Places Mathias Van de Velde Wants to Go

The vast, legendary catacombs hold secrets much stranger than stacked bones.

France's most famous cemetery, with some of its most curious tombs.

A preserved oasis with traditional Andalusian-style architecture and beautiful views of the Nile.

A strange aquarium with stuffed fish, and almost no water for them to swim in.

The massive cave church of Cairo's Zabbaleen community is one of the largest Christian churches in the Middle East.

Out of all the statues of Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, this one is the tallest and the most impressive.

For a taste of Vietnamese gastropub culture, look no further than this convivial seafood joint that stays open till midnight.

This former monastery in Vietnam now houses a chocolate shop and museum filled with centuries-old taxidermy specimens.

For true northern-style phở with broth as clear as consommé, hunt for this restaurant hidden within a residential home.

Vietnam’s everyman “broken rice” dish is given one major upgrade at this humble institution.

This crab paste noodle soup specialist has been doling out its namesake dish for more than four decades.

Fowl, love and death in Vietnam.

Giant pagoda houses the car that drove Thích Quảng Đức to his death by self-immolation.

This unique formation is characterized by hexagonal basalt rocks stacked in unique formations.

Home to what locals claim is the largest whale skeleton in Southeast Asia, which is worshiped yearly.

A sculpture park that takes the use of clay to a whole new level.

The lavish temple of the Cao Dai religion that includes Buddha, Mohammed, Joan of Arc, and Victor Hugo.

A French-Colonial era collection of taxidermy and wet specimens, secreted away in the National University of Hanoi.

Life-sized painted illusions let pedestrians blend in with the street art.

A desert in southeast Asia, complete with a beautiful lake covered in lotus flowers.

These crumbling towers are some of the last remnants of a centuries-old Vietnamese culture.

Monument to a brutal, ineffectual US bombing campaign and a sobering reminder of the human cost of the Vietnam War.

Walk through a clothing store, across a courtyard, and up several flights of stairs for delicious coffee with a side of beautiful views.

An extravagant monument to an extravagantly unpopular Emperor.