Places nickblossom Wants to Go

A once grand hotel now sits eerily abandoned in the Catalan countryside outside Barcelona.

The 2,000-year-old Roman columns are hidden within Barcelona's Gothic Quarter.

This former Baroque palace on the historic Calle Montcada is a rare architectural gem and was once the meeting place of an aristocratic scholarly society.

Turntable anonymously received orphans, alms, and groceries.

Bask in the 19th century grandeur of an eccentric Freemason millionaire's private gardens.

Barcelona's historic 19th-century sewers, whose foundations were laid in medieval times, are open to the public for exploring.

These secluded and abandoned anti-aircraft defenses have become one the most scenic viewpoints in Barcelona.

A beautiful but toxic fountain of mercury.

Though it may look like a businessman's lost luggage, this case suspended under a highway bridge is actually a contemporary art installation.

This massive boulder was hurled into a Zurich church when a gunpowder depot was struck by lightning in 1652.

One of a series of no-purpose kinetic artworks by Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely.

Vines grow up the metal bars in this public park created from an old machine factory.

A 200-year-old tavern challenges guests to finish a glass of wine while hanging from a ceiling beam.

The humble tomb of an Argentine general, hand-built by his son using stones brought down from the Andes.

Bible stories are brought to life with gloriously cartoonish kitsch in this South American theme park.

This fairytale house on the shore of a Chilean Lake oozes an eclectic mix of Chilote and German Cultural heritage.

Conveniently located within binocular range of a nuclear bunker, the "summer camp" area was a painfully obvious spy house.

This pun was simply waiting to come to life, and one defense contractor made it so.

A failed piece of Orientalism has become the proud symbol of a community.

An industrial waste tourist attraction.

Sunset Park's Guatemalan community knows to head to the back of this bodega for a taste of home.

This innocent-looking townhome is actually a subway exit.

Just your average Marie Antoinette–themed speakeasy in an abandoned 19th-century subway tunnel.

Nikola Tesla's former home contains an homage hidden from plain sight.