Places kristingail Wants to Go

Though nicknamed the “Russian Freighter,” this ship was actually sunk off the coast of Pensacola by the U.S. government in a top-secret operation.

This sprawling bookstore spans four floors and has more than a million books in stock.

You'll never meet anyone this passionate about elephant droppings.

More gold than anywhere else, ever.

The Andean town where every single building is decorated with a brightly colored frieze.

This small glass cube is a peaceful out-of-the-way sanctuary at the busy airport.

This former insane asylum now holds a pathological anatomy museum.

A tiny, remote island packed with wonders both natural and geeky.

A slab of sandstone covered with mysterious 1,000-year-old rock carvings from a vanished North American culture.

A walkable map of the world, made from soil and stone by one man.

Of course the guy with the first patent for an ice machine lived in Florida.

Hidden high on a remote mountain peak is a humbling and mysterious Vietnam War memorial.

Site of a classic 19th-century physics experiment to prove the earth is rotating.

The unique collection includes bronze cast handprints of some of America's most famous astronauts.

This gorgeous reading room houses the oldest and largest art history library in the Netherlands.

The canine-themed book collection claims to be Europe's largest dog library.

The oldest building in the District of Columbia was preserved because of a mistaken connection to George Washington.

The two-cell building in Nebraska was briefly owned by a teenage boy and then a Hollywood dummy.

This former Texas landfill is flush with 300 million-year-old fossils, all fit for the taking.

The inky volcanic sand leads to reefs teeming with aquatic life waiting to be discovered by snorkelers and divers.

Obscure Freemasons still live in D.C.’s largest private residence.

The ruins of this prominent glass factory yield hidden treasures buried among the jungle floor.

Locals dubbed it the "Owl Building" because of its bird-like appearance.

The final resting place of one member of the Amistad slave revolt who never made it back home.