sommermathis's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Freeport, Maine

Freeport McDonald's

When the town wouldn't allow the fast-food behemoth to build a new restaurant, they put one inside an 1850 home.
Brevard, North Carolina

Looking Glass Rock

This granite rock face is named for the magnificent reflection that occurs when the sun hits it just right.
Maggie Valley, North Carolina

Smoky Mountain Elk Fest

An annual celebration of the region's successful elk reintroduction program.
Rome, Italy

The Flying Donkey

Rome's first modern graffito is all that is left of a peaceful protest from the 1970s.
Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

Freiburg Bächle

These paved rills bring freshwater into Altstadt and could spell wedding bells for whoever stumbles into the waters.
Key West, Florida

Joseph 'Bum' Farto's Desk

The former desk of Fire Chief Joseph "Bum" Farto is all that remains after his mysterious disappearance following a drug conviction.
Durham, England

Café on the Green

Take afternoon tea in a 17th-century almshouse.
London, England

Chequer Street Wooden Paving

This may be the last of London's wooden pavements, which were once a common sight in the city.
Sheffield, England

Bishops' House

This house was home to a succession of park keepers for more than 90 years, but in all that time, it never had a toilet.
Dover, England

Bronze Age Boat

One of the oldest seagoing boats in the world can be found at the Dover Museum.
Tokyo, Japan

Chankonabe Shinzan

Sidle into a side alley for a taste of sumo wrestlers' traditional hot-pot soup, in a tiny restaurant founded by a former competitor.
Tübingen, Germany

Silcher Monument

This statue has a painful history, but activists have since recontextualized it as a way to educate visitors about the dangers posed by fascist regimes.
Atlanta, Georgia

Madam C.J. Walker Museum & WERD Radio

The legacies of two historic Black American institutions live on in this unassuming brick building.
Kyoto, Japan

Starbucks Ninenzaka Yasaka Chaya

This Kyoto Starbucks takes coffee drinkers back in time.
Morelia, Mexico

Morelia Aqueduct Water Box

This feature of the city's aqueduct has achieved numismatic fame thanks to its appearance on Mexican banknotes.
Tucson, Arizona

The Franklin Auto Museum

One of the largest private collections of cars manufactured by the short-lived Franklin Automobile Company.
Tucson, Arizona

Tucson Rodeo Parade Museum

The sprawling attraction boasts a collection of more than 150 historic wagons.
Tucson, Arizona

El Charro Cafe

One of the oldest Mexican restaurants in the United States air-dries its trademark beef in a dangling outdoor cage.
Siyazan, Azerbaijan

Candy Cane Mountains

Swirling layers of white and red rock earned these mountains their festive nickname.
Genk, Belgium

Cycling Through Water

This bike path was sunk below water level for maximum wonder.
Troy, New York

Woodside

A man used his Civil War-era fortune to build this sanctuary in memory of his wife.
Kolkja, Estonia

Chicory Museum

See tools once used for processing this coffee-substitute plant before sampling its flavor firsthand.
Aleppo, Syria

Souk al-Saqatiya

Amid the rubble of Aleppo's Old Quarter, part of a historic market has been restored and re-opened.
Portland, Oregon

Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden

Nestled between a college and a golf course, the garden is home to more than 2,500 rhododendrons.