This well-preserved Cistercian Abbey in a romantic pastoral setting has inspired artists like the poet Wordsworth.

The stately remains of Llywelyn the Great's mighty fortress.

Recently restored menagerie of Victorian-era beasts.

A harem-inspired Moorish fantasy design in a Victorian-era Welsh castle.

A towering tribute to decisiveness stands on the spot where Brigham Young and his followers decided that this must be the place.

A 90-foot-tall psychedelic "tree" on the side of the highway has baffled passersby for decades.

Visitors to this library are in for a real-world education in modernist architecture.

Despite sitting firmly in the global cradle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this Hare Krishna temple is host to one of the largest color festivals outside India.

Despite its name, this route in southern Utah offers a heavenly day trip.

The location along the shores of the Great Salt Lake of what was once called, "The Coney Island of the West", now sits barren due to arson and time.

This rugged area of red rocks and arches is often considered one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

In the heart of Brigham Young's promised land sits a festering plot of industrial ruin that has been claimed by society's outcasts.

Only hotel where you can legally launder money.

An elaborate gift from Claus Spreckels is now a piece of San Francisco history.

The key to turning shifting dunes into the green oasis of Golden Gate Park.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

The giant pair of sexy legs sticking out the window of this costume store have become its main draw.

Golden Gate Park's historic collection of plants.

This private residence was the template for one of the most beloved television homes of all time.

Staircase winds down the side of Telegraph Hill through gardens, wild parrots flying overhead.

A shop full of natural curiosities, carnivorous plants, and costumed taxidermied mice.

A collection of 20th-century automata, penny arcade games, and musical contraptions.

San Francisco's newly reopened hands-on science museum.

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.