Places thisisrachelsmith Wants to Go

The ruins of this gorgeous clifftop castle look like something from a fantasy novel.

The remains of a grand castle that may have inspired Bram Stoker's Dracula.

The townhouse where the English poet created some of his most influential work has been preserved in tribute.

One hundred years ago this small house in downtown Zürich became the birthplace of the Dada movement.

A library where thousands of books explain how to avoid another Great Recession.

This incredible stone temple is a monument to death, victory, and fantasy architecture.

This small exhibition displays equipment and artifacts once belonging to the feared Stasi secret police.

What started as a tongue-in-cheek shrine is now a full-blown museum celebrating "The Hoff" and his longtime love affair with Berlin.

A fascinating insight into daily life in the Eastern Bloc.

The most visited, and possibly most controversial, museum in Germany.

The home studio one of Britain's first independent record producers is also the site of a murder-suicide.

A retired tobacco farmer's pet project turned into a sturdy miniature city.

The art and history of the velvet painting are on full display in this Los Angeles museum.

Dive bar built out of the remains of a whaling ship.

Julia Morgan's Moorish-Gothic labyrinth of fountains, trees, natural light and Oakland's notable dead.

Bonsai garden in Oakland is curated by the first non-Japanese female bonsai master in the United States.

This Oakland fairytale kingdom, fiercely devoted to childlike whimsy, was an early inspiration for Disneyland.

International delicatessen has been owned and operated by the same family for more than 110 years.

A hardware store Buddha statue installed to deter vandalism wound up attracting Vietnamese immigrants who came to pray.

These WWII-era murals were initially booed as a libelous portrayal of the American dream but have survived multiple attempts to have them destroyed.

A tiny theater hidden in an alley plays a constant stream of short silent films for anyone willing to peer through the peephole.

Storyville was New Orleans' historic red light district and hotbed of jazz music, sometimes referred to simply as "The District."

By day this New Orleans square is for pedestrians, but by night it is a kingdom of kittens.

A psychedelic labyrinth on the San Francisco bay.