These delicate sand pyramids look like naturally occurring gothic spires.

This 6th-century church has the largest and best-preserved collection of Byzantine mosaics outside Constantinople.

A Milanese café entirely designed by the American director Wes Anderson.

Every Easter, a small Sicilian town builds a stunning cathedral out of bread.

A lonesome Moai stands in a small Italian town some 9,000 miles away from its Easter Island brethren.

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

Thousand-year-old Viking runes adorn an ancient Greek lion at the entrance to the Venetian Arsenal.

In this medieval church, a centuries-old stuffed crocodile hangs from the ceiling.

Italy's only urban waterfall has enchanted artists and travelers for centuries.

A unique seaside cave where Aleister Crowley faked his own death.

Men in rubber-soled boots serve as your "brakes" on this toboggan ride Hemingway described as "exhilarating."

This eccentrically decorated palace is replete with grottoes, fountains, tunnels, and caves.

An exquisite collection of fairytale conveyances that puts most car museums to shame.

A majestic hotel for dreamers rises from the center of a fairytale wood.

This crumbling Portuguese ruin overlooks the populace it once ruled.

A stunning 18th-century site where pilgrims ascend by a series of punishing stairs only to return via funicular.

The verdant mossy ruins of a Franciscan monastery lie in the remote Sintra hills awaiting exploration.

Ring the bell to enter a bar that looks equal parts museum and old curiosity shop.

In Portugal, a secluded stretch of untouched natural beauty hides at the bottom of a steep hill.

A lush oasis full of vibrant plants and striking geometric displays.

A micronation on an islet along the coast of a Portuguese island.

One man's remarkable private collection of art from around the world.

The world's oldest bookshop still in operation.

This gaping hole in the middle of a remote mountain lake looks like a portal to another dimension.