San Francisco's urban bison herd has persisted in the face of extinction, development, and disease.

Carnivorous plants, medieval aphrodisiacs, and the largest original wood structure glass conservatory in the western hemisphere.

Bring your own cardboard to the slippery slopes of concrete hidden in a neighborhood park.

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.

A huge musical instrument played by the ocean.

Chevron maintains one “Standard” brand station per state so it doesn’t lose the trademark.

Staircase winds down the side of Telegraph Hill through gardens, wild parrots flying overhead.

Playable, historic pinball machines fill this Alameda museum.

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.

Antiques by the Bay.

Spiral labyrinth hidden in the hills above Oakland, CA.

A decommissioned Naval base now rents itself out for people who want to blow stuff up.

One of the best absinthe distilleries in the United States.

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

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

Oakland's beautiful monumental cemetery.

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

Worker-owned cooperative and resource for those looking to lighten their ecological footprint.

An vast warehouse of everyday treasures in Berkeley, CA.

The Laureates here get something even more coveted than a Nobel Prize: free parking for life.

An "anarchical" no man's land, complete with garbage sculptures and a hobo-run "Landfillian Library."

Stripes of human ashes cover a back lawn in the most sought-after burial grounds in Paris.

This bridge was constructed from the rubble of the infamous Bastille.

The remaining relics of the patroness of Paris lie in a chapel under a striking double spiral staircase.