Places Obscura Hunter Wants to Go

On any given day this sprawling market houses literally tons of government-regulated gold, gems, and precious metals.

A preposterously luxurious hotel with gold-plated iPads, Rolls Royce chauffeurs, and a staff that trains by watching "Downton Abbey."

Whitewashed mosque contains the world's largest carpet.

This indoor ski resort has a mountain contained inside a mall.

This artificial archipelago was supposed to resemble a map of the world.

Billed as the "largest natural flower garden in the world" this Middle Eastern show field has little competition at 45 million flowers.

An abandoned desert hamlet swallowed up by sand.

Some of the last remaining relics of one of World War II's most important invasions.

The lasting remains of the Balloon Section of the British Armed Forces.

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

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

A bookstore dedicated to the intersection of comedy and art.

A once-secret library of Freemason history in Catalonia.

The iconic boulevard is the perfect place to catch sight of a bicycling skeleton, a levitating Satan, or a chef with his head stuck in a pizza.

A favorite Paris bar for U.S. expats, including Gershwin, Hemingway, and James Bond.

High atop the Eiffel Tower is a small apartment built exclusively to entertain the science elite and make the rest of Paris jealous.

Residing along a busy thoroughfare, this sculpture urges passersby to consider the future.

The final resting place for a wealthy Roman family, this tomb might be the best preserved of its kind outside Italy.

Protecting the dead from opportunistic body snatchers.

A strange rock with a sinister reputation lurks within the crimson waters of this Scottish glen.

This extinct volcano rises above Edinburgh and is special for its panoramic views over the city.

This medieval manor house was equipped with secret compartments for hiding priests.

This ingenious engineering solution was built to stop the "theft" of canal water.

This historic abandoned train station looks like a stop for ghost trains.