Places Mathias Van de Velde Wants to Go

If you want to get married in the White Marble City of Ashgabat, you should do it in this surreal disco ball building.

An eccentric dictator's take on a Turkmen version of Disneyland.

This cavernous swimming spot doubles as a home to the largest known colony of bats in Central Asia.

A cemetery with goat-horn bedecked gravestones.

A dictator's gold statue once rotated to face the sun on a 75-meter high marble tower.

A group of artists transformed this desolate city alleyway into an outdoor gallery of street art.

Statue dedicated to the star of an old television show.

Robots, lasers, and whoopee cushions, oh my!

A unique botanical garden housed in three giant geodesic domes.

Hungarian self-built castle.

Lyon's "Wall of the Silk Weavers" is one of the largest murals in Europe.

A tiled, multi-level garden of survival in Lyon.

A miniature Corsican village built out of pebbles.

This art installation at an abandoned lipstick factory has distinct anti-capitalist vibes.

Despite being pillaged and destroyed a number over times down the centuries, this historic church still sort of stands.

Religious perseverance and cultural coexistence manifest in an architectural gem that multiple wars couldn't topple.

The ruins of this medieval castle on a foggy hill tell the story of a once-mighty empire.

The bizarre rocks of Đavolja Varoš are the result of natural erosion.

The interior of this Serbian royal family's mausoleum is covered with exquisite mosaics.

For over 40 years, this quaint little house has teetered on a rock in the middle of a river.

This spaceship-like Serbian monument reaches for the stars in celebration of the fallen fighters of fascism.

This 14th century castle withstood years of battle but is now sliding off the hills into the Danube.

Structure built from the skulls of vanquished foes.

Legends of treasure and spirits flow from this this fairy tale-like oasis.