leighillion's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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West Rand, South Africa

Sterkfontein Caves

Caves that can't seem to quit producing the remains of prehistoric humans.
Mogale, South Africa

Cradle of Humankind

Home to some of the oldest hominid fossils ever found.
Kimberley, South Africa

Big Hole and Open Mine Museum

Mined to a depth of 240 meters with a perimeter of about 1.6 km, the largest hand-dug excavation in the world.
Johannesburg, South Africa

Ponte Tower

The tallest residential building in Africa is an unsettling Brutalist monolith.
Oudtshoorn, South Africa

Cango Caves

Largest cave system in Africa.
Cape Town, South Africa

Bo Kaap

Formerly known as the Malay Quarter, Bo Kaap is a colorfully-painted suburb located in the “Mother City” of South Africa.
Ehlanzeni, South Africa

Bourke's Luck Potholes

Raging waters have created a strange geological site that looks like something off of a progressive rock album cover.
Houston, Texas

Rothko Chapel

The peaceful space is adorned by paintings by the famed abstract artist Mark Rothko.
Houston, Texas

Beer Can House

Beer lover's can-covered house.
Paris, France

Centre Pompidou

An "inside out" building in the historical center of Paris, featuring Europe’s largest modern art museum.
Paris, France

Montparnasse Cemetery

A Parisian cemetery where the elite and artistic are interred beneath an eccentric collection of tombs.
Paris, France

Montmartre Cemetery

A horde of stray cats rule in this secluded Parisian cemetery under a bridge.
London, England

K2 Telephone Boxes

The wooden telephone box hidden away in London's Piccadilly was the original prototype of the iconic kiosk.
London, England

Pelicans of St James's Park

Giant, friendly pelicans in Central London, the most unlikely of places.
London, England

The London Dungeon

One part local history, 99 parts gruesome haunted house.
Rome, Italy

Campo de Fiori

This ritzy Italian market is built around a statue of an unforgiven heretic who was burned for his belief in an endless universe.
Rome, Italy

Santa Maria dell'Orazione e Morte

At the crypt of St. Mary of Eulogies and the Dead you are left alone to ponder mortality among piles of skulls.
Rome, Italy

Santa Maria della Concezione Crypts

The crypts of Capuchin friars decorated with the bones of over 4,000 friars, including an entire "crypt of pelvises."
Toronto, Ontario

Toronto PATH

One of the largest underground systems runs under Canada's largest urban center.
San Francisco, California

Circus Center

Join the circus for a few lessons to learn clowning, acrobatics, and Chinese contortion.
San Quentin, California

San Quentin Prison Gift Shop

This infamous prison has a store where you can buy goods crafted by incarcerated people.
San Francisco, California

Balmy Alley Murals

Since 1973, this block has been home to the most concentrated collection of murals in San Francisco.
San Francisco, California

Maltese Falcon Alleyway

Alleyway plaque commemorating the death of a fictional character in The Maltese Falcon, not far from the author's home.
San Francisco, California

San Francisco Botanical Garden

Golden Gate Park's historic collection of plants.