Cultural Travel

You Can Now Spend the Night in the Eiffel Tower

Be the first to spend the night in the night at this Parisian landmark

Houston Opens Up Its Huge "Underground Cathedral" to Visitors

A haunting 1920's city reservoir full of 25-foot columns and shafts of light is now open to the public

Five of the Most Iconic State Sandwiches

Choosing a state sandwich is hard work

In the tranquility of old Vienna, Stefan Zweig writes, one could never “dream how dangerous man can be.” This 1901 photograph shows a city market.

The Unhurried World of Pre-War Vienna

Author Stefan Zweig, who inspired Wes Anderson's <i>The Grand Budapest Hotel</i>, recalls Austria at the dawn of the 20th century

At Sky Hill, guests learn how to throw pottery and make sweet-scented hay by gathering grass into small heaps that will dry in the sun. Marius and Cornelia bought the land in 2006 and have used it to teach travelers of all ages about organic farming and construction.

Try Your Hand at Organic Farming in Southwest Romania

By hosting travelers, local farmers hope to reverse the impact of big industry

China Will Start Publicly Shaming Tourists Who Graffiti Mount Everest

Leave nothing but footprints

Voskehat, “the queen of Armenian grapes”

History in a Glass: (Re)discovering Armenian Wine

With more than six thousand-year-old history of viniculture, Armenian wines are gaining popularity

The Hollywood Bombshell Who Invented an Indispensable War Technology

In 1942, Hedy Lamarr received a patent for frequency hopping, but was told to devote her efforts elsewhere

Chinese Cops Are Temporarily Patrolling the Streets of Rome and Milan

A new experimental program put international police at Italy's tourist hubs to help the influx of Chinese travelers

Among century-old oaks and poplars are the ruins of a Dominican convent where Margaret took the vows of a nun. She refused to marry a neighboring king, instead devoting herself to God.

The Appalling and Beguiling History of Budapest's Margaret Island

A Hungarian-born writer recalls a princess' defiance of her father, Nazi atrocities, and the island's role as sanctuary

Traveling to the Danube? Here's What You Should Read, Watch and Download

Know before you go

Is Europe Returning to Pre Cold War Divisions?

Author Robert D. Kaplan notes the beginnings of a complex map, caused by Russian revisionism, the refugee crisis and a structural economic crisis in the EU

These Black and White Images Reveal a Vienna Most Travelers Don’t See

Photographer Carl Yurttas captures the city's many moods

Nine Unique Gifts to Buy in Vienna

From specialty fruit preserves to Habsburg figurines, Austria's capital has it all

Swiss yodeling choir Jodlerclub Echo during a competition.

How to Yodel Like a Local

The Swiss tradition is much more than a simple yodel-ay-ee-oooo

Both genius and impresario, Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla reads in his remote Colorado Springs laboratory in 1899 next to a magnifying transmitter that generates millions of volts of electricity. While far too dangerous to sit near—the image is a double exposure—his gigantic Tesla coil created the first human-made lightning.

Nikola Tesla's Struggle to Remain Relevant

An offbeat Belgrade museum reveals the many mysteries of the prolific, late-19th-century inventor

The Slovak Radio Building, an inverted pyramid completed in 1983, has been called “one of the ugliest buildings in the world.” Recording studios at the center are surrounded by outward-facing offices. Its heavy weight and rough texture seem to capture the grim, waning years of Communist Party rule.

Is Bratislava's Communist-Era Architecture Worth Preserving?

For residents of Slovakia's capital, Cold War structures recall a painful past

The 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2016

In honor of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, our top picks this year are all towns close to America’s natural splendors

“The Danube River Project” explores the waterway using underwater equipment to show scenes—like this one of Budapest—partly above and partly below the surface.

How the Danube Became a Multinational Power Source

Spanning 1,770 miles from Germany's Black Forest to the coast of Romania, the river takes its character from the people and places it passes

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: The Danube

Travel the Danube from the Black Forest of Germany to the green teardrop-shaped island of St. Margaret in Budapest

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