One artist's yard is full of shining, whirling kinetic sculptures that look like pure steel psychedelia.

This historic Victorian hotel has a scandalous history of affairs and murder.

The narrowest street in Canada was once a spot for dastardly doings, now a historic piece of Chinatown.

A huge musical instrument played by the ocean.

From the Difference Engine to the Cray-1, all under one roof.

A magical sinkhole on the Yucatán Peninsula is adorned with mini waterfalls and hanging vines.

This former coal gasification plant found a curious second life as a popular public park.

The Laureates here get something even more coveted than a Nobel Prize: free parking for life.

This subtle Berkeley paving stone actually marks off a lawless tube of air that extends into space.

A pier that used to act as a busy ferry dock is now a decaying favorite of local fisherman and urban artists.

A scandalous Art Nouveau collaboration that set Paris all atwitter at the turn of the 20th century.

The century-old bell and clock tower at UC Berkeley is the third-tallest in the world, and has fossils.

The gondolas let you glimpse a bird's-eye view of one of the world's highest capital cities.

Paris' fabled purveyor of exotic taxidermy and natural history curios.

This bridge was constructed from the rubble of the infamous Bastille.

A mechanized clock where a man fights off a dragon, crab, and rooster.

The oldest stone house in Paris was built by its most famous alchemist.

This Parisian café sticks almost exclusively to an ethos of reuse.

Known as the "Dodo Manège," this carousel features a herd of animals that have disappeared—or may be gone soon.

A majestic lion statue guards this Parisian botanical garden, and feeds on an unsettling item.

Hidden away in a modern library are the remains of one of the 18th century's most celebrated wunderkammers.

A treasure trove of artifacts, books, and artwork from the "golden age" of exploration.

Former hunting lodge of a duke who was an avid collector of impressionist works.

A series of abstract, silly sculptures represent the works of a great modern classical composer.