Places SamS Wants to Go

The remains of a magnificent medieval fortress that was the capital of a vast empire.

Every spring, locals see the shadowy figures of a ghost army of slain Greek soldiers descend upon this ruined fort.

France's national museum of scientific and industrial instruments.

Museum in a swimming pool where the water still flows.

The 16th-century church was kept in its ruined state as a reminder of the casualties of World War I.

This ancient burial site is believed to be one of the first earthquake-protected structures in the world.

Marked by the hand of the explorer Henry Morton Stanley.

The palace of the King of Kings, burned by Alexander the Great.

This ruined fortress was the stronghold for a persecuted medieval leader and his infamous Assassins.

It should come as no surprise that the best view of the Hollywood sign is from Batman's lair.

This weird abode has inspired everything from the "House on Haunted Hill" to a robot hunter's pad.

High on a hill overlooking Los Angeles lives a world famous, high-power conical Tesla Coil.

A common entry point to the Griffith Observatory trail holds its own wonders.

Medieval town turned hippie commune, once home to the secret foreskin of Jesus Christ.

Rome's ancient Etruscan rival, now a park full of ruins.

An Italian ghost town that fought obscurity, until a mysterious illness brought it to its knees.

This immaculate and historic water garden culminates in a massive stone dining table with an inset fountain for chilling the wine of the Cardinal's guests.

The remains of a town so thoroughly destroyed by French forces that the citizens simply left.

What looks like a link in Gondor's early warning system is actually a centuries-old Italian fortress.

Ever loyal to Roma, the small village of Albe in the Abruzzo region carried on until an earthquake did it in.

Virgil's many-mouthed gateway to the underworld.

Ruins of a 10th century church tucked away deep in a botanical garden.

The Roman Emperor's lost summer home and grotto full of enormous sculptures sit along the Italian seashore.

This crocodile-infested Timor-Leste reservoir is also home to a spectacular half-sunken forest.