees, military men, and a dangerous cult.

Ten 25-foot-tall, beehive-shaped kilns, abandoned in Death Valley.

A pair of large white marble lions guard this stretch of the Mojave Desert, and it is utterly mysterious how they got there.

A crumbling wizard is one of the final reminders of a roadside Middle Earth.

The site of a classic series of Laurel and Hardy pratfalls.

The interior of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" was based on this Yosemite original.

The fossilized remains of ancient California redwoods.

From Japan to Italy, this California park explores the world's cultures through their gardens.

A giant donut stands as a popular symbol of Los Angeles iconography.

“It's the quality” (but probably also the drive-through donut tunnel) that has attracted diners since 1968.

The mysterious round rocks of Schooner Gulch.

The liveliest ghost town in the state.

This symbol of peace is appropriately positioned overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

A cozy bookstore is tucked within an old gold mine shaft beneath the cafe and ice cream shop.