Travel Articles

The Museum of East Asian Art in Bath and North East Somerset, England

Atlas Obscura•August 26, 2025

The Museum of East Asian Art is the only museum in the UK solely dedicated to the arts and cultures of East and Southeast Asia. It includes over 2,000 objects from the region, with the permanent collection spanning from 5,000 B.C. to the present. Visitors can admire ceramics, metalware, bamboo, jade and lacquerware, among other objects. It was founded by Brian McElney OBE (1932–2023), a prominent British lawyer who was born in Hong Kong and was a long-term resident of the city. The museum i

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The Glass Armonica: The Strange History of the Instrument Benjamin Franklin Invented

Atlas Obscura•August 26, 2025

Beckman Auditorium in Pasadena, California

Atlas Obscura•August 26, 2025

How to Explore Ludington, Michigan

Nomadic Matt•August 26, 2025

This is a guest post by Raimee Iacofano from Raimeetravel. Growing up in Michigan, Ludington was THE place to be. Every summer, my family would pack up the car, blast some classic rock (think Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, and the occasional Lynyrd Skynyrd singalong), and head west for beach days, lighthouse climbs, and the BEST... The post How to Explore Ludington, Michigan appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

AO Mailbag: Is It Rude to Travel Without Your Significant Other?

Atlas Obscura•August 25, 2025

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. Dylan Thuras: I’m here and no one’s here yet. This is a mailbag episode, and so we’re going to chat and ask each other questions. But it’s just me right now. So I’m going to eat some clementine and get some ASMR of me eating a clementine. People don’t like the sound of other people eating, but too bad. I wonder who figured out ASMR first. Like how old is it? I mean, obviously— Johanna Mayer: What are you talking

Somme 1916 Museum in Albert, France

Atlas Obscura•August 25, 2025

The Battle of the Somme may have been a relatively short-lived offensive, lasting only five months from July 1 to November 18, 1916. The resulting carnage, however, claimed the lives of well over 300,000 French, British, and German soldiers. The deadly detritus of the world's first industrial-scale slaughter is displayed in this remarkable museum's exhibits: bullets, shell shrapnel, rifles, pistols, mustard gas canisters, grenades, bayonets, and machine guns. The museum features an extensiv

French Toilets of Spikersuppa in Oslo, Norway

Atlas Obscura•August 25, 2025

Olso. Capital of Norway. Gateway for many to the country's stunning fjords. The city is home to some of Norway's iconic sights, like the King and Queen's Palace, Vigeland Sculpture Park, and the Viking Ship Museum. While strolling the through the great Nordic city, you might sense the call of nature, and begin a frantic search for a public toilet. If you're in the Spikersuppa area, you're in luck! But you might be surprised by the three public toilets in Spikersuppa Square. Each toilet is styl

Fremantle Prison in Fremantle, Australia

Atlas Obscura•August 24, 2025

A former Australian prison, Fremantle is now preserved as Western Australia's only World Heritage-listed building. Visitors can still explore its cellblocks, perimeter walls, gallows, and and underground labyrinth of tunnels—once home to imperial convicts, colonial prisoners, enemy 'aliens', prisoners of war, and maximum-security detainees. Although Western Australia began as a "free" colony, economic hardship led it to ask Britain to send prisoners, who then built the very prison meant to co

Reich’s Burger King in Nuremberg, Germany

Atlas Obscura•August 24, 2025

Walking around Germany today, one sees few signs of the brutal years of Nazi rule. Aside from concentration camps and a handful of larger sites like Berlin's Olympic Stadium and the Nuremberg Rally Grounds preserved as memorials, Germany has scrubbed away signs of its dark past and replaced them with memorials remembering countless victims. From the early 1930s until 1945, swastikas and Reichsadlers (“eagles of the Reich,” which usually held swastikas in their talons) were splashed over every Ge

Fox Fullerton Theatre in Fullerton, California

Atlas Obscura•August 23, 2025

When this theatre opened in 1925, it brought in top Hollywood talents in the worlds of silent films and vaudeville. The biggest star of that era, Mary Pickford, dedicated the theatre on opening night, May 28, 1925. It was the second of the three classics designed by the Los Angeles architecture firm Meyer & Holler, along with Grauman's Egyptian Theatre (1923) and Chinese Theatre (1927) in Hollywood. In the years that followed, many big names performed on the Fox Fullerton stage, or hosted scre

Shaw House Bullet Hole in Shaw, England

Atlas Obscura•August 23, 2025

Legend has it that one October morning, in 1644, when moving close to the window to get better light to conduct his morning toilet, Charles I was almost removed from history. A bullet, shot by a Parliamentarian soldier, crashed through the glass and embedded itself in the wooden panelling, narrowly missing the king of England. The bullet hole from this alleged attempt on the king's life can be seen in the King Charles Room in Shaw House, a Tudor mansion. After many years in the hands of vario

Nishiki Tenmangū Shrine in Kyoto, Japan

Atlas Obscura•August 22, 2025

Nishiki Tenmangū Shrine was founded in 1003. It was originally located at the birthplace of Sugawara no Michizane—a 9th-century aristocrat who posthumously became a deity in the Japanese pantheon, the much-revered (and feared) god of academia known as Tenjin. It was later relocated in the 16th century to the eastern edge of Kyoto’s bustling Nishiki Market, earning its prefix. The shrine is notable for its ill-positioned torii arch. At first, it merely served as the shrineÆs entrance. Then, whe

Gabinete de Curiosidades (Cabinet of Curiosities) in Coimbra, Portugal

Atlas Obscura•August 22, 2025

What did museums used to look like? The University of Coimbra's Science Museum attempted to answer this question by pooling together a variety of works from its collections into a single room. The Cabinet of Curiosities exhibition evokes the 18th-century mindset of organizing things according to an aesthetic rather than empirical logic. The result is a treasure trove of objects. They range from the scientific (a whale skeleton), to the wondrous (the world's largest seed), to the grotesque (a t

Riga Porcelain Museum in Riga, Latvia

Atlas Obscura•August 22, 2025

In the 19th century, two porcelain factories (the Kuznetsov Factory, owned by Sidor Kuznetsov and the Jessen Factory, owned by Jakob Karl Jessen) were established in Riga, then part of the Russian Empire. Both produced fine pottery and porcelain items during the empire’s final decades and through Latvia’s first period of independence in the early 20th century. During the Soviet era, the companies were nationalized and then merged to create the Riga Porcelain and Faience Factory, later renamed th

The Best Ruin Bars of Budapest

Nomadic Matt•August 20, 2025

Ruin bars are all the rage in Budapest and have been around since the founding of Szimpla Kert, the mecca of all ruin bars, in 2002. These bars are built in Budapest’s old District VII neighborhood (the old Jewish quarter) in the ruins of abandoned buildings, stores, or lots. This neighborhood was left to decay... The post The Best Ruin Bars of Budapest appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card Review

Nomadic Matt•August 20, 2025

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. If you fly Delta frequently and want to earn toward elite status while enjoying more travel perks than their Gold card offers but don’t want to pay the high fee of... The post Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card Review appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card Review

Nomadic Matt•August 20, 2025

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. If you fly a few times a year, you know the pain points: baggage fees that add up quickly, boarding last and finding no overhead bin space left, and earning miles... The post Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card Review appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Review

Nomadic Matt•August 20, 2025

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. For Delta loyalists who want a VIP experience, the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card is your best option. I’m a huge fan of Delta and I fly them almost exclusively... The post Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card Review appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

My 31 Favorite Places to Visit in the USA

Nomadic Matt•August 18, 2025

From sea to shining sea, the United States is a very diverse country – both when it comes to culture and natural beauty. I’ve traveled across the continental United States many times over (you never really realize how big Texas is until you drive through it. Damn that state is big!). I think, just on... The post My 31 Favorite Places to Visit in the USA appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Home and Travel: Why You Can’t Appreciate One Without the Other

Nomadic Matt•June 17, 2025

I used to think “home” was a dirty word. Out there — on the road — was where life happened, full of exciting adventures, fascinating people, and endless possibilities. No dreary commutes, 30-minute lunch breaks, mind-numbing meetings, or endless lists of to-dos squeezed into a rushed weekend. Why would anyone want to be home, the... The post Home and Travel: Why You Can’t Appreciate One Without the Other appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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The Museum of East Asian Art in Bath and North East Somerset, England

Atlas Obscura•August 26, 2025