In this Parisian garden's grotesque former life as a zoo it fed exotic animals to the bourgeois and put humans on exhibit.

This bridge was constructed from the rubble of the infamous Bastille.

The tradition of open-air secondhand and antiquarian bookselling in Paris dates back to the Renaissance.

Paris' fabled purveyor of exotic taxidermy and natural history curios.

A haunting collection of the vanished and disappearing natural world.

This charming cobbled backstreet is the most Instagramable street in Paris, much to the residents' annoyance.

France's most famous cemetery, with some of its most curious tombs.

A favorite Paris bar for U.S. expats, including Gershwin, Hemingway, and James Bond.

The celebrated eyesore created by starry-eyed sweethearts.

The former home of France's controversial pop maestro is almost completely covered in ever-changing tributes and graffiti.

A remote crossroads honoring a fallen talent.

An ancient ossuary in Rouen.

His "Lionheart" is entombed separately from the rest of his body.

Located in the house where Gustave Flaubert was born, this odd museum has more to do with medical grotesquery than the Western novel.

This symbol of the French Revolution still stands where it was first planted during the 18th-century.

This enormous "cloth of the conquest" depicts the Norman invasion of England in mind-blowing detail.

Sacked by Vikings, blessed by William the Conqueror, dealt a fatal blow during the French Revolution—these ruins have seen it all.

During the summer, surfers in Alaska take advantage of this inlet’s unusual water patterns.

The oldest attraction in Disneyland is a prehistoric stump that Walt may have bought for his wife.

Fourteen curious and controversial white bunnies sit in a circle near Newport Beach City Hall.

Legacy of the earthquake that nearly wiped Lisbon off the face of the Earth.

This Industrial Age architectural and engineering gem helps visitors and residents alike traverse Lisbon, “The City of Seven Hills.”

Strange red rock formations that have been attributed to a higher power for hundreds of years.

Historic funicular railway, believed to be the shortest railroad in the world.