This ancient Roman prison is decorated with an upside-down cross not as blasphemy but as saintly tribute.

St. Francesca Romana, patron saint of drivers, resides in the church she founded.

Perched above the bustling town of Kerak is a sprawling, ruinous castle that has witnessed nearly a millennia of Levantine history.

The oldest bookstore in Iceland.

This secluded Iceland farm holds the collected works of one rural sculptor's creations.

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

This cascade of mineral-rich hot springs and waterfalls is an oasis in the Jordanian desert.

Taxidermied animals galore, by appointment only.

The only university zoological museum in London houses extinct animals, bizarre natural history specimens, and a Micrarium of microscopic creatures.

The subterranean "lake" below the Paris opera house inspired the Phantom of the Opera's lair.

This spire on an Austrian mountain is wrapped around a long spiral slide and has the world's tallest wooden observation deck.