Places Edited by Nikki Vargas

One of the tallest statues in the world, and the tallest statue of a goddess in Japan.

On a remote island, legend has it that a fiddler and his wife were turned to stone.

Sweden's first electric elevator remains hidden within a fortress-like building.

Lined with plaques and tributes to veterans, this patriotic street was founded by Mexican immigrants.

Colombia's first concrete structure doubles as a replica of Versaille's Petit Trianon Belvedere and a symbol for development.

Pumpkin-like gargoyles and grotesques peer down from the rooftop of this unassuming apartment building in Illinois.

This small Australian town is considered home to the "Yowie" or the Aussie Big Foot.

A 19th-century horse lover's bequest led to the construction of this unique fountain in Chicago.

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

A historical home in upstate New York honors the work of John W. Jones, a formerly enslaved man who was a major agent for the Underground Railroad.

By public opinion, this is Canada's knottiest tree.

St. Mary's features one of the most spectacularly decorated cathedral interiors in all of Europe.

A market built atop boats is one of the few floating holiday markets in Europe.

The first custom-designed building to showcase the works of Dale Chihuly is a wonderland of glass and light.

Just like in Hollywood, Madrid has also a forgotten walk of fame.

A little slice of Japan and its aesthetics in London's Holland Park.

This underwater graveyard commemorates a group of murdered 16th-century missionaries.

At this deceptively beautiful beach, nothing is what it seems.

This otherwise ordinary close on the Royal Mile constituted the end of the world for Edinburgh’s poorest residents.

The ruins of an abbey believed to have been founded by Charlemagne in the 9th century.

This nomadic monster has divided opinions as it prowls across Canada.

This small Slovenian town has become a magnet for microbreweries.

You don't have to be a diplomat to visit the so-called Camp David of the West.

In the Manduri reserve of Sao Paulo, you can see the endangered black-horned capuchin monkey up close.