After the journey through the winding roads of Hong Kong Island's verdant south side, the first sight that greets visitors to the popular beach town of Shek O is the much-loved bus terminus. Though many beachgoers will make a beeline straight for the golden sands of Shek O beach, … | Continue reading
On a quiet street in Chestnut Hill, you’ll find a small grey-green home that, on first glance, might look quite ordinary. Keep looking, however, and you’ll begin to notice unusual specificities in its design; some subtle, some less so. The more you observe, the more unconventiona … | Continue reading
The Philadelphia Merchants’ Exchange Building is a prominent site in American history. Once the location of the nation’s first stock exchange, one of Philadelphia’s early post offices, and the headquarters of the Philadelphia Board of Trade, the marble building also served as a c … | Continue reading
For the first two centuries of its existence, the story of Riga’s Old Jewish Cemetery was like the story of any other Jewish cemetery in Europe. The cemetery was established in 1725 at what was then the outskirts of Riga, and it was desperately needed by the local Jewish communi … | Continue reading
The Konkan region along the western coast of India has a rich cultural history and is popular for its beaches, temples and forts. The region is dotted with idyllic coastal towns and villages where tourists come to relax and enjoy the sea. One such town is Harihareshwar, known for … | Continue reading
In 1963, Bristol’s streets became the stage for a collective stand that would capture the nation’s attention—a boycott against an unspoken rule that had kept Black and Asian workers off the city’s buses. The Bristol Omnibus Company, despite facing a labor shortage, flatly refused … | Continue reading
The Pulcinella installation unfolds along a route illustrating the multiple origins of the mask and brings together original documents relating to Pulcinella’s popular, literary, and theatrical traditions. It features costumes, masks, and photographs of the actors who have portra … | Continue reading
If the fiberglass rendition of Louie the Lumberjack outside the Walkup Skydome looks familiar, that's because it is actually one of around two hundred Muffler Men found across the United States. International Fiberglass constructed the Muffler Men in the 1960s and 1970s for vario … | Continue reading
Born Sergio Arturo Castro Martínez in 1941 in the city of Delicias, Chihuahua state and then raised in an orphanage, Sergio Castro trained as agronomer, veterinarian, civil engineer and teacher. He moved from his birth state on Mexico's northern border to Chiapas, a state borderi … | Continue reading
Along a rural highway just south of the town of Sligo lives one of Clarion County’s most unique attractions: a giant black-and-white cow (specifically, a Holstein) made of fiberglass and steel and named Blossom. This striking heifer was built and installed by local farmer Vern E. … | Continue reading
Between the 1830s and the 1860s, Clarion County, Pennsylvania, was known as “The Iron County,” thanks to its booming iron industry and many cold-blast iron furnaces. For a stretch of time, at least one new furnace was being built each year. And each new furnace meant many new job … | Continue reading
The Sutton-Ditz House in Clarion, Pennsylvania, is a home that has been lovingly preserved and turned into a small museum. The 2½-story, revival-style brick house was first built in the 1840s by local attorney Thomas Sutton, Jr., one block south of the Clarion courthouse. In 1909 … | Continue reading
This is a transcript of an episode of Untold Earth, a series from Atlas Obscura in partnership with Nature and PBS Digital Studios, which explores the seeming impossibilities behind our planet’s strangest, most unique natural wonders. From fragile, untouched ecosystems to familia … | Continue reading
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. I’m Kelly McEvers, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world’s strange, incredible, and wondrous places. This episode was produced in partnership with Destination Toronto. And today, I’m tal … | Continue reading
Did you know that Lake Superior is also known as “Gitche-Gumee”? Or that she (yes, she!) never gives up her dead, when the gales of November turn gloomy? Then you’ve clearly listened to Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”—probably more than once. The huge iron … | Continue reading
This is a transcript of an episode of Untold Earth, a series from Atlas Obscura in partnership with Nature and PBS Digital Studios, which explores the seeming impossibilities behind our planet’s strangest, most unique natural wonders. From fragile, untouched ecosystems to familia … | Continue reading
One man’s trash is Danny Shaddick’s treasure. The Toronto architect-artist-musician’s latest work marries recordings of everyday sounds with pieces of scrap metal to create intricate instruments that produce rhythmic soundscapes on their own. The project, a collaboration with awa … | Continue reading
Few places blur the line between past and present quite like Virginia’s Historic Triangle. The places now known as Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg witnessed the arrival of the first British ships on Virginia’s shores, the rise of revolutionary ideals, and the battle that se … | Continue reading
Aida Lugo McAllister still remembers the first time she tried Puerto Rico’s unofficial national dish. “When I went to Puerto Rico, 1970, at age 17, that’s when I had my first mofongo. And it was heaven,” she remembers. “A mountain of this mashed plantain with pieces of pork in a … | Continue reading
If you’re looking for a handheld meal in Venezuela, one dish reigns supreme: la Reina Pepiada, or “the curvy queen.” It’s the country’s signature take on its staple food, the arepa. A creamy chicken salad in a crispy cornmeal pancake, it’s undeniably delicious. And it tells a dis … | Continue reading
“One of my greatest moments in my life as a cook,” recalls the chef and food writer Arturo Féliz-Camilo, was a moment when his mother-in-law, his wife’s aunt, and other family were standing around a huge pot. They were preparing sancocho, a complex stew that is one of the Dominic … | Continue reading
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. Amanda McGowan: Have you ever been in a work meeting and all of a sudden your boss calls on you to give a presentation just on the spot? This has only happened to me in my nightmares, but this was Frede … | Continue reading
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. Dylan Thuras: I’m going to start actually by asking you a little bit about Tennessee. Zach Stafford: Oh. Dylan: Tell me about growing up there. What was that like? Zach: Thank you for asking that. When … | Continue reading
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. Dylan Thuras: It’s 1944, and there’s a train packed full of paintings by the likes of Picasso and Monet and Van Gogh, and it’s circling Paris. And there is a woman, desperately and secretly, trying to s … | Continue reading
Deep beneath the vineyards of the Loire Valley, in the cool, dimly lit tunnels of an ancient limestone quarry, lies a museum unlike any other. The Musée du Champignon near Saumur is a living, underground world devoted to fungi, where visitors wander through vast galleries lined w … | Continue reading
At California State University, Fullerton (CSUF), there is a replica of Michelangelo's famous David curiously broken into eight pieces lying on the ground. Although the statue's placement here is very much intentional in the tradition of modern art, it was not always intended to … | Continue reading
About a 30-minute drive from downtown Pittsburgh, Hartwood Acres Park is a picturesque 629-acre estate situated among Allegheny County’s rolling hills. With its meticulously manicured gardens and a mansion that looks plucked from a medieval fantasy, the estate feels like a step b … | Continue reading
Although Paris is first and foremost known for the romantic river Seine, it is also home to a less touristy body of water. Many visitors pass by it without noticing because it runs directly under the city's boulevards and the Place de la Bastille. Yet make no mistake: the Canal S … | Continue reading
The TeddyVille Museum is Malaysia’s first museum dedicated to teddy bears. Its collection uses bears of all shapes and sizes to present the country’s history and cultural heritage in an unexpectedly playful way. Visitors will find small dioramas where bears reenact famous moments … | Continue reading
Each week, we highlight a selection of extraordinary new places submitted by you—our Atlas Obscura community of curious travelers. Where will you go next? Alyko Hotel Ruins This beachside resort hotel project on the island of Naxos was halted in the 1970s, and has been frozen in … | Continue reading
This map, published in New Haven, Connecticut in 1784 by Abel Buell, is the first map of the then newly created United States that was compiled, printed, copyrighted, and published in the United States by an American. The full title is, A New and Correct Map of the United States … | Continue reading
At first glance, this roadside candle shop in the Poconos looks like a quaint spot to pick up gifts and home décor. But beneath the warm glow of wax and wicks is a basement with a far darker history. The building was once the home and laboratory of Dr. William Redwood Fisher, who … | Continue reading
A fishing shack painted red and decorated with lobster buoys, Motif No. 1 is a rather ordinary, unassuming building. Yet there’s something elegant about the simple structure that evokes a unique sense of maritime charm found only in New England's quaint coastal towns. If this sha … | Continue reading
In the 16th century, the Umbrian city of Perugia enjoyed limited autonomy from papal rule—including an exemption from the Pope’s salt tax. This allowed its citizens to buy cheaper salt from nearby Tuscany. But in 1540, Pope Paul III extended his authority and imposed a new salt t … | Continue reading
In a quiet corner of eastern Iowa, perched along the Mississippi River, a colossal slice of watermelon rises improbably from the earth. Measuring 40 feet long and 16 feet tall, Muscatine’s oversized fruit is a whimsical nod to the town’s agricultural heritage, and its juicy past … | Continue reading
Just a 5-10 minute walk from the Dunkirk harbor lies the historic bathhouse, Bains Dunkerquois, a ghostly relic of Art Deco and neo-Moorish design. Built more than 130 years ago by Louis Gilquin, Albert Baert, and Georges Boidin, its mosaic façade, floral motifs, and pastel tiles … | Continue reading
As the highest dune in the area, De Hoge Nol offers a rarity in the Netherlands: a panoramic view. The downtown skyline of The Hague can be seen to the South, and a beautiful view of Scheveningen to the East. Immediately North of the dune lies Duindorp, with the North Sea visible … | Continue reading
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. Elah Feder: The first of the anonymous faxes arrived in July of 1998 and Peter Moore got one of them. Peter Moore: You have to remember it was a fair bit of time ago and the interest at first wasn’t par … | Continue reading
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. Dylan Thuras: In the months leading up to Labor Day, people are hard at work at the Santa Fe Plaza Mall. Inside of this strip mall, the people of Santa Fe, New Mexico, are building a gigantic 50-foot-ta … | Continue reading
Nevada’s big night sky nearly bursts with twinkling stars, and you don’t have to travel far to trade the urban lights for celestial spectacle. In Valley of Fire, just an hour outside Las Vegas, inky black skies are interrupted only by awe-inspiring rock formations. And Great Basi … | Continue reading
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. Dylan Thuras: So obviously we’re going to be talking about place and the way that place impacts who you are. I would love to hear about growing up in Texas. Sam Sanders: I grew up around San Antonio in … | Continue reading
Each week, we highlight a selection of extraordinary new places submitted by you—our Atlas Obscura community of curious travelers. Where will you go next? Óshlíð On Iceland's northwestern shoreline, along the Westfjords peninsula, are the villages of Hnífsdalur (population 210) a … | Continue reading
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. Elah Feder: Hey, Dylan. Dylan Thuras: Hello. How are you, Ella? Elah: I’m doing well. How are you? Dylan: I’m doing good. You know, it’s summer. The kids are home. It’s a little chaotic around here, but … | Continue reading
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. Dylan Thuras: When you meet someone at a party and they say, “Oh, what do you do?” What do you say to them? Jack Lepiarz: I try to avoid that conversation as much as possible to be very honest with you. … | Continue reading
Traditional dishes and modern twists on Latin food and drinks are waiting to be discovered throughout Osceola County. Can you try them all? | Continue reading
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. Dylan Thuras: Hey, Baudelaire, how’s it going? Baudelaire Ceus: How you doing, Dylan? Dylan: I’m good. You’re in the studio. It’s fun to see you in the like real recording studio. Baudelaire: Yeah, you … | Continue reading
Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. Baudelaire Ceus: As a Massachusetts native, I’ve been to Logan Airport more times than I can count. And it’s a great airport. It has decent food, a ton of airlines, and best of all, it’s just ten minute … | Continue reading
My monster goes by many names. Funny Face, Steeplechase Face, Steeplechase Jack, Tillie—all at one time or another given to Coney Island’s de facto mascot. But to me he’s just “The Face.” He’s a cheeky man with leering eyes and a flat Edwardian haircut parted in the middle and cu … | Continue reading