Places synesthesiac Wants to Go

Coins and medals straight from the mint await visitors to this shop in the nation's capital.

This groundbreaking 16th-century map is known as "America's birth certificate."

Washington's iconic carousel has a nice piece of Civil Rights history.

This lovely pocket park is one of the most under appreciated in D.C.

A museum cafe showcases Native American dishes and indigenous ingredients from across the Western Hemisphere.

The country's oldest continually-operated mini golf course lies hidden in plain sight, eclipsed by one of D.C.'s most popular tourist attractions.

A three-story tower of books about Abraham Lincoln is one of the more unusual monuments to the president.

The one-stop shop for all of your superhero (or evil arch-nemesis) needs.

New York's oldest and possibly grandest keeper of books.

Unique antiquarian shop specializing in globes, maps, and prints.

In Little Caribbean, an ice-cream shop serves up regional flavors, including soursop, Irish moss, and "greatnut."

Part bookstore, part café, and part forest.

Mai Tais and Navy Grog served up in one of the original tiki bars.

This store offers tastes of Aboriginal Australia, with some contemporary and global twists.

Found: Garden of Eden in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

These former theme park figures have a new lease on life outside a water plant-turned-restaurant.

Over 50 exquisite hand-painted Renaissance maps decorate a Medici storage room.

This community on a small Venetian island has taken to painting their houses in bright neon hues.

A small etching on the white marble parapet was written in runic script by a Viking mercenary.

This former Masonic hall has been turned into an art project that uses even more metaphysical iconography.

The marker offers a rare chance to be in four U.S. states at once, though there's some controversy over its geographic accuracy.

A hidden beach at the end of a tunnel of mangrove trees.

Dig for your own trilobites in this goldmine of invertebrates.

A 24-hour vending machine restocked daily with homemade full-sized pecan pies.