This Parisian fountain is a little bit fantasy and a little bit nightclub.

The vast, legendary catacombs hold secrets much stranger than stacked bones.

Exquisite wall sculptures carved in secret by an early quarryman in an obscure corner of the Paris Catacombs.

A mud statue stands in the dark tunnels, seeming to hold up the weight of the city above.

This half-forgotten fortress was constructed by the Ottoman conqueror of Constantinople.

Feast on the freshest of fish by the Bosphorus.

A gorgeous, Gaudí-esque stairway constructed in the city of Istanbul by a prominent Jewish family.

Climb a steep hill in 90 seconds on the second-oldest urban subway in the world.

Eat your way through history.

Have tea in a cemetery with a dazzling view of Istanbul.

Step back in time and witness the fall of Constantinople.

Climb a set of vertiginous stone steps to the top of this impressive ancient edifice.

Byzantine emperors ruled, lived, and died in this 13th-century palace-turned-museum.

Homesick Syrian refugees head to this restaurant for a taste of Damascus.

Come for the whole sides of slow-roasted lamb, stay for the regional Kurdish specialties.

No one is sure if the world's fourth-largest diamond had been found in a rubbish heap or was pawned by Napoleon's mom.

This column celebrates Rome's victory over the Goths, and may be the oldest Roman monument in Istanbul.

A small etching on the white marble parapet was written in runic script by a Viking mercenary.

Five sultans and their families rest in eternal splendor, teeming with overlooked beauty and drama.

A marvel of Byzantine engineering under the streets of Istanbul.

Wash down heaping platters of meze with raki at one of the city's best taverns.

This former Imperial summer home was the venue for a royal slap that once echoed 'round the world.

This family-owned canteen has been selling goat milk ice cream since 1933.

A castle from the Holy Roman Empire that hosts traveling youth... in its stables.