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Travel

The Stars and Stripes are enjoying an extraordinary status in American public culture.

Americans Are Not the Only Ones Obsessed With Their Flag

From the mild-mannered Danes to crazed soccer fans, people all over the world go nuts for their national colors

Hammerhead sharks off the coast of Cocos Island, Costa Rica. The island is known for its incredible terrain and marine life, and is said to be the inspiration for Isla Nublar, the place Michael Crichton created as the setting for Jurassic Park—and now Jurassic World.

Where to Visit the Real Jurassic World After You See the Film

The movie’s filming locations and inspiration offer lush vegetation, stunning views and plenty of sharks

Six Ways to See Bioluminescence in the World’s Oceans

From shimmering squid in Japan to illuminated clams in France, here are some of the top spots for basking in nature’s glow

A view from the cell wall of the Shanghai Natural History Museum, looking down on the north tectonic wall made of stone.

The New Shanghai Natural History Museum is Ancient, Modern and Uniquely Chinese

The nautilus-shaped building draws on Chinese traditions and 21st century design to house amazing specimens found nowhere else

Filthy Lucre, 2013-2014, by Darren Waterston, MASS MoCA installation

Urban Explorations

Whistler’s Peacock Room is Reimagined in a State of Oozing and Broken Decay

In Filthy Lucre, a new installation at the Sackler Gallery, artist Darren Waterston deconstructs Whistler’s masterpiece

A paternoster elevator can be thrilling, or just scary.

Ride This Bizarre, Old-School Elevator Before They All Shut Down

The paternoster elevators of Europe are weird, a bit scary and getting harder and harder to find. For now, there are still a few you can ride

The Plain of Jars in northeast Laos may be related to burial rituals dating back 2,000 years—but the site still proves a mystery to archeologists.

Ancient Urns or Drinking Vessels for Giants? Behind the Mysterious Plain of Jars in Laos

A grassy area studded with hulking, 2,000-year-old jars provides a surreal sight as well as an archeological puzzle

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See All 50 States From the Air

Smithsonian Channel’s popular Aerial America series has filmed its 50th and final state

The legendary home base of blues pioneers.

Where the Blues Was Born

At Dockery Farms, the original bluesmen created a sound that would become legendary

The dusty white rock of the Las Vegas Formation, near the edge of Tule Springs National Monument, bakes in the midday heat.

Urban Explorations

Discover a Fossil Jackpot Off the Las Vegas Strip

Remains of mammoths, camels and other beasts of the Ice Age tempt visitors out of Sin City and into Tule Springs National Monument

A sumptuously appointed room within the Borgia family's castle in Tuscany, now available for everyday people to rent.

Urban Explorations

Want to Sleep Like a King, Queen or Borgia For a Night? Stay in these Historic Airbnbs

Whether it’s the former home of a national icon or an extravagant estate in Europe, the sharing economy offers the chance to go back in time for a night

The famed snow-covered church in Kiruna.

Instead of Being Swallowed by a Mine, This Arctic Town is Moving

The people of Kiruna are moving their entire town brick-by-brick

Not a movie still: Fire rages on a flooded street following the 1994 Northridge earthquake in California.

What Will Really Happen When San Andreas Unleashes the Big One?

A major earthquake will cause plenty of destruction along the West Coast, but it won’t look like it does in the movies

More exotic items are kept on permanent display.

American South

The Nation’s Stash of Lost Luggage Finds a New Life in This Alabama Town

Buy yourself a new wardrobe, iPad or other oddities at the Unclaimed Baggage Center

Maze-like landscaping has cut the decibel level of the ambient noise at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport in half.

This Crazy Land Art Deflects Noise From Amsterdam’s Airport

To drown out flight noise, the Amsterdam Airport turned to large-scale landscaping

Urban Explorations

Seven Works of Art to Visit That Use Discarded Junk to Create Masterpieces

One person’s trash is another person’s artistic inspiration

A champagne toast for all leads into a gourmet meal.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Paris

Eat Like a Parisian in a Parisian Apartment

An Internet-based service allows visitors an authentic taste of food, friendship and culture

A rendering of the USS Nautilus, the world's first atomic submarine. The real Nautilus is now open to the public, docked in Connecticut so that visitors can walk around inside and explore the torpedoes and living quarters.

Urban Explorations

Step Inside a Famous Submarine

Where to visit historic subs this summer—or ride in a modern one

Yasuní National Park with the sun just under the horizon.

This Park in Ecuador is One of the Most Biodiverse Places on Earth

Yasuní National Park in the Amazon rainforest may have more species of life than anywhere else in the world

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