Palais Idéal, Hauterives, France

The Palais Idéal or the Ideal Palace is a testament to how far you can get if you doggedly pursue a dream. The castle was built by Ferdinand Cheval, a French postman who dedicated 33 years of his life inspired by a stone he tripped over on his rounds. He stopped to examine this rock and found it so bizarre that he decided to take it home with him and returned the next day to gather more rocks. After noticing the amazing way time had shaped the rocks, Cheval decided to become an architect and built his castle from little rocks and pebbles. This fine example of “naïve art” architecture with influences from the Bible and Hindu mythology is now open to the public.