A fortress on this island housed the mysterious prisoner known as the "Man in the Iron Mask" for more than a decade.

One architect's organic, human-centric design has been fully realized in this alien art house.

Avant garde house of Pierre Cardin on the Cote d’Azur.

This mosque was based on Sub-Saharan Islamic architecture and created for the Senegalese Tirailleurs.

The ruins stand as a somber reminder of France’s worst civil catastrophe of the 20th century.

This modern museum of Mediterranean culture is surrounded by a surreal concrete honeycomb.

This garden houses the remains of the ancient Greek port of Marseille.

France's third-largest necropolis offers a peaceful respite from a busy port city.

What if all public housing projects had been designed by "the Pygmalion of modern architecture," not only their prototype?

This historic island prison holds one of the dungeons from the Count of Monte Cristo even though it is a work of fiction.

A crumbling island fortress that seems to be covered in a field of stone crosses but is simply incomplete.

A public park off the beaten path with a beautiful waterfall and 13th century Cistercian abbey.

Former bridge turned into an observation tower.

For a brief time in 1960s France, families could climb into a tiny submarine and be pulled along an underwater journey.

Now a memorial, this factory was once used as a concentration camp for artists by the Vichy government.

Longest canal tunnel in the world, abandoned in the 1960s.

The castle where the Marquis de Sade lived out his darkest fantasies.

From carts to cars, this leftover Roman bridge in France has managed to survive for centuries.

One man's desire to transcend art led to the construction of this outsider chapel.

One of the largest ochre quarries in the world, hidden in a limestone landscape.

These medieval ruins have survived since the 12th century, even providing shelter from the Nazis.

A private garden of sculptural eccentricities.

Even France's favorite aquatic son Jacques Cousteau, couldn't get to the bottom of it.

The mental institution where Van Gogh created some of his most famous work now allows guests to walk in the artist's footsteps.