Atlas Obscura - Curious and Wondrous Travel Destinations
What's near me?

The definitive guide to the world’s hidden wonders.

Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member.
Happening This Week
Join these experiences from your computer or phone.
Online
Experience

Backstage with a Magician

Fri, Oct 30
$25 per device
+ 16 more dates
Online
Experience

Accidental Discoveries

Fri, Oct 30
$10 per device
Join Dr. Kelly Reidy as she digs into history's most surprising (and oddly productive) mishaps, accidents, and blunders.
+ 5 more dates
Online
Experience

Atlas Obscura Trivia Night

Fri, Oct 30
$7 per person
Gather your team and compete in a weekly contest of wits and educated-guessing.
+ 6 more dates
Online
Experience

Dino 101

Fri, Oct 30
$10 per device
Who says dinosaurs are just for kids?
+ 6 more dates
Online
Online Course

Art World Muckraking: Investigating & Exposing Art Crime With Erin Thompson

Starts Mon, Nov 2
$205 per person
In this four-part seminar, learn the history of art crime, how it's discovered and exposed, and begin an investigative project of your own.
See All Experiences
Featured Trips
Our newest and most incredible trips.
hidden cities

City of Secrets: Underground in Los Angeles

Los Angeles
Apr 30–May 2, 2021
From $830 USD
On this an insider’s journey into the City of Angeles, we'll discover the murals and art of the famous Arts district with a resident artist, clink glasses at an underground speakeasy, and hike through hidden ruins with a suspicious past, all in pursuit of the less angelic side of the City of Angels.
hidden cities

City of Blooms: Floriculture in Paris

Paris
Jun 18–20, 2021
From $1,230 USD
Join Atlas Obscura and Tastemade for a journey through the botanical side of Paris, from hidden flower farms to one of France's oldest fragrance houses.
+ 1 more date
wildlife & nature

Rewilding: Tracking Wolves in the Forests of Sweden

Sweden
Jul 5–11, 2021
From $3,100 USD
Explore Sweden’s boreal forests by day and hear the howling of wild wolves by night.
+ 1 more date
wildlife & nature

Swim with the Singing Whales of Tonga

Tonga
Sep 2–9, 2021
From $6,330 USD
Accompanied by conservation experts, you’ll spend five full days swimming alongside humpback whales as their song fills the ocean.
See All Trips
Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member.
More Stories
mythology

The Myth of the Werehyena and the Fear of the Other in the Horn of Africa

Also known as "bouda," their scary stories could also be used to marginalize and dehumanize.
Harry Spitzer October 27, 2020
mythology

Japan's Onryō Spirits Inhabit a Purgatory of Revenge and Cosmic Rage

Their supernatural historical tales reflect perceived wrongs, royal machinations, and intense jealousies.
Dan O'Sullivan October 27, 2020
politics

The Italian Village of La California Hosted Its Own American Elections

It was a gag, but the community has long been tied to its namesake on the other side of the world.
Guia Cortassa October 27, 2020
mythology

La Patasola Is the Vengeful Protector of the Andes

And a scary lesson on humility and respect for the natural world.
Dan O'Sullivan October 26, 2020
mythology

In West Africa, the Adze Is an Insectoid Source of Misfortune

Historians believe it originated with the fear of mosquito-borne illness.
Emma Starer Gross October 26, 2020
architecture

Washington, D.C., and the Quest for a Perfectly Square City

It all goes back to a rather literal reading of some rather vague instructions in the Constitution.
Dan Nosowitz October 23, 2020
animals

The Cute Critter Rewriting Our Understanding of Prehistory

Before cows and chickens, cuscuses may have been the original livestock.
Manvir Singh October 23, 2020
collections

How to Give Stolen Artifacts Back to Historic Sites

Penitent pilferers can—and should—return their finds.
Jessica Leigh Hester October 22, 2020
List

10 Places That Will Take You to Potato Paradise

Take a global tuber tour.
Sam O'Brien October 22, 2020
culture

In Japan, ‘Theater for the People’ Makes Fandom a Part of the Show

The constantly evolving form of taishū engeki bends both gender and genre.
Will Stewart October 22, 2020
wwii

Found: A Shipwrecked Nazi Steamer, Still Filled With Cargo

It carried soldiers, military vehicles, and sealed crates that divers can't wait to open.
Isaac Schultz October 21, 2020
medieval

Meet the Man Who Walked from York to Hastings in Medieval Armor

He was fighting not Normans, but the stigma of mental illness.
Matthew Taub October 21, 2020
Read All Stories