Places Mat Wants to Go

This small and often-overlooked museum holds some of Spain's finest artistic treasures.

The little church's beautifully frescoed ceiling has earned it the nickname “the Sistine Chapel of Madrid.”

One of the world's oldest universities houses an incredible collection of anatomical models, mummified body parts, and human bones.

The only urban monument in the world designed by the great surrealist painter Salvador Dalí.

The earliest known map to show America, discovered by accident at a Paris bookshop.

This amazing abuela became a diehard metal fan late in life and an icon of Madrid's '80s rock scene.

A whimsical brother of the nearby Fallen Angel statue takes the falling part quite literally.

Commonly acknowledged as the only public monument to the Devil himself.

Abandoned for decades, trains still pass through the now-restored remains of one of Madrid's first metro stations.

An ancient Egyptian temple in the middle of Madrid, Spain.

The oldest restaurant in the world is this old-world Spanish eatery, still known for its suckling pig.

Madrid's romantically ornate crystal palace has been offering shelter to plants and art for over a century.

The world's largest collection of ships in bottles.

A top secret Cold War bunker hidden beneath a Latvian spa facility is now open for tours.

This natural French spring has been turned into a magical grotto by Roman and medieval constructions.

What remains of the summer palace of King Kamehameha III.

Climbing this abandoned railway leads to breathtaking vistas of O‘ahu.

The only royal palace on U.S. soil has been a territorial capitol, a military headquarters, and a prison for a queen.

This giant slab of driftwood marks the beginning of the Winnemucca to the Sea Highway.

A monument to Lenin has been transformed into a statue of everyone's favorite black-helmeted, fool-choking Sith Lord.

This famous city eluded concrete detection until the early 2000's.

A sixth-century Byzantine cistern hidden below a modern carpet store.

This ancient city—home to nine civilizations—is soon to be buried under 200 feet of water.

A charming beach town in Turkey captures all the colors of the rainbow.