Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Travel

John Steinbeck

Cool Finds

Steinbeck’s Boat the “Western Flyer” Will Voyage Again for Science

The $1 million boat will see the water once again as an updated research vessel

Scuba divers abound at the lake during spring and summer, but during fall and winter the lake is a hiker's paradise instead.

Europe

Explore Austria’s Underwater Hiking Trails

Catch it if you can—scuba season is short in this crystal-clear, temporary lake

A poster for Schönbrunn Zoo.

Austria

The World’s Oldest Zoo Is a Modern Attraction With a Storied Past

The Austrian destination has a lot more to offer than exotic animals

A spoon and bowl for dieters.

Austria

Embrace the Art of Failure at Austria’s Nonseum

From nosepickers to historic buttonholes, the Nonseum is full of failed inventions

Europe

Experience Alpine Enchantment at These Eight Austrian Huts

Grander than their name might imply, these hütten are the perfect perch for weary travelers

Cool Finds

This Incredible Street Art Is Also An Evolution Lesson

In Rome, a giant mural illustrates how life began and evolved

Daniel Craig as James Bond escapes villains in the Austrian Alps in Spectre, the latest 007 movie.

Austria

The Man With the Golden Passport: Travel the World of the New James Bond Movie

Follow the trail of Agent 007 in his latest film

Detail from the cover of the 1948 Green Book, a guidebook for black travelers.

Cool Finds

A Black American’s Guide to Travel In the Jim Crow Era

For decades, The Green Book was the black traveler’s lifeline

First debuted as a minor character in Henson's 1955 TV show Sam & Friends, Kermit the Frog has since become a Hollywood icon.

A New Museum Pays Tribute to the Genius of Jim Henson

Make way for Muppets at Atlanta’s new World of Puppetry Museum

Hartsdale is the world's oldest operating pet cemetery.

Commune With Pets of the Past at These Five Pet Cemeteries

Far from scary, these burial sites can be relaxing, beautiful and even inspiring

Stars shine above in the form a planetarium made of hand-carved jack o'lanterns.

This Is What 7,000 Jack O’Lanterns Look Like

At a historic landmark in New York, pumpkins take the shape of dragons, spider webs and even a planetarium

A Bolivian farmer stands next to dinosaur footprints. Bolivia is home to thousands of dinosaur tracks.

Where Dinosaurs Walked: Eight of the Best Places to See Prehistoric Footprints

Step in the footprints of giants on “dinosaur highways”

A view of the opening to Danger Cave in 1976, when it was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places

Cool Finds

Utah’s Danger Cave Will Soon Open For a Rare Tour

The cave houses evidence of human habitation from over 11,000 years ago

Opuntia cacti grow in the desert near Twentynine Palms, California. The area is home to plenty of dry plants and weeds—perfect for the city's annual Weed Show.

At This Unique Flower Show, Weeds Are the Stars

The women of this small desert town have found beauty in getting in the weeds

Cool Finds

There’s an Elephant Buried Underneath the Vatican

The forgotten remains of a beloved, 16th-century papal pet

Overlooking part of Malpaso or Nezahualcoyotl Dam in Chiapas.

Trending Today

The Sunken Ruins of a 450-Year-Old Church Rise From a Mexican Reservoir

After a historic drought, a 16th-century church has reemerged

Cool Finds

This Giant Van Gogh Painting Is Made of Pumpkins, Watermelons and Squash

How crop artist Stan Herd made an acre-wide ode to “Olive Trees”

Cool Finds

This Halloween, Who Wants to Spend a Night in the Paris Catacombs?

Airbnb is looking for two brave souls to sleep with the dead

Today, the water tribunal in Valencia, Spain meets on the same day, in the same way and at the same time as it did 1,000 years ago.

Drink in History at the World’s Oldest Court

Valencia’s water tribunal doesn’t have written records or lawyers—but that doesn’t mean it’s outdated

Cool Finds

There’s a Fake Egyptian City Buried in California

The incredible, nearly forgotten story behind one of Hollywood’s most expensive movie sets

Page 63 of 132