Atlas Obscura - Curious and Wondrous Travel Destinations
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The definitive guide to the world’s hidden wonders.

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Happening This Week
Join these experiences from your computer or phone.
Online
Experience

Backstage with a Magician

Thu, Dec 3
$25 per device
+ 15 more dates
Online
Experience

Underwater Happy Hour w/ The New York Aquarium

Thu, Dec 3
$10 per device
Join Atlas Obscura and the New York Aquarium as we dive into some of the underwater world's most fascinating creatures, live!
Online
Experience

The Secret of Seattle's Disappearing Hill

Thu, Dec 3
$8 per device
A virtual walk through a Seattle land alteration project.
Online
Experience

Oregon Trail LIVE!

Thu, Dec 3
$10 per device
Unearth forgotten stories, meet unexpected characters, and discover lost secrets along the Oregon Trail.
Online
Online Course

Sealed Doors & Crypto Wars: Security and Society With Schuyler Towne

Starts Thu, Dec 3
$85 per person
In this 6-part seminar, explore how security technologies influence the development of complex societies.
Online
Experience

Accidental Discoveries

Fri, Dec 4
$10 per device
Join Dr. Kelly Reidy as she digs into history's most surprising (and oddly productive) mishaps, accidents, and blunders.
+ 2 more dates
Online
Experience

Atlas Obscura Trivia Night

Fri, Dec 4
$7 per person
Gather your team and compete in a weekly contest of wits and educated-guessing.
+ 10 more dates
Online
Experience

Dino 101

Fri, Dec 4
$10 per device
Who says dinosaurs are just for kids?
+ 9 more dates
Online
Experience

Members Only: Atlas Obscura Trivia Night

Tue, Dec 8
Free
A special night of curious trivia just for Atlas Obscura members!
Online
Experience

Radical Spirits: How the Occult Shaped Progressive Politics

Tue, Dec 8
$10 per device
Join PEN Award-winning historian and occult scholar Mitch Horowitz as he explores the spiritual roots of radical politics.
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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.
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More Stories
insects

A Massive Collection of Dead Insects Lives Inside Filing Cabinets in a Canadian Office

Growing since 1886, this taxonomic library is among the largest insect repositories in the world.
Marc Fawcett-Atkinson November 25, 2020
objects of intrigue

A Tale of Survival, Wrapped in a 19th-Century Reindeer-Skin Sleeping Bag

Twenty-five travelers departed for the Arctic. Six made it home.
Betsy Golden Kellem November 24, 2020
national parks

In Rwanda, Learning Whether a ‘Smart Park’ Can Help Both Wildlife and Tourism

It’s taken a lot of outside help, but a national park has come back from the brink.
Amy Yee November 24, 2020
farms

The Small Goat Breed That’s a Star of Urban Farms

“If you’re thinking about getting a dog, maybe get a goat instead.”
Chris Malloy November 24, 2020
food

My Hunt for the Original McDonald's French-Fry Recipe

Veteran line-cooks, experts, and die-hard fans tell the story of the fries that birthed an empire, then disappeared—until now.
Luke Fater November 23, 2020
libraries

How German Librarians Finally Caught an Elusive Book Thief

For decades, often using a fake identity, he stole antique maps worth thousands of dollars each.
Jeffrey Arlo Brown November 23, 2020
libraries

There Are Way More Copies of Newton's Masterwork Than Anyone Thought

A new global census doubles the number of known copies of the scientist's treatise on gravity and more.
Luna Shyr November 23, 2020
national parks

See America's National Parks—Before They Were National Parks

Landscape photography like this helped create the National Park system.
Winnie Lee November 20, 2020
food

What I Learned About a Pioneering Black Cookbook Author by Cooking Her Recipes

Little is known about the first African-American woman to publish a cookbook.
Cherene Sherrard November 20, 2020
sports

Found: The Jousting Yard Where Henry VIII Took a Nasty Tumble

Researchers have located the site of an accident that rattled England’s many-wived widower.
Isaac Schultz November 20, 2020
colonialism

How Berlin Is Reckoning With Germany's Colonial Past

It starts with renaming streets and landmarks, but will take much more than that.
Jennifer Neal November 19, 2020
restaurants

In Sydney, a Cafe Serving Aboriginal Food Brings Comfort and Challenges

Nyoka Hrabinsky, an Aboriginal ethnobotanist, is turning “bush tucker” into brunch.
Reina Gattuso November 19, 2020
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