Places Nicola B Wants to Go

An engineering wonder at Pillnitz Castle protects a precious 230-year-old flowering shrub.

The walls of a colonial-era fort encircle a small, tropical assortment of plant life.

Half-hidden by grassy slopes, this striking Spanish colonial fort is now a museum of underwater archaeology.

On this romantic tidal island reachable only at low tide the tomb of a famous French writer overlooks the sea.

Walking around West Harlem reveals a scavenger hunt of beautiful bird murals.

Hordes of precariously balanced stone figures crowd the shores of the Hudson River.

The mosaic Star of David at the front of this store hints that it's no ordinary Italian grocer.

Seriously good slices of Sicilian pizza lurk at the back of the Bronx's oldest enclosed market.

The mummified relics of an American missionary.

This plot of old-growth forest is the largest surviving remnant of New York City's original woodland.

Every year model trains zip through a miniature New York City that's now 150 landmarks strong.

Self-sufficient greenhouse floating on the Hudson River.

A sprawling Baroque park with 300-year-old hydro-pneumatic waterworks.

A modern museum dedicated to the fairytales and dictionary work of the Brothers Grimm.

At this cemetery, artists are invited to design their own gravestones.

This German museum is devoted to all aspects of grave culture from headstones to coffins.

A two-inch thick solid brass rod that extends an astounding one kilometer straight into the earth.

This modern monument to pagan belief looks like it was transported straight from ancient times.

Twin Peaks' real life Double R Diner has been restored to its damn fine television look.

This semi-secret garden in south Seattle emulates a traditional Japanese garden using the plants of the Pacific Northwest.

This last stalwart of the now-forgotten feminist restaurant movement served food in an activist atmosphere since 1977.

An abandoned Gold Coast-era mansion once intended for the exiled ruler of Albania, who never arrived.

Once the main gateway to Tokyo, sneaking through this checkpoint was a capital offense in feudal times.

This Kathmandu museum, built in an Austrian modernist style, looks like a set from Star Wars.