Website Spotlight: Atlas Obscura

Posted on 06. Sep, 2009 by Steph in Resources

When visiting a new city or country everyone wants to see the blockbuster monuments, museums and views. These things are usually popular for a reason: they are fantastic. Sometimes though, it really pays to get off the beaten track and see something a little weird or unusual. The creepy basement museum in Rome featuring sculptures made out of the skeletons of deceased Capuchin monks is a macabre little story that will probably be far more memorable and interesting then your visit to the Colosseum (although that rocks pretty hard too). Sometimes a spur of the moment stop at a roadside tourist trap is the most fun part of the trip!

Recently I stumbled across this excellent website that aims to catalog wacky and weird sits all over the world:

Atlas Obscura: A Compendium of the World’s Wonders, Curiousities and Esoterica

I had a great time looking through the phallus museums, miniature cities, reliquaries and other bizarre places you could hit up on your next vacation. I was pleased to see I’d already been to a few profiled spots already:

The Holy Right

Hole in the Rock

Reynisdrangar

And a few to put on my travel wishlist:

Caño Cristales

Flashing Fireflies of Kampung Kuantan

Portugal’s Chapel of Bones

It’s an odd, odd world…

Tags: planning