Places Edited by Rachel James

California's own medieval Italian castle, authentic down to the 300-year-old iron maiden in the dungeon.

A celebrated bandstand at the center of what was once the worst slum in London.

An engraved boulder marks the spot where Patsy Cline's life ended in a plane crash.

An abandoned meat mecca now serves as an excellent locale for urban exploration.

Wondrous stalactites house thousands of bats in these African caves.

A theme park attraction designed to turn your children into LARPers.

While not recognized by Guinness, this chocolate waterfall is likely to be the world's largest.

An enormous dragon scales the walls of this 17-story temple.

A long abandoned hospital building on the outskirts of NYC.

An ancient Chinese temple where even the emperor dressed like a farmer in the name of the harvest.

Sandstone rock formations that look like they belong on the cover of a progressive rock album.

A wartime promise becomes a shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes.

An annual festival celebrating Colorado's most famous frozen corpse.

A bisected journey through evolution's history in the heart of Beijing.

A hollow cement depiction of time's inexorable effect on the human body.

Construction of Barcelona’s iconic (but controversial) church was finally completed in 2026—a century after the death of its architect.

The resting place for anonymous victims of the Danube's dark waters.

Teeming with illegal goods and services, this towering maze of vice is also a popular tourist accommodation.

A fernery hidden by neglect is uncovered, and an ancient specimen along with it.

Bangkok celebrated its shifting monarchy with a militaristic homage to democracy.

An abandoned aircraft sits submerged in a lake in the Alaska wilderness.

Beneath the surface, something slithers. And if you find it, prepare to be slimed and glowing.

This 80-year old mannequin is so lifelike it is believed to be an embalmed corpse.

A 100-year-old purveyor of curiosities, curios, and kitsch featuring mummies, shrunken heads, and a Fiji Mermaid.