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Easter Island is one of the most isolated on Earth. However, its people, the Rapa Nui, have left behind an exceptional heritage: Dwellings, ceremonial altars, and above all nearly 900 moai, these giant statues measuring 3 to 5 meters on average and which are scattered all over the island.

The seat of the Pope, Vatican City is the focal point for 1.3 billion Catholics around the world. And it is a place shrouded in secrets. It stretches on less than 500 square meters… Although the Vatican consists of a micro-territory, in less than 2,000 years it has not only become a spiritual beacon for 1.3 billion Catholics, but also an exceptional treasure of world heritage. And to think that this site was originally practically empty… Everything was built around a crucial location: The Tomb of Peter the Apostle. A modest grave that triggered a series of grandiose constructions, starting with the first basilica built during Antiquity, yet almost as big as Notre-Dame de Paris.

In their own way, Coba, Mayapan and Tulum all played host to the last moments of a civilisation as impressive as it is mysterious.
What do these three cities tell us about the way Mayan societies operated? How does their architecture inform the experts about the scientific knowledge and construction techniques available to them? How did the buildings in these cities develop in the service of an ancient culture and beliefs?

In southern Jordan lies the spectacular city of Petra. Built over 2,000 years ago, it contains innumerable architectural treasures: colossal buildings carved into cliffs and hundreds of tombs, temples, and baths.

In the heart of Athens, the vestiges of an ancient city have overlooked the capital for over 2,000 years: the Acropolis. Built in the 5th century BC, this sumptuous complex of temples and monuments remains the most extraordinary architectural work left to us by Ancient Greece. So what makes the 2 500-year-old building so important to tourists and Greeks alike? And what was it originally used for?

In the heart of Morvan, the French region of Burgundy, deep in a forest, lies a hidden city that had been dormant for 2,000 years. It's called Bibracte, the most important oppidum in all of Gaul, rediscovered in the middle of the 19th century. That is where the Aedui, a Gallic tribe allied to the Romans, once built a fortified city on top of a mountain.

In the heart of central Europe are some of the world's most impenetrable military strongholds. In France, 160 megastructure fortresses still line the country's borders 3 centuries after they were constructed. As solid as ever, how did they withstand attack after attack? Was the secret in their materials? Their shape?

A building lost in the midst of a 5 000 hectare park, that's the equivalent of the surface of Paris, Chambord is the castle of all superlatives. Having required nearly 220,000 tonnes of stone to build, the Chateau de Chambord, in the Loir-et-Cher department, is an architectural gem.