Remnants of the city's Soviet history hover over this modern fast-food outlet.

This ruined castle perched atop a rocky peak is a great place for a hike.

One of the most valuable palace-garden complexes in the eastern borderlands—and one of the most haunted.

This 8th-century Bavarian monastery is home to an exquisite Baroque-era library.

The building where Mary, Queen of Scots was said to have bathed in white wine.

This once-majestic, now-abandoned Victorian castle has seen better days.

Access to this hidden site of a 14th-century mass suicide is prohibited, unless it is to pray for the dead.

Once the main gateway to Tokyo, sneaking through this checkpoint was a capital offense in feudal times.

This mysterious medieval grotto holds a grid of sacred wells of unknown purpose.

Narrow passes cut out of mountains surround the medieval capital of Japan.

This hidden 13th-century tavern room has a few Shakespearean connections.

Quite simply the largest tree in the world (by volume).

This Hollywood dive houses a mural painted by the artists who animated its namesake film.

The private clubhouse for the members of the Academy of Magical Arts.

San Franciscans leave gifts and messages for the magical beings that live behind the tiny, mysterious door installed on a tree in Golden Gate Park.

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

One of the last remnants of the city's Chinese nightclub scene is now a dive bar selling killer mai tais.

The medieval legend behind this holy well was one of the inspirations behind "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

This ancient burial site was once thought to be the home of a race distinctive to Ainu folklore.

This wooden chair dates possibly back to the 15th century, and commemorates a local legend.

This iconic Peak District ridge was once one of the busiest roads in medieval Britain.

The oldest church in Serbia was also the ecclesiastical seat of the region during the Middle Ages.

These ruins by the Dead Sea is where John the Baptist met his untimely end.

Concentrated around the Dead Sea, these surprising canyons are filled with coursing water, fish, and even crabs.