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Chiesa di Santa Croce detta "Dei Morti"
Chiesa di Santa Croce detta "Dei Morti"
Karimov Meets Karimov...in Space
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With its high ceilings, the dining room is pure elegance.
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The Gold Ingot breakfast set boasts a roll shaped like a gold ingot.
Shinhama Ekimae
William Rosenberg built an empire upon his fried-dough foundation.
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An Elvis impersonator officiates a wedding at Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas.
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Candidates for the most dangerous seas in the world include the North Atlantic, the Southern Ocean, especially the Drake Passage, and the waters near the Cape of Good Hope.
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Researchers are rushing to document carvings made by Basque herders, before they're gone.
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The world's first cold-storage banquet was held in the Hotel Sherman, considered at the time to be Chicago's swankiest hotel.
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All United States Texas Houston

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Houston

35 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Houston, Texas

Updated July 1, 2024

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Unusual Attractions in Houston

Houston, Texas

Museum of Health and Medical Science

A health museum containing a 27’’½-foot intestine.

Houston, Texas

Beer Can House

Beer lover's can-covered house.

Houston, Texas

National Museum of Funeral History

Fantastic collection celebrating the final send-off.

Houston, Texas

The Orange Show

One man's homage to the orange as realized through a long-term folk art labor of love.

Houston, Texas

Eclectic Menagerie Park

A private collection of massive steel monsters guarding a Texas pipe works.
Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern

Houston, Texas

Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern

A 90-year-old underground water reservoir offers a more industrial kind of tranquility.
The tunnel of Hermann Park

Houston, Texas

Destination Mound Town (Hermann Park Train Tunnel)

A little bit Wonkatania, a little bit pink elephant.
The abandoned palace in 2008. The two smaller orbs have since been removed.

Houston, Texas

Palace of the Golden Orbs

An unrealized Taoist palace left abandoned in a Houston suburb.
See All 35 Things To Do in Houston

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Houston

It's a hidden gem of one of the busiest streets in Houston.

Houston, Texas

The Hobbit Café

A taste of Middle Earth, in the middle of the Bayou City.
Texas brisket is one of the many local fillings that have infiltrated kolaches.

Houston, Texas

Kolache Shoppe

Originally brought to Texas by Czech settlers, these sweet and savory pastries are an essential local breakfast staple.
This barbecue legend got its start as a roadside stand in 1973.

Houston, Texas

Burns Original BBQ

Look no further than this local institution for the best East Texas–style barbecue.
The C.W. Special comes with a cheese enchilada and taco al carbon, cheese enchilada, plus rice and beans.

Houston, Texas

Molina's Cantina

Houston’s oldest continuously-operating Tex-Mex restaurant has been a community hub since 1941.
See all 10 Places to Eat in Houston
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Atlas Obscura Itineraries

8 Out-There Art Destinations in Texas

Sponsored by Travel Texas

A surplus of space always means a surplus of creative possibility. Texas, with its never-ending skies, wide deserts, and even bigger imaginations, takes this idea to thrilling conclusions. If you’re interested in planning an art-focused road trip, you won’t find a better destination than Texas, where one day you’ll be browsing an obsessive collection of outsider art, and the next day you’ll be walking through a hidden alley covered in umbrellas or beneath a neon skyscape. Here are eight of the most exciting art destinations in the state to inspire your mind and thrill your eyes.

View Itinerary

Explore Houston, Texas

Restaurants 9
Art 6
Architecture 5
Architectural Oddities 4
Diaspora 4

Houston Leaderboard

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Places Visited

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    has been to Beer Can House

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    wants to go to ‘Moonwalker’

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    wants to go to ‘Moonwalker’

Stories About Houston

Burns Original BBQ excels at East Texas–style barbecue.

A Gastro Obscura Guide to Houston

Superb kolaches, Tex-Mex, Viet-Cajun crawfish, and more in Space City.
by Dan Q. Dao
July 1, 2024

Podcast: Buffalo Soldiers National Museum

An institution dedicated to honoring Black American military history got its start in one man's garage.
by The Podcast Team
February 22, 2024

Podcast: Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern

This 90-year-old underground reservoir once held 15 million gallons of drinking water for the people of Houston.
by The Podcast Team
January 24, 2024
After hosting months of events at Rice University, the Houston mudhif will be relocated to a permanent home at the end of the year.

Ordering Off a 5,000-Year-Old Mesopotamian Menu

A community effort brings ancient flavors to modern Texas.
by Andrew Coletti
November 3, 2023
A brisket bento box at Kemuri Tatsu-Ya reconsiders barbecue’s most iconic cut of meat.

In Texas, Barbecue Has Gone Global

Across Texas, chefs and BBQ obsessives are stretching the limits of brisket, smoke, and sauce.
Sponsored by Travel Texas

Podcast: Beer Can House

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team
January 5, 2022
Lucille Bishop Smith, shown here in her kitchen, was especially renowned for her hot rolls.

Sold: A Black Texan Trailblazer's 'Treasure Chest' of Recipes

Lucille Bishop Smith's famous recipe boxes are still sought after.
by Rebecca Rego Barry
June 19, 2020
Someday, succulents might keep spacefarers company.

When We All Move to Space, We'll Have to Be Picky About Houseplants

Which are best suited for a life among the stars?
by Jessica Leigh Hester
April 11, 2019

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