Atlas Obscura - Curious and Wondrous Travel Destinations

The definitive guide to the world’s hidden wonders.

Introducing Atlas Obscura’s Wonder From Home—a link from your living room to the world

Atlas Obscura’s mission has always been to inspire wonder about the incredible world we all share. Now, more than ever, we must stay connected, not only to our sense of wonder, but to each other.

Follow #wonderfromhome for inspiring stories, incredible online experiences, and live streams with the Atlas Obscura community.

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The Museum of Portable Sound before its Grand Opening Gala in November 2015. The tiny ribbon in front of the phone was cut with the tiny pair of scissors.

A Loopy Library of Sounds Features Sprinklers, Sirens, and Freud's Toilet

The Museum of Portable Sound normally resides on an iPhone 4S. Now, you can hear it via video chat.

Place of the Day

Baroque Library of Metten Abbey

This medieval Bavarian monastery houses an exquisite library.

European Plague Doctor Garb Was Black, Beaked, and Very Bleak

These haunting uniforms make today's masks look tame.

This Week in Wonder From Home

In 19th-Century America, Fighting Disease Meant Battling Bad Smells

The spirit of discovery and community

Wonder From Home

Even More Ways to Help Librarians and Archivists From Home

The Ambitious Plan to Digitize 100,000 Historic Texts in Belgium

Top Countries

Top Cities

Seattle, Washington

Inscape Arts and Cultural Center

This former INS center is now a thriving community of artists from performers to painters to architects.

EvanJPeterson

Added by EvanJPeterson

Hospital de las Cinco Llagas (Hospital of the Five Holy Wounds)

The current seat of the Parliament of Andalusia was once the epicenter of the Great Plague of Seville.

Luis Morato

Added by Luis Morato

Newberry Springs, California

Bagdad Cafe

The set location for a 1987 cult-classic draws international film buffs to the middle of the Mojave Desert.

lukefater

Added by lukefater

Isle of Rum, Scotland

Kinloch Castle

This once majestic Victorian castle has seen better days as it has stood abandoned for decades.

Added by grahamstewartwalker

Herndon, Virginia

Great Falls Nike Missile Launch Site W-83

An out-of-place Air Force radar dome is all that denotes this park as a former missile launch site.

eazyeschendor

Added by eazyeschendor

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Top Place Tags

history & culture

Scotland: Highland Clans and the Trail of Tartan

From $6,780 USD

culinary adventures

Forest to Table in Alpine Slovenia

From $2,865 USD

Alongside local experts, we'll munch our way through Slovenia's stunning alpine pastures, forests, and lakes—gathering wild mushrooms, making mountain tea, and crafting a charismatic cheese.

art & performance

Santa Fe Weekend: New Art, Ancient Traditions

From $1,280 USD

Spend a weekend immersed in the rich history, deeply rooted tradition, and constantly evolving art-scape of northern New Mexico.

science & nature

Wildlife of the Ecuadorian Amazon

From $4,635 USD

Delve into this equatorial paradise for a week-long journey full of adventure and learning in some of the wildest corners of the Amazon basin.

New York City Clock Walk

New York, New York

Urban Parks Playdate

San Francisco, California

Inside Look at The Bunny Museum

Altadena, California

Sexual Fluidity Beneath the Sea

Santa Monica, California

Explore Alexandria's Brewing History

Alexandria, Virginia

Japanese Mochi Rice Cake Making

Seattle, Washington

Exploring a Secret Fort

Washington, D.C.

Walking the Hidden Wonders of Midtown

New York, New York

Explore Historic Murals of West Seattle

Seattle, Washington

Hyde Park, Antiquity to the Atomic Age

Chicago, Illinois

The Raptors of the Nation's Capital

Laurel, Maryland

Explore the UT Archeology Lab

View All Experiences

How a Globemaker Navigates a Digital World

“It’s kind of a joke, but in some sense, I almost feel like I could start a war.”

Lauren Vespoli April 6, 2020

The 1700s Plague Cure That Inspired an Uncannily Contemporary Cocktail

An art historian, a culinary researcher, and a Twin Cities distillery teamed up to recreate the herbaceous drink.

Reina Gattuso April 3, 2020

Why Europe's Cave Bears Were—and Weren't—Made for Hunkering Down

Their big sinuses were both an evolutionary boon and bust.

Isaac Schultz April 3, 2020

The Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 on Field Science

As scientists wait, worry, and hunker down, they’re also looking ahead to how their projects will need to adapt.

Claudia Geib April 3, 2020

This Is a Great Time to Busy Yourself With Bees

You can invite them over by planting some native plants on your deck or fire escape.

Jessica Leigh Hester April 2, 2020

How the Man Who Invented Xbox Baked a 4,500-Year-Old Egyptian Sourdough

It took three experts, two museums, and one clay pot to bake a truly ancient loaf.

Luke Fater April 2, 2020

A Look Back at Franklin, America's Lost State

It existed for a brief and treasonous four years.

Madelyn Brown April 2, 2020

The Date of an Ancient Mediterranean Eruption Is Hidden in Dead Trees

Specifically, in the wood of a royal Phrygian tomb.

Isaac Schultz April 1, 2020

Escape Into NASA's Most Incredible Images of Our Planet

And don't forget to cast your vote in "Tournament Earth."

Jessica Leigh Hester April 1, 2020

The Coronavirus Is Bringing Back a 1,000-Year-Old 'Cheese' in Japan

Once, it was considered fit for the emperor.

Makiko Itoh April 1, 2020

10 Cultural Craft Projects to Calm Your Cooped-Up Kids

Museums around the world have created new ways to play from home.

Claire Voon April 1, 2020

A Chinese Fishing Village Regains Its Rightful Place in California History

A shipwreck brought Chinese immigrants to the Monterey area. Discrimination forced them to start over.

Claire Wang March 31, 2020

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