Places StepYoshi Wants to Go

This sword isn't waiting for a king to pull it out. It was placed there by a saint.

As can be expected from a centuries-old church built in a canal city, the undercroft of this house of worship is beautifully flooded.

This 16th-century monastery has been turned into a surrealist architecture compound.

According to the local folklore, the myriad colors of this lake are the result of a lovelorn wizard's blunder.

The glowing blue Nymphaeum of Emperor Tiberius.

Geothermal waterfalls in Tuscany.

Venice's "Island of the Mad."

The middle finger of modernity.

A master of trompe-l'oeil creates a stunning, tourist-fooling dome out of a flat ceiling.

Renaissance villa and gardens complete with a tormented colossus.

Architectureal fantasy quarter of Rome.

Stalactites and stalagmites in a beautifully lit cave.

A small island less than half a mile from Venice is a forbidden island with a dark and twisted past.

A submerged archeological park still holds the wonders of a Roman Sodom.

A 16th-century horror show built in a lovely Italian garden.

Wallabies live naturally on this Irish island.

An 1814 castle that hosts an exhibit of "explorabilia".

This floating garden in the sky is straight out of a fairy tale, but the real thing is nothing short of magical.

The gorgeous library at Trinity College is home to remarkable treasures of Irish identity.

Perfectly preserved ancient monastery in an impossibly dramatic location on a rocky island in the Atlantic.

Icelandic folklore says this giant boulder was ripped from the mountains and placed at its current location, where it became home to elves.

A modern Nordic Pompeii on the Icelandic island of Heimaey.

Every summer local children form "pysja patrols" to save young birds that have wandered from their nests.

This natural rock formation features seemingly unnatural vertical ridges that have been blamed on elves.