Places noel Wants to Go

On the Oregon coast is a natural hole that seems to be draining the sea.

San Diego's most historic and haunted home.

North America's largest accredited model railroad museum.

A patch of contaminated land reclaimed as a scrappy sculptural oasis.

Two adjoining collections of 19th-20th century physics apparatuses and instruments.

A swirling spectrum of stained glass dazzles visitors who enter this subway station.

This historic library honors the legacy of the British Empire's first children's librarian.

A touching tribute to the "Wonky Donkey."

This half-ton piece of the Alps sits at the base of the CN Tower.

A unique collection of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and everything in-between.

The Victorian-era greenhouse is stuffed with tropical plants, and open 365 days a year.

A book collector's dream, this Toronto bookstore has the world's first "Biblio-Mat," a random book vending machine.

Its buzzing collection honors vibrator history.

Fascinating museum dedicated to the under-appreciated medical history of urology features some wince-inducing devices.

An encyclopedic collection of mammal penises.

Astounding collection of coin-operated games and automata.

Hell on Earth is actually a small town in Michigan where anyone can be mayor for a day.

A monument to the 17,000 Chinese who worked and died to build Canada's Pacific Railway.

This urban oasis is a marvelous meld of music and landscape architecture.

This colorful creation wasn't always a welcome part of Toronto's Moccasin Trail Park.

This Toronto garden collects stares and tchotchkes in equal measure.

Willy Wonka would love this weird half-a-home.

The remains of a once-famous hotel that also acted as an artist colony.

This knick-knack-covered house (complete with a matching van) is a charming oddity in the middle of a modest downtown neighborhood.