Places marilynljanes Wants to Go

A sculptor's dream castle turned fantastical ruin.

Don't be surprised if you see a long-necked dinosaur peeking out from among the trees in Northgate Park.

Where Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird created their "heroes in a half shell" and founded Mirage Studios.

The above-ground crypts at this Catholic cemetery face north-south instead of the usual east-west.

For 150 years one family has been producing the iconic hot sauce on a bayou island made of salt.

A reimagined 19th-century Acadian village featuring authentic Cajun-style homes filled with artifacts specific to the period.

Crawfish hand pies, Natchitoches meat pies, and all manner of other sweet or savory, flaky-crusted pastries abound here.

A Cajun-style Christmas on the river also involves sky-high pyres and explosives.

The first plantation museum in the United States to focus on the lives of enslaved people.

This 19th-century sugarcane plantation is one of the most well-preserved estates of its kind, including its original quarters for enslaved laborers.

Legend says a primate-like cryptid prowls this otherworldy sliver of the Louisiana bayou.

Some believe this tree to be more than 1,500 years old.

A 200-year-old live oak on the banks of Lake Pontchartrain.

All that remains of this small town is its mass grave and a myth of a voodoo priestess who predicted its demise.

This knobby, drooping New Orleans oak is a favorite place both for climbing and for meeting giraffes.

A private museum dedicated to preserving the heritage of Mardi Gras' most beloved underdog parades, open by appointment.

The stone labyrinth in this New Orleans city park was laid to symbolize healing in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Anne Rice, one of the most influential writers in gothic literature, is buried alongside her husband in a New Orleans cemetery.

This New Orleans tree is filled with hidden chimes that produce a carefully tuned melody.

In a city famous for its cemeteries, it's no wonder these are easy to overlook—they clock in at just a few inches tall.

This macabre shop, filled with art, oddities, and taxidermy is hidden in the heart of the French Quarter.

One of “America’s Most Endangered Historic Places” is a building shaped like a giant turtle.

A bridge that dates back to the 12th century is said to have made the devil very angry.

A massive playground in the woods of Germany.