Before the electric telegraph, a chain of stone towers carried messages across France.

Huge Russian Orthodox cemetery in danger of being converted into open public space.

Stripes of human ashes cover a back lawn in the most sought-after burial grounds in Paris.

Abandoned outpost once home to a murderous tyrant.

This unusual piece of Renaissance art depicting the bodily horror of crucifixion and skin disease may have been inspired by fungus-induced hallucinations.

This "social palace" housing complex created a relatively stable and self-contained worker's society... for a time.

A French artist's vague warning hangs over Belleville.

A gothic church dedicated to the love of wine.

This small commune with an even smaller name appears to have an unlikely amount of dead ancestors.

The remains of this ornate chapel now act as a portal to a cramped French cemetery.

Twelve grave-faced marble angels guard the emperor's tomb at Les Invalides.

This Bordeaux parking garage has 712 indoor spaces, and one outdoor.

The huge golden reliquary of a testicle-smashing saint.

Small French town or alien garage?

An Orthodox church built by the Royal Family for the Russian community exiled to the French Riviera.

This small red school was where Germany signed their surrender during WWII.

The deserted pirate-themed restaurant still entices explorers.

This Corsican Neolithic site is full of pre-Roman megalithic structures that may or may not be penises.

Guests can stay at a hotel in the former French abbey where lie the tombs of King Henry II and King Richard the Lionheart.

A towering baroque basilica jutting out of the French countryside.

This 14th century wine cellar is home to the oldest barrel-stored wine in the world.

Site of one of World War I's most horrific scenes.

A memorial to the nearly 10,000 American soldiers laid to rest on the beaches of Normandy during WWII.

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