Places Jay Braun Wants to Go

The Icelandic Sea Monster Museum explores the area's history of aquatic cryptid sightings.

Iceland's "Smoky Valley" is a beautiful river that is shrouded in a constant cover of steam clouds.

Walk in the footsteps of the gods and straddle two tectonic plates.

The most powerful waterfall in all of Europe.

Staves, storm-calling, and of course, necropants.

Museum in a swimming pool where the water still flows.

This natural French spring has been turned into a magical grotto by Roman and medieval constructions.

One of the greatest maze designer’s greatest mazes.

This charming cobbled backstreet is the most Instagramable street in Paris, much to the residents' annoyance.

This whimsical castle of grottoes was the labor of love of a French postman, and one of the greatest achievements of outsider architecture.

A horde of stray cats rule in this secluded Parisian cemetery under a bridge.

The last planned Soviet city was built for the former residents of Prypiat after the Chornobyl disaster.

One of the most poignant ruins of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster, the local football team's stadium has been quickly reclaimed by nature.

This attraction was abandoned after the Chornobyl disaster.

A short hike into the mountainside forest reveals a decaying 1890s town.

Climb the dead electric pylons of Messina.

A medieval wash house where people washed clothes in a river allegedly formed by the tears of a mourning nymph.

These pools have been abandoned for over 20 years.

The titular "little arch" near this Italian resort is one of the most popular diving spots in the country.

A medieval weapon rumored to have been used by the brilliant poet himself.

The secret medieval communication system will whisk your words above the noise of the crowd.

A beautifully well-preserved ancient Roman villa.

Now an entertainment complex, the Lingotto building was once an avant-garde auto factory with a test track on the roof.

The small peaceful island off the Venice tourist circuit is where the city began more than 1,500 years ago.