Uncovering the Globe's Priciest Ghost Towns

1. Osaka Maritime Museum, Japan's Suminoe-ku

Place: Suminoe-ku, Osaka Bay, Japan Year: 2000 Price: $93 million The Osaka Maritime Museum, which explored the history and culture of the city, was housed in this enormous, domed building for over ten years. There was an underwater tube that led to the weather-resistant, award-winning building. A full-size model of an Edo merchant ship was the main draw.

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Osaka Maritime Museum @atlasobscura/Pinterest, Suminoe-ku, Japan Due to dwindling museum attendance and a lack of finance, this French-designed edifice is currently vacant and abandoned. It is unfortunate for Japanese maritime lovers that residents and visitors cannot enter the museum, but they may still view the dome from the Bay.

2. Baron Empain Palace, Egypt's El-Montaza

Place: Egypt's El-Montaza Year: 1911 Price: $10.9 million in 2020 Belgian businessman Edward Empain created this unusual, historic mansion. Empain chose to construct the Empain Palace in 1911 because he was an ardent traveler and had a deep affection for Egypt. It was not his sole scheme. In addition, the Baron proposed the name "Heliopolis" (City of the Sun) for his new city that he intended to build in the middle of the desert.

Egypt's Baron Empain Palace at El-Montaza ©Shutterstock/Baloncici Empain Palace is deserted and currently uninhabited. There are also tales of hauntings because, according to a local tradition, Empain's wife worshipped demons and offered sacrifices of animals to them in several of the Palace's apartments. Neighbors of the Palace claim that occasionally, late at night, they hear cries resonating from its rooms for no apparent cause.