Travel

Cool Finds

Flower Tourism Blooms in China

The Netherlands has tulips, Japan has cherry blossoms, and now China wants in on the action too

April 15, 2014

New Research

Mathematicians Want to Fix Your Jet Lag—Fast

They’ve created a system that will tell you exactly how much light to get in order to fix your circadian rhythms

April 14, 2014

India And the EU Are Making It Much Easier for Tourists to Get Visas

Traveling can get tangled in red tape, but some governments are trying to make it easier

April 14, 2014

Cool Finds

10,000 People Live in Houseboats on London’s Waterways

High rent prices have driven Londoners onto the water

April 10, 2014

Myanmar Is Becoming A Tourist Destination, But at a Cost

As more tourists enter the country, environmentalists worry about local ecosystems

April 10, 2014

Cool Finds

Christmas Island Is 63 Percent National Parkland…And Has More Crabs Than People

This nature’s paradise is hard to get to, but is home to a fascinating phenomenon

April 7, 2014

Cool Finds

Virtual Reality Could Change the Way We Travel

Innovations in virtual reality could change how we travel

April 4, 2014

Cool Finds

Want to Run a Marathon in North Korea? Here’s Your Chance

For the first time, the Mangyongdae Prize Marathon in Pyongyang, North Korea, is open to amateurs

April 3, 2014

Cool Finds

Egypt Building a Fake Version of King Tut’s Tomb for Tourists

The original tomb is being damaged by constant visitors, so authorities are building another

April 3, 2014

For the First Time Ever, Explore Angkor Wat With Google Street View

With more than 90,000 panoramic images, you can see the stunning Cambodian ruins up close from anywhere in the world

April 2, 2014

Cool Finds

Here’s How Tourism Worked in the 1860s

One of the only constants: Paris is popular.

March 31, 2014

Cool Finds

In a Few Small Countries, Tourists Massively Outnumber Locals

To attract enough tourists to overwhelm its population, a country needs something special to attract them.

March 31, 2014

Tech Watch

Kissing Language Barriers Goodbye

Google is paving the way for the universal voice translator, formerly a thing of science fiction. But will they actually help us communicate?

March 28, 2014

New Research

Booking Your Vacation At Work? Bad Idea

Study finds that booking a vacation at work tends to lead to purchasing more expensive hotels and being less satisfied with your trip

March 27, 2014

Cool Finds

Somewhere Lets You Travel To Amazing Places Online

Somewhere takes you instantly to some of the most photogenic places on earth

March 26, 2014

The Los Angeles That Was Never Built

Had these 13 grand architectural plans been executed, the city would look entirely different today

March 24, 2014

Cool Finds

France Is Fighting for Its Fungi

With rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns threatening truffle supplies of France and Italy, Chinese truffles are moving in

March 21, 2014

Smithsonian Secretary Clough on His Hometown

Post retirement, he will be spending more time in Douglas, Georgia

April 2014

How Japan Copied American Culture and Made it Better

If you’re looking for some of America’s best bourbon, denim and burgers, go to Japan, where designers are re-engineering our culture in loving detail

April 2014

Smithsonian Best Small Towns 2014

The 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2014

From country music to herbal cocktails to horseshoe crabs to Rodin, our third annual list takes you to cultural gems worth mining

April 2014