Travel

In this episode of the Atlas Obscura Podcast, we take listeners on a tour of the unlikely city at the heart of The Great Gatsby. The novel may be known as a classic New York City story, but the events that set off the action actually take place somewhere else—in Louisville, Kentucky. It’s […]

In the center of Zagreb, step into a whimsical world of Croatian folklore. The Museum of Lost Tales is dedicated to little-known Croatian stories, myths, and legends. These traditional tales have been passed down from generation to generation, and have been memorialized in this space, through writing, illustrations, and interactive exhibits. The collection is the work

The Sherlock Holmes Statue is a tribute to one of literature’s most famous detectives. This iconic bronze statue sits against a backdrop of the famous 221B Baker Street — the fictional home of Sherlock Holmes — celebrating London’s very own Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary creation. The statue stands as a point of pilgrimage for

Despite regular temperatures below negative 100 degrees Fahrenheit and six months of total darkness, plant life still finds a way to thrive at the South Pole, thanks to this growth chamber. This hydroponic greenhouse was started in hopes that it could help astronauts learn about growing food on the moon or Mars. Now maintained by scientists

Connected to lower Michigan by the Mackinac Bridge, the longest suspension bridge western hemisphere (yep, longer than the Golden Gate), Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is a world of its own—rustic, remote, and defiantly stuck in time, by choice. It is also home to a food tradition that is as tied to regional culture as jambalaya is

Just outside the growing industrial landscape of Ipoh, limestone cliffs border a jungle oasis. Caves inside the limestone walls host a series of lakes and hidden temples. Da Seng Ngan is one of the cave temples in the area, home to many Buddha statues and an underground prayer room. The Sam Poh Tong Temple features

When abstract expressionist Clyfford Still passed away, his will stipulated that his entire collection be kept together in one location. That way, visitors could experience his art free from the distractions of the work of other artists.  A tall order, but his vision worked. Today, an estimated 93 percent of Still’s artworks—roughly 830 paintings and

In August of 1620, the Mayflower and Speedwell set sail from Southampton, England. Aboard the ships were the “Pilgrim Fathers,” a protestant Christian sect seeking religious freedom. They set sail for the New World, and after several set backs, the group eventually establishing the Plymouth Colony in what is now Massachusetts, sowing the seeds of the future United

From Charlevoix, travel north over the double-leaf bascule drawbridge that goes up and down to let sailing yachts and the Beaver Island ferry travel between Lake Charlevoix and Lake Michigan. Hug the northern edge of Lake Charlevoix and make the 15-minute drive to Horton Bay, a once-bustling lumbering community turned wee seasonal hamlet. Together with

Shrouded in mystery, the small, whitewashed brick tower known as Den Hvide Jomfru—”The White Maiden” in English—has stood for generations in Nyborg, a city that once served as Denmark’s capital. Among the many tales surrounding the windowless tower, one of the most enduring suggests that a young maiden was walled up inside as punishment for having a