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Cultural Travel

The German town of Oppenheim is honeycombed with underground tunnels and cellars.

Beneath This Medieval German Town Lie Over 25 Miles of Forgotten Tunnels

Go beneath the surface of Oppenheim

The design of the 2016 Brussels Flower Carpet was based off of Japanese patterns.

Cool Finds

Don’t Miss These Dazzling, Iconic Flower Festivals

No matter the time of year, it’s always time for a flower festival

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

Life Aboard a Renovated World War II Tugboat

With help from friends, a transplanted Philadelphian embarks on a voyage of discovery through Alaska’s waters

Inside the Church of Saint Nicholas, Father Nikolai Yakunin blesses parishioners during Pascha (Russian Easter), which begins at midnight and ends at dawn. The smoke of the incense is said to lift prayers to heaven.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

In a Remote Alaskan Town, a Centuries-Old Russian Faith Thrives

Residents of Nikolaevsk remain true to the traditions of their ancestors, who fled religious persecution in the 17th-century

Shifen Waterfall in Pingsi Township, Taiwan.

Sponsor Content: Taiwan

Seven Gorgeous Waterfalls to Chase in Taiwan

Rainbows, records and golden water make these majestic falls a can’t-miss

Charlie Chaplin eats his shoe in The Gold Rush (1925).

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

Charlie Chaplin’s Gold Rush

Two decades after the Klondike Gold Rush, Chaplin recast the hardships of prospectors as comedy

Sample of Niku Udon.

Japan’s Most Mouthwatering Dishes Are Made of Plastic

Discover sampuru, the art of mind-blowingly realistic fake food

Experience Québec Through the Five Senses

Mark Barton and principal investigator Kevin Boswell of Florida International University conduct species sampling of the nearshore waters.

Photo Contest Featured Photographer

From Playboy to Polar Bears: A Fashion Photographer’s Journey to Document Climate Science in Northernmost Alaska

Florencia Mazza Ramsay traveled to Barrow, the northernmost town in the United States, to document life and research on the front lines of climate change

The Secret Meaning of Food in Art

Discover 17th-century drinking games and coded political messages in this unique food tour of the Metropolitan Museum’s art collection

Cool Finds

This App Puts a Museum in Your Phone

Get out and get some culture with a newly released app that gives art a smart spin

Indigenous cultures of Alaska have enjoyed the frozen treat known as akutuq for many centuries. An Inupiaq word meaning “to stir,” akutuq traditionally consists of animal fat mixed with seal oil, whipped together with handfuls of berries and freshly fallen snow to make a frothy, frozen concoction.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

What Is Eskimo Ice Cream?

Answer: Not your typical summer dessert

Inupiaq culture has traveled from fur-clad hunters with stone-tipped harpoons to kids carrying iPhones—in just 200 years.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

The Essence of Alaska Lies Somewhere Between Myth and Reality

An Alaska native grapples with the meaning of his home state

Eleven Persian qanats are being preserved by Unesco.

Trending Today

Unesco Names New World Heritage Sites

Rock art, irrigation and education add to the organization’s growing list of sites worthy of protection

The Hurricane Turn pulls out of the station at Talkeetna.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

For a Truly Authentic Alaskan Experience, Hop Aboard America’s Last Flag-Stop Train

Reaching off-the-grid homesteads and cabins, the Hurricane Turn train stops for anyone who flags it down

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Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

Eskimo Yo-Yos, Muskox Knitting Yarn and Other Unique Gifts to Buy in Alaska

Inspiration comes not only from nature but also from the instinct to use what’s close at hand

Sunday services let out at the Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

The Most Diverse Neighborhood in the U.S. May Surprise You

Abundant housing and job opportunities have brought people from all over the world to Mountain View, Alaska

Russian Orthodox crosses in the time-and-weather-worn cemetery of Ninilchik’s Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord Chapel are a testament to the heritage of the village.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

Tracing Alaska’s Russian Heritage

From onion domes to tsarist-era Russian dialects, evidence of the Russian colonialism remains

Secretary Sally Jewell

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell Explains Why Preserving Alaska’s Wildness Is Essential

A former petroleum engineer, Jewell recognizes that balance is key to preserving Alaska for future generations

John McPhee

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Alaska

Pulitzer-Prize Winning Author John McPhee Recalls Alaska Before Cell Phones, GPS and Most of Its National Parks

McPhee’s trips to Alaska in the 1970s inspired his seminal outdoors narrative “Coming Into the Country” and helped launch his career

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