brianb's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Los Angeles, California

Rosenheim Mansion

This grand mansion has starred in everything from Bones to Buffy.
Florence, Italy

Santa Maria Novella Pharmacy

The oldest operating pharmacy in the world features 800-year-old recipes.
Florence, Italy

The English Cemetery

Many famous English poets including Elizabeth Barrett Browning are laid to rest at this Swiss-owned cemetery in Florence.
Florence, Italy

Fresco of John Hawkwood

In Florence's great Duomo, a 26 foot fresco honors a mercenary famous for attacking Florence.
Florence, Italy

Ospedale degli Innocenti (Hospital of the Innocents)

Renaissance hospital featuring a rotating door into which unwanted babies were dropped.
Florence, Italy

Buontalenti Grotta

A large grotto built in the 16th century amidst Florence's famous Boboli gardens.
Florence, Italy

Vasari Corridor

This private skyway is filled with art and was expanded explicitly so that Hitler could appreciate a river.
Rome, Italy

Galleria Sciarra

This hidden Art Nouveau courtyard is an opulent feast for the eyes.
Rome, Italy

The Dome Illusion

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

Elephant and Obelisk

A detailed pachyderm supports Rome's smallest Egyptian obelisk.
Rome, Italy

Piè di Marmo (Marble Foot)

A massive marble foot is tucked away in a small alley near the Pantheon.
Oaxaca, Mexico

Panteón General (General Cemetery)

This graveyard boasts a medley of diverse and imaginative funeral architecture.
Oaxaca, Mexico

Post Mortem Chapel

The ruins of an abandoned church mingle with the graves at Oaxaca’s General Cemetery.
San Pablo Villa de Mitla, Mexico

Hierve El Agua

This beautifully deceptive waterfall is something far different from what it appears to be.
San Pablo Villa de Mitla, Mexico

Column of Death

A mysterious pillar in an ancient burial chamber is said to predict how long you have to live.
Santa María del Tule, Mexico

El Árbol del Tule (The Tule Tree)

The stoutest tree in the world.
Monte Albán, Mexico

Monte Albán

These sacred Mesoamerican ruins feature peculiar petroglyphs hidden in the stones.
Oaxaca, Mexico

Rufino Tamayo Museum of Pre-Hispanic Art

An incredible collection of Mesoamerican art assembled by one of Mexico's great artists.
Oaxaca, Mexico

Museo de Filatelia de Oaxaca

This amazing collection includes rare stamps from around the world, including fluorescent ones.
Mexico City, Mexico

Palacio Postal

Gilded heaven for philatelists and architecture freaks, still in full working order despite sitting atop tremulous ground.
Los Angeles, California

Galco's Soda Pop Stop

Shop selling 500 flavors of soda has something for everyone.
Los Angeles, California

The Adventurers' Club of Los Angeles

Hidden above a drug store on a nondescript corner of Lincoln Heights is a private clubhouse for intrepid explorers.
Puno, Peru

Sillustani

These ruined Incan mausoleum towers still bear carvings of sacred animals on their blocks.
Cusco, Peru

Plaza de Armas

Built on the remains of one the Incas’ most important gathering spots, this square keeps the spirit of a fallen empire alive.