Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Travel

The 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2017

From remote hideaways to coastal harbors, discover the towns that topped our list this year

None

Canada

Canada

None

Get Lost in London’s Secret Gardens

Follow us to these fragrant green oases secreted away within central and far-flung London neighborhoods

A visualization of the interior of Blue Origin's "New Shepard" space tourism rocket.

Here’s What to Expect on the First Tourist Flights to Space

Take a peek at plans for Blue Origin’s first space tourism rocket

On the canal in Tongli.

Explore China’s Ancient Water Towns

The Venice of the East sits just 30 minutes by train from Shanghai

American South

Each Spring, the World’s Punniest Humans Head to Texas

The 40th Annual O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships comes to Austin in May

Synchronous fireflies put on a show each spring in the Great Smoky Mountains. Photinus carolinus is the only firefly species in the U.S. that flashes in unison.

National Parks

If You Want to See Thousands of Fireflies Light Up at Once, Head to the Great Smoky Mountains

A firefly mating ritual turns into a synchronized light show

"Intensive XX" contains 78 reproductions of paintings by notable Russian artists. Their display space: the Moscow Metro.

This Moscow Subway Car Brings an Art Museum to Commuters

Experience some of Russia’s most notable pieces of art while traveling by train

Ujala Baoli, Mandu, Madhya Pradesh. Late 15th/Early 16th century. Location: 22°21’29.87’’ N, 75°23’45.36’’ E.

Photos Capture India’s Ancient, Vanishing Stepwells

These intricate architectural marvels are in danger of disappearing

On the Wire, by Harvey Thomas Dunn (oil on canvas, 1918)

When Artists Became Soldiers and Soldiers Became Artists

A rare opportunity to see works by the American Expeditionary Force’s World War I illustration corps, and newly found underground soldier carvings

Last year's winner in the World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition's Decorative Lifesize Wildfowl category, "Livingstone's Turaco" by Thomas Horn.

Where Duck Decoys Became High Art

See more than 1,200 of these bobbing bits of history at the upcoming world championship

The lush, rugged landscape of Japan's island of Hokkaido is a major draw for amateur photographers—but do Flickr photos really represent the most important conservation sites?

Future of Conservation

Is #Hashtagging Your Environment on Instagram Enough to Save It?

Location-based data might help pinpoint key ecosystems—or make conservation a popularity contest

Muse with Violin Screen (detail), 1930. Rose Iron Works, Inc. (American, Cleveland, est. 1904). Paul Fehér (Hungarian, 1898–1990), designer. Wrought iron, brass; silver and gold plating

The Innovative Spirit fy17

How Jazz, Flappers, European Émigrés, Booze and Cigarettes Transformed Design

A new Cooper-Hewitt exhibition explores the Jazz Age as a catalyst in popular style

White Horse Hill, England

Where to See Five of the Planet’s Most Mysterious Geoglyphs

From California to Kazakhstan, these aerial-view anomalies offer a glimpse into the past

New York Water Taxi

How New York City Is Rediscovering Its Maritime Spirit

The city’s waterfront fell into dangerous decline, but now its on the rebound with a new wave of money and creativity

None

Canada

Spend the Night Howling with Wolves in Québec’s Parc Mahikan

Get up close to these elusive mammals at this wildlife observation center along the Ouasiemsca River

Peter Voulkos in his Glendale Boulevard Studio in Los Angeles California

The Ceramicist Who Punched His Pots

Influenced by avant-garde poets, writers and Pablo Picasso, Peter Voulkos experimented with the increasingly unconventional

None

Learn the Secret History of Your State With These Addictive Podcasts

Use this indispensable guide to find out which podcast will be next on your listen list

Eternally mysterious Mount Fuji, as seen from Lake Kawaguchiko, remains a powerful force in Japanese culture and a must-do hike for truth-seekers despite the crowds and the looming threat of eruption.

Why Mount Fuji Endures As a Powerful Force in Japan

Not even crowds and the threat of an eruption can dampen the eternally mysterious volcano

The courtyard at St. Ermin's Hotel in London.

This Luxury Hotel in London Was Once a Secret Spy Base

St. Ermin’s Hotel has sat at the middle of British secret intelligence since the 1930s

Page 74 of 202