Discover

The Discover page is an archive of about strange but true trivia about destinations around the world, previously featured in the Discover section on the main page. You can contribute and add or edit future facts to the list here. Previously displayed facts from this year are below. You can find older facts from previous years using the links at the bottom of the page.

June 2023

The Temple of Literature (pictured) in Hanoi was founded in 1070 and became Vietnam's first university six years later.
The market square in Wrocław is one of the biggest town squares in Europe, and is lined on all sides with photogenic and interesting buildings.
About 50 km north of Lyndhurst, the Ochre Cliffs are home to some remarkable outback colours.

First established in 1386, the Arlberg Hospice (pictured) is definitely the most prominent attraction in St. Christoph, and for centuries it was the only building there was.

May 2023

Urbex is most commonly understood as the exploration of parts of cities that no-one visits.
In St. John's Wood, London you can visit the Abbey Road studios where many famous musicians and groups, most notably The Beatles, recorded music.

One sight in Durazno is a monument (pictured) to the tamboril - a type of drum - likely the only such monument in the world.
Highlights at the Mazda museum in Hiroshima include the world's first car with a rotary engine and the only Japanese car to win at Le Mans.
Because of the continuous flow of water over the falls, the Pisew Falls Provincial Park has developed its own micro-climate.

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing has steep climbs, great views (pictured) and colourful lakes, and some say it is the best one-day walk in the world.
In Aguascalientes you can visit a museum dedicated to José Guadalupe Posada, considered by many as the founder of modern art in Mexico.
Hiking may be broadly grouped into three categories: day hiking, long distance walking and wilderness backpacking.

St Elizabeth's Cathedral (pictured) in Košice is a remarkable medieval monument built in the High Gothic style.
Getting around Algiers by tram is remarkably economical.
Lena Hara Cave near Tutuala has a 10,000 year old engraving depicting a human face.

Being a small island with limited water resources and a fragile ecosystem, there is a maximum number of 460 visitors allowed on Fernando de Noronha (landscape pictured).
Chicago's Wicker Park has many Polish and Ukrainian sights including churches and museums.
Mysore is known for the Mysore Pak, a traditional sweet sold all over the city.

The 19th century wooden St. Nicholas church (pictured) in Listvyanka is the oldest building around Lake Baikal.
Kharga is the largest of the five western oases of Egypt.
Museo del Caribe displays a great collection of the history of Barranquilla and the Caribbean.

Up to 350 vendors come to Tongeren every Sunday to sell antique and vintage goods at the weekly Antiques market (pictured).
Addresses in Bangkok use the Thai addressing system, which may be a little confusing to the uninitiated.
A closed city during Soviet times, today Paldiski is open to everyone and deserves a visit by those interested in the grey world of the Soviet Union.

The Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka highlights Monroe Elementary School (pictured), where the historic case ending school segregation in the United States started.
Perpignan is one of France's rugby hotbeds, with professional teams in both rugby codes.
Wikivoyage's travel topic on Sustainable travel deals with how to best avoid negative impacts on the global and local natural environment while traveling and how to best preserve the places you visit for future generations to enjoy.

Built in 1556 in the Renaissance style, the Old Town Hall (pictured) of Leipzig remains one of Germany's largest.
At Singapore airport, travelers who lucked out of visiting Southeast Asian gardens and jungles can still enjoy local flora in several gardens.
The best local handicrafts on Dominica are Kalinago-made baskets.

Like the Dalton Highway, Deadhorse (aerial view pictured) exists to support oil operations in Prudhoe Bay.
The Silk Street in Beijing is the original foreign-oriented market, known for free wheeling bargaining and counterfeit luxury brands.
El Gouna was built with a different mindset than other Egyptian resorts; it's more than a bunch of hotels on a previously uninhabited piece of coastline.

Before the construction of the Murchison Highway (pictured), Tullah was only accessible by rail, but today, it's only accessible by road.
Bisei Town of Ibara enacted Japan's first Light Pollution Prevention Ordinance in 1989.

April 2023

Lowell, Massachusetts was the first planned industrial city in the United States.

The Potala Palace in Lhasa (pictured) was once the religious and political centre of old Tibet and the winter residence of Dalai Lamas.
A busy cruise ship and container port, Southampton was the point of departure for the Titanic.
The Shinsegae department store in Haeundae is the biggest in the world.

Mere puiestee (pictured), the "boulevard to the sea" in Sillamäe looks more like a place next to the Black Sea, Lake Geneva or the Mediterranean than in Northern Estonia.
Today you can visit every continent on earth, including Antarctica, by cruise ship.
Individual travel to the Surinamese Rainforest is increasingly possible along the rivers, as villages discover the financial benefits of receiving guests.

The Marennes-Oléron oysters (pictured) are the signature food product of the region around La Tremblade.
The Old Synagogue in Erfurt is the oldest surviving synagogue in Europe.
Belgrade has a museum dedicated to inventor Nikola Tesla.

The iconic clock tower (pictured) is one of the most visible landmarks of Tunis.
In Kandy you can visit the world's first international Buddhist museum.
The UV index provides information about the intensity of the sun rays and, thereby, potential damage from sunlight on a particular day.

Matsue castle keep (pictured) is one of only twelve original castles left in Japan, dating back to 1611.
Gatwick Airport used to be regarded as Heathrow's overflow, but has carved out its own identity.
A world heritage site, the Citadel of Erbil dates back to 6000 years and has been continuously inhabited since its founding.

The Glass Museum of Finland (exhibits pictured) is housed in an old glass factory in Riihimäki.
The highlight of the Silver Museum in Limbaži is an artwork made with more than 30 kg of silver.
The Missouri State Supreme Court Building in Jefferson City was built using funds from the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.

Trei Ierarhi Church (pictured) in Iaşi is completely covered in carvings, it was once covered in gold, which was burned away to be stolen.
In Kolkata you can visit Mother Theresa's tomb.
The Bluegrass Motorcycle Museum in Hartford, Kentucky has vintage American motorcycles from 1906 to present on display.

Casa Bacardi (pictured) in Cataño is the world's largest rum destillery and popularly known as the Cathedral of Rum.
In the public areas of Brasilia you can see works by some of the finest Brazilian artists.
The crumbling Old Hokkaido Takushoku Bank building is one of the only visible remains of the Japanese possession of Korsakov.

The main sight in Ziway is the large lake (pictured).
With 17,000 islands to choose from, Indonesian food is an umbrella term covering a vast variety of regional cuisines found across the nation.
St. George's was created around a horseshoe-shaped natural harbour, which is a collapsed and flooded former volcanic crater.

The Muscat Gate Museum (pictured) marks the location of the old city wall, and has the original city gates which were used until the 1970s.
The Butrint archaeological site features remains of a Byzantine basilica, once the largest in the world after Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

March 2023

The political situation in Libya is far from stable and it's not a tourist destination, though the country has great tourism potential.

Sa Pa and its surrounding region is host to many hill tribes, as well as rice terraces (pictured), lush vegetation, and Phan Si Păng , the highest peak in Indochina.
The stereotypical desert is hot, but not all deserts are.
Georgian Bay Islands National Park forms part of the world’s largest freshwater archipelago.

The Basilica of the Annunciation (pictured) in Nazareth is built atop the grotto where, according to Christian tradition, Virgin Mary received the announcement of the imminent birth of Jesus.
Wildlife game abound in south Texas, so Laredo is a popular destination for hunters and fishermen.
The minaret at Qutub Minar in South Delhi was the tallest "skyscraper" in the world when built (1193-1368).

Nanortalik (pictured) is Greenlandic for polar bear place but the chance of seeing any polar bears there these days is small.
In Calamba you can visit the Jose Rizal Shrine, the birthhouse of the Philippine national hero.
The catacombs of the Capuchin convent contain over 8,000 mummified ex-residents from Palermo and its surrounding villages.

The museum Como-Harriet Streetcar Line (pictured) in Southwest Minnapolis used to be part of a much longer streetcar line that ran all the way to Lake Como in Saint Paul.
Aguadilla is known as the Garden of the Atlantic.
The westernmost island in Spain, for long time El Hierro was considered the end of the known world.

Black pearls (pictured together with other Tahitian pearls) are the high-end purchase in French Polynesia.
The Burbant Tower in Ath is an imposing Anglo-Normand dungeon, built around 1166 by the Count of Hainaut, Baudouin IV, called "The Builder."
In the Palace Hotel foyer in Kalgoorlie-Boulder you can see the ornately framed Herbert Hoover mirror.

Tutzsäule (pictured) in Klosterneuburg is a Gothic "lantern of the dead", commissioned in 1381 by Michel Tutz after an outbreak of the plague.
Córdoba, Argentina is known by many as La Docta because of its many universities and science institutes.
The Freedom Monument in Riga is one of Latvia's national symbols.

Slyudyanka boasts the world's only railway station entirely built out of marble (pictured).
Bellingham is the northernmost city in the U.S. contiguous 48 states.
Debrecen used to be Europe's largest Calvinist city - it was called "The Calvinist Rome", a heritage that the city's main church reminds of.

Head to the Kariakoo market (pictured) to shop like locals do in Dar es Salaam.
The Ijen Crater near Banyuwangi emits a natural blue fire at night.
Kalkkinen Rapids in Asikkala is one of few major rapids in natural state in southern Finland.

The Easter Island is most famous for its moai (pictured) - enigmatic giant stone statues depicting oversized heads and carved centuries ago.
Riding city bus service is free for women and disabled in Mehsana.
Whiskey-making has spread around the world with the Scottish and Irish diasporas.

Musikfest (a performance pictured), a 10-day music festival held annually every August in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is the largest free music festival in the USA.
The most famous, fashionable and expensive Italian ski resort, Cortina d'Ampezzo is nicknamed la Regina delle Dolomiti - the Queen of the Dolomites.
The shifting dunes of Lençóis Maranhenses with the lakes in between are most spectacular at low sun, when a range of shadows come into play.

February 2023

The tourist railway Train des Mouettes (pictured) between La Tremblade and Saujon is hauled by the oldest working steam locomotive in France.
From the advent of the automotive assembly line to the Motown sound, modern techno and rock music, Detroit continues to shape both American and global culture.
El Alamein is famous for the two Second World War battles fought there in 1942.

Phương Mai peninsula outside Quy Nhon is probably the only place in Vietnam to enjoy kilometres of beach (pictured) in utter solitude.
Ottawa is Canada's largest Francophone city outside of Quebec.
As for other icons of Bavarian culture, many Bavarian dishes are known around the world as "German", though far from all of them are popular throughout Germany.

Riding Transperth buses (pictured) is free within the city centre Free Transit Zone in Perth.
Mall of Arabia in Dubai's suburbs contains more than 1,000 retail outlets, various attractions, and has its own monorail system.
General Santos is known as the tuna capital of the Philippines.

Karlovo is best known as the birthplace of Vasil Levski (monument pictured), who led the Bulgarian uprising against the Ottoman rule in the late 19th century.
Jönköping has a bird museum and a match museum.
Çankırı, a provincial backwater in Turkey, was the hometown of the great-grandfather of Boris Johnson, British prime minister 2019–22.

In the most difficult winter driving conditions winter tires may not be enough, but tire chains (pictured) or cables should be considered.
Bledug Kuwu mud volcano in Grobogan erupts continuously at regular intervals.
Worcester, like many Massachusetts towns and cities, has an historic town common at its center.

The summits of Illiniza (pictured) are also known by the names "man summit" (Illiniza) and "woman summit" (Tioniza).
Highway 4 stretches 1,295 km (805 mi) from Helsinki to Utsjoki, covering almost the full length of Finland from south to north.
Plymouth, the de jure capital of Montserrat, has been covered by 40 feet (over 10 metres) of ash since a volcanic eruption in 1997, earning its nickname "the new Pompeii".

Thomas Foster Memorial (pictured) in Uxbridge, Ontario is a mausoleum built by a wealthy citizen and former mayor of Toronto, designed to replicate the famous Taj Mahal in India.
Western Australia is the world's second largest subnational entity, after the Sakha Republic in Russia (so it's indeed larger than Greenland, Nunavut, or even countries like Mexico).
Pogradec is known for having crisp nights and thus deep sleeps.

Teampall Bheanáin (Benen's Church) in Inis Mór (pictured) is said to be the world's smallest church.
African flora and fauna is a highlight of trips to Africa, especially on visits to the continent's national parks.
Moab lies along the Colorado River and offers excellent opportunities to get out on the river.

The large Narita-san Shinsho-ji Temple (pictured) has a wide assortment of classical Japanese pagodas and halls and a pleasant quasi-European park.
Formerly an important port for banana export, today the pier and train station in Tela have become a museum.
As with the rest of the Oregon Coast, the Tillamook area has a focus on fresh seafood at many establishments.

Statue of Unity, (pictured) the highest statue in the world at 182 m (597 ft), is located in Kevadia.

January 2023

More people than ever are working abroad, so if you like the concept, consider what options are available to you.
Växjö has a museum about the 19th century great emigration from Sweden.

A speciality of Luang Prabang is khai phaen (ໄຄແຜ່ນ) (pictured) – dried green algae from the Mekong with sesame seeds, chillies, oil, etc.
The Rahmi M. Koc Museum in Ankara is housed in an old Ottoman caravanserai but it presents the technological progress since the 1850s.
Colosseum takes its name from the giant statue of the emperor Nero that once stood near this location.

The Museum of Islamic Arts, Doha's flagship museum (pictured) hosts artefacts from Muslim dynasties all over Asia, Africa and Europe.
In Santa Marta you can visit the place where Simon Bolivar died.
At Incheon International Airport you can revive yourself with a Korean sauna experience on the basement level.

One attraction in Picton (New Zealand) is the Edwin Fox Maritime Museum (pictured) surrounding the ship with that name.
At the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, you'll find Texas style nightlife and a weekly rodeo.
Szeged is known as the "City of Sunshine", because it has the most sunny days throughout the year in Hungary.

In Parque das Aves in Foz do Iguaçu you can come in close contact with different types of exotic birds (toucans pictured).
Surrounded by lakes, streams, creeks and rivers, Roblin is known as the "Flyfishing Capital of Manitoba".
At times Overseas Chinese cuisine is hardly recognisable as Chinese food to people from China.

Swords Castle (pictured) was built as a residence for the Archbishop of Dublin in the 13th century.
Alappuzha is one of the few places in Kerala where non-Hindus are allowed enter temple premises.
Cassadaga, Florida is sometimes referred to as being the "Psychic Center of the World".

Fiji's main attraction is its paradise-like nature, with perfect palm-lined beaches (pictured), blue waters and green inland hills.
Qingdao is regarded by some Chinese as one of the most beautiful and cleanest cities in China.
At the Museum of the 1930s in Boulogne-Billancourt you can watch artworks from that decade.

The name of Torres del Paine National Park (landscape pictured) is composed of both Spanish and native languages.
Hann Park and Zoo in Dakar features a wide variety of Senegalese plant life and the zoo contains over 130 animals.
Two races take place in the winter in Nome; the Iron Dog Snowmobile Race and the Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

The old lighthouse (pictured) in Travemünde is the oldest in Germany.
Cork products that range from wallets to umbrellas are iconic souvenirs from Sintra.
The Flame of Peace monument in Timbuktu commemorates the ceremonial burning of 3000 weapons in March 1996, in honor of the end of the Tuareg rebellion.

Hijagang, the Kangla boatyard, houses four traditional Meitei watercrafts (Hiyang Hirens pictured).
Japadog, a hotdog with Japanese toppings, is a Vancouver street food icon, and is sold from carts around town and a shop in the City Centre.
The harbour of Rio de Janeiro is comprised of a unique entry from the ocean that makes it appear as the mouth of a river.

The B.F. Hastings Building (pictured) in Old Sacramento was once the western end of the Pony Express.
Banda Islands are well-known as The Spice Islands.

Old discoveries