The best places to visit in 2024

National Geographic's list of best places to visit in 2023

National Geographic has released its latest Best of the World list with 25 must-see destinations for 2023 from Alberta, Canada, to Busan, South Korea.

In 2024, China announced plans to establish an international lunar research station

The strategy, which runs until 2050, focuses on advancing space science, fostering technological innovation, and exploring habitable planets and extraterrestrial life, beginning with landing astronauts on the moon before 2030.

Explore plans for smart cities expected to be built by 2050

Locations such as Net City in China, Woven City in Japan, and NEOM in Saudi Arabia are expected to incorporate green energy, AI, and advanced transportation system technologies to enhance air quality, reduce congestion, and minimize pollution by significantly reducing personal car use.

Voyager Station, the world's first space hotel, is planned for 2027

The structure spans 488 meters in diameter and will rotate to simulate one-sixth of Earth's gravity while circumnavigating the planet every 90 minutes. The Voyager Station is designed to accommodate 450 guests and 150 crew members, providing amenities such as restaurants, a sports hall, and a movie theater.

America's most underrated places to visit

The United States is vast, with beautiful and fascinating cultural hubs, landmarks, and natural wonders to fill a lifetime of travel. These landmarks can be well-known and top everyone's bucket list, or they can fly under-the-radar. Here's a list of...

Simulating the moon's surface in the desert

And why is the next cohort headed there? The geological conditions in Flagstaff, Arizona, can easily echo those of the moon, making the area a prime spot to train astronauts. This article explains how scientists crafted these training grounds and why astronomers are drawn to the nearly century-old city.

Explore three of the world's most iconic deserts

Investigate the Gobi Desert in Central Asia, the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan, and the Sahara Desert in Northern Africa as you learn about the wildlife and people that call these places home. Click through images of the Gobi Desert, which—located in...

Billionaires are racing to space to control future markets

Although different companies have described focuses ranging from luxury tourism to Martian space colonies, all are building infrastructure to capitalize on the shift away from government-only control and betting big on reusability and scale. By securing public contracts and subsidies, they aim to develop strategic partnerships toward dominance in low Earth orbit.

A visual guide to Hollywood dystopias and their real-world locations

Even the most dire dystopias are grounded in the real world. That's especially true with dystopian movies, which turn real cities into near-future nightmares. This guide from Atlas Obscura takes readers on a tour through some of the most recognizable, from "Blade Runner" (filmed in Los Angeles) to "Total Recall" (Mexico City, Mexico), "The Matrix" (Sydney, Australia), and more.

Imagining the best places to live on Mars

Because conditions on Mars are pretty extreme for humanity, we tend not to think about living there, since everywhere on Mars feels a bit threatening. This imaginative essay uses current geographical knowledge of Mars to visualize what it would look like if humanity could alter its climate to make it widely habitable, a process known to sci-fi readers as terraforming. Given that transformation, where would the hottest neighborhoods be located?

See the extraordinary and ephemeral installations from Burning Man 2025

Despite having to work in a muddy desert for just a few days, Burning Man attendees manage to create large, abstract, and visually incredible works of art.

The 16th-century astrologer Nostradamus' predictions for 2024

Nostradamus has been credited with predicting several major historical events over the years, but what does he think is in store for 2024? Read up on what his mysterious 1555 book, The Propheties, hints at for the upcoming year.

See who attended Davos 2025

Each year, Davos draws one of the most exclusive guest lists in the world. In 2025, attendees included 60 heads of state, over 900 CEOs and corporate chairs, and top leaders from global civil society, who gathered in the Swiss Alps.

A guide to Cannes, the luxurious city on the French Riviera

Explore everything Cannes has to offer with this travel guide aimed at tourists interested in bucking the typical traps. Includes recommendations for traveling to Sainte-Marguerite, taking in the city's murals, and booking a beach club reservation.

The best restaurant tasting experiences in every state

Looking for the best tasting experiences that are a must-try in your home state or anywhere you may be traveling? Here are your options.

Stellar photos from around the world of the 2020 Perseids

The annual Perseids meteor shower occurs in the Northern Hemisphere's summer, peaking usually around mid-August. The phenomenon is caused by the Earth's passing through a comet's debris trail of ice and dust, providing a weekslong spectacle for...

Forty-nine top-notch photos of springtime around the world

Peruse this collection of stunning images gleaned from thousands submitted in a 2020 "springtime" contest which features close-ups and drone photos from Vietnam to Ireland.

See the major Egyptian monuments in high definition

The massive, hard-to-imagine mammoth structures can be viewed here in 4K, dramatic detail with this stunning video. Visit the Great Pyramids of Giza, the temples at Karnak and Luxor, the Valley of the Kings, and more millennia-old monuments.

Stratospheric balloons: a visual guide

In late January 2023, a Chinese high-altitude balloon, believed to be for surveillance purposes, traversed the US and caused a diplomatic stir. The technology itself is established—though typically used for atmospheric measurements. This visual...

Track all future solar eclipses and their projected paths of totality around the world

Solar eclipses are among the most awe-inspiring natural phenomena a person can witness, occurring when the Earth, Moon, and Sun align. This tool provides an interactive, data-rich visualization of the dramatic world events across time.

'On the return trip home, gazing through 240,000 miles of space toward the stars and the planet from which I had come, I suddenly experienced the universe as intelligent, loving, harmonious..'

-Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell, in "The Way of the Explorer"

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

The Lunar New Year is a major driver in China's economy

The annual festival brings in billions of dollars in both foreign and domestic tourism. The 2026 holiday includes an additional day, something Chinese officials hope will provide an even bigger boost to the country's somewhat stubborn national retail sales.

Imagining the nostalgia we'll feel one day for gas stations

Car drivers everywhere are accustomed to an endless array of gas stations along the road, with their high, flat roofs, convenience stores of varying quality, and bathroom availability. Current trends in electric vehicle development point to such stations' inevitable obsolescence, and one photographer has begun documenting neglected filling stations in transit-oriented Germany. See the images for yourself and begin the journey toward so-called petronostalgia.

Tour the UN building in NYC with architect Michael Wyetzner

The modernist building was meant to stand out among the New York skyline. It’s three primary buildings are distinct and were supported by millions in donations from philanthropists families like the Rockefellers.

In early 2026, Fremont, California, topped the list of happiest cities in the US

WalletHub's annual happiest city rankings are based on 29 key indicators of happiness, including depression rates, income growth, and average daily leisure time.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

Explore the known asteroids, comets, and spacecraft involved in asteroid studies within our solar system with 'Eyes on Asteroids,' a 3D visualization from NASA.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

Track the location of the Voyager probes, currently between 13 and 15 billion miles away from Earth.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

This real-time tracking of the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak in May 2026 offers a unique glimpse into the global reach of the outbreak and whether the virus sickened passengers and their communities around the world.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.