This insurance company building reminds customers that witches, bears, and gnomes are out there, best be insured.

An alien church provides much needed silence in the midst of a Finland shopping center.

One of the most breathtaking railways in Europe also takes one of the steepest climbs, from fjord to mountain plateau.

A mysterious painting of the self-declared Emperor of the United States watches over a local hof-brau.

A shop full of natural curiosities, carnivorous plants, and costumed taxidermied mice.

Alleyway plaque commemorating the death of a fictional character in The Maltese Falcon, not far from the author's home.

One of few lasting examples of the brief octagon craze that developed into folly.

A nondescript building that's been functioning as a speakeasy for nearly a century and a half.

Tiki luxury on Nob Hill.

Not merely a museum – but a whirring powerhouse that offers a subterranean peek into the heart and soul of cable car operations.

One of the largest underground systems runs under Canada's largest urban center.

A sobering account of the vibrant multicultural neighborhood that was destroyed under apartheid.

New York's unstoppable progress turned this cemetery into the smallest burial ground in the city.

An abandoned movie set in the desert of West Texas.

Ghost town with a beer-drinking goat for mayor.

Belly up to the bar in Cowtown, don't forget to buy some boots.

Modern technology and live displays tell the story of the Pacific during WWII for the Internet generation.

Few other hotels can rival the grandeur of the Castle in the Rockies.

The granddaddy of all tourist traps, built on ice water, jackalopes, and a giant dinosaur.

Groups of prehistoric tombs that dot the mountains of northern Oman.

This indoor ski resort has a mountain contained inside a mall.

A preposterously luxurious hotel with gold-plated iPads, Rolls Royce chauffeurs, and a staff that trains by watching "Downton Abbey."

A seemingly endless landscape of pure salt stretches far across Bolivia.

The vast, legendary catacombs hold secrets much stranger than stacked bones.