Places Edited by Jessica Leigh Hester

Historic poems about the noble act of defecating have been preserved on the wall of this old convent.

A mesmerizing wonderland of salt-encrusted tree branches and pencil roots.

One of the world's most advanced radio observatories sprawls across the Atacama Desert.

The first and only museum dedicated to stained glass and horology opened outside of Chicago in 2017.

This quirky local sculpture is quite literally a fish out of water.

A university observatory dome painted to resemble the beloved 'Star Wars' droid.

This print shop boasts one of the largest pinball arcades in San Francisco.

Finland's oldest astronomical observatory once played a crucial role in seafaring and timekeeping.

This 19th-century church is now a popular roller rink.

A museum in Mississippi celebrates the history of Coca-Cola and the man who brought it to the masses.

A Milanese café entirely designed by the American director Wes Anderson.

The "worst battleship ever built" is enjoying a grand second act, submerged 30 feet in the Gulf of Mexico.

The oldest operational cathedral in the U.S. has one shell of a way of projecting speakers' voices.

A treasure trove of rare and exquisitely detailed antiques

One of the oldest used bookstores in the U.S. has been selling antiquarian treasures since 1825.

Where layer cakes tower above one’s head and there is never a shortage of icing.

This meticulously extracted nervous system allegedly came from a 19th-century custodian who donated her body to science.

The quirky salon doubles as a retro museum run by the world's leading "hairstorian."

Where pardoned turkeys once spent their all-too-brief final days.

This Portland shop is brimming with natural wonders, local art, and handmade goods fashioned from recycled materials.

A sculpture of a salmon swimming through a brick building.

Vienna's underworld of tunnels and subterranean rivers made an iconic appearance in a 1949 Orson Welles film.

A meditative space out of a fantasy story.

The peaceful space is adorned by paintings by the famed abstract artist Mark Rothko.