From 1934 to 1962, Kamakura was known for its summer carnival. It was a huge event launched by a group of local writers and artists, inspired by a carnival that playwright Masao Kume saw in Nice, France. Though it was put on an eight-year hiatus during and after World War II, the carnival grew bigger and bigger each year. It took the city by storm...

The Longshoreman's Museum is a hidden gem most visitors haven't heard of. Celebrating the rich maritime history of the seaside town of Ventnor, the museum is housed in a small gift shop near the waterfront, offering visitors a fascinating glimpse into the lives and work of the island's longshoremen who played a vital role in Ventnor's development. ...

In 1665, Zheng Jing, the son of pirate lord Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga), created the first Confucius temple and center for Confucian learning in Taiwan. When the Qing Dynasty conquered Taiwan in 1683, they quickly adapted it to their own regime. To this day, the elegant 350-year-old compound can be found in Tainan's historic central district, and is...

Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we go to Haiti to visit a royal residence once called the Versailles of the Caribbean. But though Sans-Souci Palace, once home to Haiti’s only king, is now ruins and rubble, it remains a large symbol—just as...

The EUR district of Rome is a strange place, a somewhat dystopian cityscape with monumental Fascist-era architecture commissioned by Benito Mussolini. Even its post-World War II landmark, a water tower built in 1957, is a unique structure that gives visitors a glimpse of the retro-future. Nicknamed Il Fungo, or "The Mushroom," the EUR piezometric...

Next to the Archaeological Museum of Goa in the historic precinct of Old Goa is an impressive collection of stones from across the centuries. They have been kept along the side of the walkway like an open-air museum. These crumbling grey and green stone vestiges show details from the Portuguese Era. Many of the large stone slabs display coats of...