Places qfitz Wants to Go

Towering metal swords commemorate a 12th-century victory.

This old Soviet gas station is in perfect condition, one of the best-preserved mosaics in the country.

Abandoned museum from the last days of Soviet domination, with a unique Brutalist design.

Tower with a double-helix spiral, adorned with letters of the Georgian alphabet.

Ruins of a former government building destroyed during the Georgian-Abkhaz war in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union.

A museum glorifying the life of Stalin, located in the city of his birth.

This extraordinary, multi-pillared monument depicts the fascinating history of Georgia.

A cylinder monument with a spectacular vista commemorates a friendship that some say never existed.

Luxury hotel turned into a refugee camp, then turned back into a luxury hotel.

These Stalin-era industrial 'death traps' hang lifeless above the city

Unusual building appears to be haphazardly built from randomly piled bricks.

The last standing example of an ancient district's teatime tradition.

The decaying remains of a once-luxurious Soviet spa town.

The site of a legendary 14th-century battle and a controversial 20th-century speech.

Two distorted Romanesque columns hold aloft a mine cart in honor of laborers who died during WWII.

A futuristic, brutalist masterpiece that is also strangely prison-like.

An enormous artwork that colorfully celebrates over 150 years of US military achievements.

Overflowing with shipping containers, this location has been transformed into a massive workspace for artists.

This grinning pup statue is all that's left of what was once a ubiquitous Bay Area diner chain.

Forgotten and then destroyed by fire, this was once one of the largest saltwater swimming pools in the world.

A library built during San Francisco's pioneer times is a student's retreat, bibliophile's sanctuary, and chess player's delight.

Adolph Sutro's little-known, geographically inaccurate, deprecated monument.

San Francisco's most expensive hotel suite includes a secret passageway rumored to have been used by JFK.

The oldest dim sum restaurant in the United States is a nostalgic jewel.