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Staircase inside of the second floor of the Erawan Museum in Bangkok, Thailand. The Erawan Museum is located in Samut Prakan Province (on the outskirts of Bangkok) and was built by Lek Viriyaphant, an eccentric Thai millionaire who was also responsible for the construction of The Ancient City (also in Samut Prakan) and the Sanctuary of Truth in Pattaya. The building is a syncretic blend of traditional Thai and European architecture and design elements and is incredibly psychedelic--it’s like a church dedicated to the worship of one man’s subconscious. The museum’s three separate floors symbolize the universe and are designed in accordance with the three-tiered cosmology of the Hindu-Thai Buddhist concept of Tribhumi. The structure is topped by a massive 20-meter high statue of a three-headed elephant outside and many Thais come to worship on the grounds of the museum as they view the building as one of the most revered objects in the province. Not to be missed.

The South Indian styled temple founded and built in the 1980s is a serene setting for contemplation or worship. It has two temples, the Balaji temple for the deity Vishnu and the Shiva temple. Silpis were flown in from India to Indianize the white stone exterior and shrines with ornate sculpture embellishments. When visiting, make sure to be respectful by dressing modestly and removing your shoes before going inside.

Hagios Demetrios is known as the largest church in all of Greece, and while this interior doesn’t look as large as other European churches, the entire building and grounds are a true showing of historic periods coming and overlapping one another. You’ll find ancient ruins with Christian worship, and many relics and antiquities to see.

I love old churches and cathedrals. They often offer grandiose exteriors along with gaudy interiors, but the little church of La Villita is tiny and quaint. However, its charm makes it worth a visit if you find yourself exploring the San Antonio River Walk. Although the church still functions as a nondenominational place of worship there are a number of events that are held here throughout the year including artist exhibitions and the church is open to the public.

Only kahuna (priests) and alii nui (chiefs) were eligible to visit the Heiau (temples) at Puukohola. The site was dedicated in 1791 before the kapu (taboo) system that included human sacrifice was dissolved in 1819. Now a National Historic Site, visitors can find stone monuments at the site where Hawaii’s sometimes violent history played out. The temples were destroyed in 1819 with the end of the organized worship of the Hawaiian gods and only platforms remain. The surrounding area was used for farming and settlements.

We become so small when entering a place of worship, this local woman especially as she made her way to the entrance of the Cathedral of San Gervasio in Valladolid. It wasn’t Sunday. I’m sure of it because Sundays in Mexican city centers are usually much busier with families wandering around the city and going to mass. On this particular day there were just a few folks going about their usual routine.

Completed in 1899, this Byzantine and Romanesque-style church is a popular destination as a place for pilgrimage and worship for thousands of visitors to D.C. Run by the Order of St. Francis of Assisi (Franciscans), the monastery and its magnificent gardens house realistic replicas of shrines from the Holy Land and worldwide, which the Franciscans have cared for during the past 800 years. These include Christ’s tomb from the Church of the Holy Sepuchre, Tomb of the Virgin Mary, Chapel of the Ascension, the Grotto of Gethsemane, the Grotto of Lourdes, and the catacombs of Rome which house the remains of two saints brought from there, St. Benignus and St. Innocent.

Down an alley off Exchange Street, serious beer lovers congregate to worship at Novare Res, either at picnic tables on the outdoor patio or at communal tables in the brick-vaulted cellar space. More than 500 small-batch beers from all over the world—at least 25 of them on tap—are available to sample every day. The vast menu is divided by region and taste and style but the waitstaff (or your fellow worshippers) will be happy to steer you to a beer that suits your palate.

Scores of sci-fi geeks, space gazers, and physicists worship this iconic particle physics lab. Founded in 1954, CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) is located just five miles (8 km) west of Geneva and is open to the public. The lab’s main attraction is the Large Hadron Collider, a particle accelerator that shoots protons around an almost 17-mile (27 km) circular tube, which in turn creates new matter. Other permanent exhibitsl emphasize CERN’s current projects. Two-hour guided tours in English require advance reservations up to 15 days ahead and require a photo ID.

Sun streams through the big windows on the third floor of the church, setting the gold detail on the walls and ceilings aglow. The atmosphere is reserved; antique chandeliers and mirrors provide an elegant, refined setting. But even though I’m in a place of worship, I’m here for the coffee and cakes. This café, in the old City Church (City Konditoriet) in Stockholm, is a unique setting to enjoy the café culture. You feel as if you’ve stepped back in time. I’m surrounded by older people sipping their coffee and practicing the lost art of visiting. At least I think so, since I don’t speak Swedish. Coffee is a reasonable 20 kronor, and you can order lunch and brunch items. Get here early on a Saturday and enjoy the one table situated on the balcony.

The original Jade Buddha Temple was built in the late-19th century to house two jade Buddha statues brought from Burma by a monk named Hui Gen. They remain the principal attractions of the temple, especially the larger of the two, a seated Buddha carved from a single piece of white jade and weighing 205 kilograms (452 pounds). This is an active Buddhist monastery, and you’ll see monks throughout the buildings and grounds, as well as locals who come here to worship. The complex has gone through cycles of destruction and repair, first during the uprising that led to the overthrow of the Qing dynasty, and later during the Cultural Revolution. There is also a popular vegetarian restaurant at the temple.

Longshan is not Taipei’s largest temple, but its unique beauty and proximity to the MRT have made it a very popular one. It’s an awesome place to stop by at sunset when the after-work crowd comes to worship. The temple fills with people from all walks of life praying and telling fortunes using traditional bua buei blocks. The slanting light from the setting sun highlights the smoke rising from incense urns, giving it a supernatural feel.

Nicknamed the Holy City for its abundance of churches, Charleston’s most notable house of worship is St. Philip’s. The Anglican parish was constructed in 1680 and rebuilt in 1835 after a devastating fire. Since then, it’s persevered through hurricanes, a major earthquake, and even shelling by the Union Army during the Civil War. Today, its sand-colored steeple rises prominently against the city skyline, serving as a symbol of dignity and determination. The churchyard—home to Vice President John C. Calhoun’s gravesite—is a popular spot on historical and ghost tours. To get inside the church, attend weekly services on Sunday and Wednesday mornings, or tour the offices and sanctuary during weekday business hours.

Hidden out past quaint Five Islands Village, Hawksbill resort is seamlessly sprinkled over 37 acres of Caribbean gardens right on the water. Sure, Antigua is known for its 365 beaches so it shouldn’t be a surprise when a resort has more then one beach, but Hawksbill has, an impressive, four secluded strips of sugar-white sand easily accessible to guests with a fifth accessible to truly intrepid sun worshipers. Besides the sheer quantity, Hawksbill also sports a one-of-a-kind beach for Antigua. Beyond the southern point of the the 99 non-smoking guest rooms, down a little path, through a white fence, and around the bend is Eden Beach — Antigua’s one and only extremely concealed clothing-optional shore. It’s here, a matter of meters into the Caribbean Sea, that you’ll find majestic Hawksbill Rock (so named for its uncanny resemblance to a hawk’s profile) from which the property gets its name.

Following a powerful earthquake in February 2011, the Christchurch Cathedral was severely damaged, and while there is an ongoing ideological and economic debate over whether or not the Gothic-style church can, or should be, repaired, the Anglican parishioners of New Zealand‘s second-largest city can now worship in this fascinating edifice made of, among other things, 96 giant cardboard tubes. Designed by Shigeru Ban, a Japanese architect who specializes in building temporary structures following natural disasters, the Cardboard Cathedral (formerly called Christchurch’s Transitional Cathedral), was erected in less than a year. Its excellent acoustics are also regularly utilized for concerts and events.