top 25 dark tourism sites

20 Unique Dark Tourism Sites Around The World

Disclosure: Advertising and affiliate services, including Amazon Associates, help the cost of running my blog. Clicking ads or making purchases through affiliate links may, at no additional cost to you, earn me a small commission. I appreciate your support .

One of the most unique tourism trends in recent years might have to be the fascination with so-called dark tourism sites. There’s always been a curiosity when it comes to places that might have a historic connection with tragic events. But while there are many reasons for people wanting to visit such sites, dark tourism is not a bad thing.

You might argue that visiting these dark tourism sites is a way of preserving the past. Or making sure the same horrific things don’t happen again . And while you might get some mixed reactions from people about your travel plans, they are fascinating places. And I believe they are places that the world should know about.

Disclaimer: The following article has travel suggestions in both Russia and Ukraine, however was written before the current events unfolded. I have chosen to leave them in this article in the spirit of the original topic covered here, however I am in no way recommending visiting either Russia or Ukraine at this time . Please check current travel conditions for any country you plan on visiting and travel safely.

What is Dark Tourism?

Dark tourism sites are places which we can associate with death, destruction or some kind of disaster. While some might see them as morbid, you’d be surprised at how many places you’ve visited with such connotations. For example, have you ever been to the Tower of London? Full of torture chambers and stories of gruesome events. What about the Colosseum in Rome? The deadly gladiator events here were some of the most bloody spectator sports in history.

We think of them as historical sites in a way we don’t think of some of the following places in the same way. Is it because that was so long ago? Does the length of time before we start exploring these sites really make a difference in how our visiting them should be perceived?

How should I behave at dark tourism sites?

Societal rules about museums are ingrained in us from an early age. But a lot of people worry about what to do while visiting somewhere with such a dark past. How do you behave? What if you do the wrong thing?

Respect is key . Remember that these sites, while open for you to enjoy, learn and experience, are the sites of some pretty bad and horrific things . Be aware of those around you as you never know if they might have a connection to where you are.

While it’s unfair to say you shouldn’t talk or show enthusiasm, use common sense and read the room . A concentration camp is nowhere to be giggling with your friends, a memorial park is not somewhere to be shouting…you get the idea.

Unique Dark Tourism Sites To Visit

Whether you’re a big history buff or just curious in anything a little macabre, these are some dark tourism sites around the world you likely don’t want to miss. From recent tragic events to centuries-old historical happenings, you can’t deny how incredibly interesting these places are.

Alcatraz Prison – San Francisco, USA

Possibly one of the most eerie and fascinating dark tourism sites you will ever visit is Alcatraz . A prison so notorious that it still receives millions of visitors a year. Located on an island in San Francisco ‘s bay area, you now get to experience seeing it from the inside like a prisoner. So close to land but so far away.

The only way to reach Alcatraz island is by a pre-booked boat tour . The tour is popular and often sells out months in advance. There are no food or drinks allowed except at the boat dock area, so plan your day accordingly. You also have a steep walk to the prison at the top of the hill, but there are motorized vehicle transfers for those with mobility issues.

Explore the prison and the grounds with an impeccably narrated audio tour by former guards and inmates. You’ll be led through cells, the recreation areas, the kitchen and more. Learn about the riots, the escapes and the deaths that happened here, and the most famous prisoners to ever call Alcatraz home.

Gravensteen Castle – Ghent, Belgium

Contributed by Cecilie from Worldwide Walkers

Gravensteen Castle in Ghent  is a classic example of dark tourism sites in Europe. The castle was built back in 1180 and housed the Count of Flanders for many centuries until it became a court, a prison, and even a cotton factory.

It’s the dark horror stories of torture that really attract visitors to Gravensteen castle. While visiting, you’ll walk through torture rooms and see all the different tools used to punish criminals back in the Middle Ages.

Many people have died within the castle walls in the most horrific ways, which creates a dark haunted feeling to the place. It’s this uncomfortable feeling that leaves you both intrigued and distressed after your visit.

While it might sound very disturbing, the free audio guide does a wonderful job carrying out all the stories in an interesting way with respect to history. It’s a great place to learn about the history of Belgium’s city Ghent . You can even get one of the greatest city views from the castle roof.

Silver Mines – Potosi, Bolivia

Contributed by Deb from The Visa Project

While there are many landmarks to see in Potosi , a unique attraction is to visit one of these working mines. A guided tour let’s you witness the working conditions of the miners.

If you  live in Bolivia , you would come across many extreme tourist offerings but this one would probably be one of the darkest. The  Cerro Rico  mountains silver mines made Potosi a major economic center of the Spanish empire back in the colonial times.

Mining is more or less still done in 18th century style – using old tools, hand and dynamite. No modern safety equipment or protocols. Although you would be introduced to  El Diablo,  the mountain’s devil-god to who the miners offer cigarettes, liquor as well as blood of an animal slaughtered on the spot for their protection. Child labor is pretty common and you can buy dynamite in the local market!

You will be advised to chew on coca leaves to help with breathlessness if taking a tour through the mines . The miners work in really harsh and dangerous conditions and many get lung diseases afterwards. If you visit, definitely leave a generous tip for the miners.

Port Arthur Penal Colony – Tasmania, Australia

Contributed by Mark from Wyld Family Travel

Port Arthur lies at the bottom of the world in southern Tasmania Australia . Port Arthur was a British penal colony set up in Australia, designed to break prisoners both mentally and physically. To be sent here from England was being sent as far away from your home as possible.

The youngest prisoner was 11 years old and around 70,000 prisoners called Port Arthur home. Prisoners at Port Arthur endured harsh working gangs that built much of Tasmania. The Asylum at the site pays testament to the mental torture these convicts were put through with many slowly losing their minds. Prisoners were regularly flogged to break them into submission.

Port Arthur prison was opened 20 years from 1833-1853 and 7,000 convicts died there. In modern times Port Arthur is also the location for the largest mass shooting in Australian history. This was the catalyst for the strict gun rules Australia lives by now. 

Port Arthur  is today one of the most interesting places to visit when in Tasmania. The prison site has been preserved with original building and tours explaining the history of the location.

Museum of the Occupation of Latvia – Riga, Latvia

As a former Soviet occupied country, Latvia still has many historic sites linked to the KGB. One of the most interesting activities you can do in Riga is visit the Corner House. This was the old headquarters of the Soviet KGB in Latvia.

True KGB style, if you didn’t know this museum existed you might not be able to find it. A inconspicuous doorway leads into a building straight out of the 50s. Here you can find out about the KGB in the city at that time.

The museum is free or you can pay 10 EUR for a guided tour. The tour might be worth it to see parts of the museum you wouldn’t otherwise get to. Walk through the rooms where the KGB worked and to areas of the building where the prisoners would have been taken.

The storyboards depict historical stories of the KGB in Riga, Latvia , and the “criminals” they arrested, tortured and killed here. This is really one of the most unique dark tourism sites in the Baltic states.

Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Park – India

Contributed by Neha from Travelmelodies

Etched in the history of India as a dark moment, is the incident of Jallianwala Bagh. Located in the holy city of Amritsar in Punjab, it remains one of the most popular  places to visit in Amritsar . Jallianwala Bagh is a memorial park in the honor the people that were wounded and lost lives on the fateful day of 13 April, 1919.

Back in 1919, India was under the rule of British and the people of India were protesting for Independence. Over a thousand people had gathered in the Jallianwala park on the festive day of Baisakhi to silently protest the arrest of few national leaders. But General Dyer opened fire unannounced on these people killing and injuring many.

The Jallianwala Bagh now houses a museum with pictures and documents related to the event and some memorial structures in honor of the martyrs.  There is a ‘Martyrs Well’ in which some people jumped to save themselves from the bullets. There’s even a wall with bullet markings on it. 

Every evening there is a light and sound show that throws light on the unfolding of the event. It is a must visit place and is located next to the Golden temple.

Gori, Georgia

Contributed by Emily from Wander-Lush

The small city of Gori,Georgia has a rather dark claim to fame. It’s the birthplace of Ioseb Jughashvili, better known as former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

An  easy day trip from Tbilisi , Gori has become one of the most-visited places in Georgia because of its Stalin connection. The main attraction is the Stalin State Museum, a grandiose sandstone building in the center of the city.

In the yard is one of few remaining Stalin statues still standing in Georgia today. Also the small wooden house where Stalin was born in 1878, and the armored railway carriage he used to travel around the USSR.

The museum opened in 1957 and exhibits remain much the same – that is to say, very Soviet-style. It has a very selective curatorial approach with most artefacts relating to Stalin’s early years and some pretty glaring gaps. With limited information in English it’s recommended to take the guided tour for a few extra dollars.

Visiting the museum is a totally bizarre experience, but it gives an interesting insight into how Stalin’s memory is treated in Georgia today. Some people in Gori (and elsewhere in Georgia) still venerate the dictator, but the younger generations less so.

There are plenty of things to do in Gori that have nothing to do with Stalin. The magnificent Gori Castle, the old town, and the hilltop Gori Jvari church. It’s these attractions that most residents would prefer you remember Gori for.

Tham Piew Cave – Laos

Contributed by Marie from A Life Without Borders

Laos holds the unfortunate title of the most heavily bombed country on Earth. It bore the brunt of clandestine bombing campaigns waged by the USA on Laos during the 1960s and 1970s. Phonsavan  in the province of Xieng Khouang, was particularly decimated. In fact, unexploded ordnance still affects local communities to this day.

Many visitors to the region enjoy Phonsavan’s major tourist sights such as the UNESCO site Plain of Jars. But few venture off the beaten track to discover the site of one of the worst days in Lao history.

On 24 November 1968, just one single missile fired from a US fighter plane killing 374 innocent villagers taking refuge in Tham Piew Cave. Just 60 kilometers from Phonsavan city, the cave is a somber and emotional place to visit. But it is important in the turbulent history of Laos, even if little known throughout the rest of the world.

The site’s information center holds extremely confronting photographs of the immediate aftermath of that fateful day, together with the history of the Secret War in Laos. A moving statue of a man carrying a lifeless child marks the entrance to the memorial park. Walk through a peaceful forest to the mouth of the charred cave. Here visitors can leave offerings of incense at the small shrine for those who perished within.

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Ukraine

Contributed by Kami from My Wanderlust

The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is a well-known place all over the world. On April 26th, 1986 the biggest nuclear disaster in the world took place here, changing people’s lives forever. As a result of the catastrophe, the whole area around the power plant became a closed zone. Inhabitants of numerous towns and villages had to move away.

Today you can visit the Exclusion Zone but you need to do it with an official  Chernobyl tour . There are plenty of them departing from Kyiv daily and you can choose between day trips and multiday tours. Now, all these years after the disaster the area is safe to visit and the radiation is low.

During your trip, you will see numerous places in the zone, including the power plant itself. But the biggest highlight is the abandoned town of Pripyat. When the disaster happened it was one of the most modern cities in the former USSR, but now nature has taken over the place.

Keep in mind that even if the Chernobyl zone is a very touristy and popular place, it is also a place of great tragedy. Make sure to visit the place with respect and follow your guide’s instructions. Still, this is a fascinating place to visit and everyone visiting Ukraine should include a Chernobyl tour in their itinerary .

Catacombs – Paris, France

Contributed by Debbie from World Adventurists

Even the City of Light and Love has a dark history. One of the most fascinating places to visit is the  Catacombs of Paris . The Catacombs have a sad history, full of bones of the unknown. In the 17th century, Paris cemeteries were overflowing so badly that there was no longer space to properly bury their dead. Overflowing graves led to the solution of using the underground tunnels to house the bones.

Approximately six million people have been laid to rest underground. Today the bones are neatly stacked, including some designs made from the bones. At some points there are femurs arranged from the floor almost to the ceiling, with rows of skulls in between, or formed into shapes like a cross.

Visiting the Catacombs, it will make you really wonder what their lives were like back then, who they were, and the cause of each death. It is very humbling.

The Catacombs of Paris are extremely popular. It is more expensive, but to skip the line, you will want to buy your ticket in advance . It can also get chilly down there, so bring a light sweater with you. Allow for at least an hour and a half to wander the Catacombs once you are inside.

Lenin Mausoleum – Moscow, Russia

Contributed by De Wet & Jin, Museum of Wander

In the center of the Red Square in Moscow is a somewhat inconspicuous structure which reminds somewhat of a pyramid. But the long line of Russians and tourists is a giveaway that it is one of the most popular  things to do in Moscow .

Inside this step pyramid is where the embalmed body of Vladimir Lenin is on display. Everyone is welcome to visit and pay their respects, or simply come and look at the former Soviet leader for bragging rights.

Visitors to Lenin’s Mausoleum visitors are first searched by military personnel, and bags (and cameras) have to be deposited. There are also a few strictly enforced rules while inside the mausoleum: no talking, hands out of your pockets, no hats and the line must keep moving at all times. Disobey, and a Russian soldier will reprimand you.

The atmosphere as well as the temperature inside the mausoleum is chilling. The line moves quite slowly, so you’ll get a good look at Lenin’s body, which has been on display here for almost a hundred years.

The mausoleum is free to enter and open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 10:00–13:00. Behind the mausoleum is the gravesite of former Soviet ruler, Joseph Stalin, another interesting place to see.

Tianenmen Square – Beijing, China

Dark tourism sites don’t come more secretive than that of one of the world’s biggest massacres in recent history. Tianenmen Square, the public square in China’s capital, Beijing . While most visitors to China will have heard of the Tianenmen Square Massacre, the event is so censored within China that many people don’t know the full extent of it.

In 1989 students led a 6 week long protest after the death of a pro-reform official from the Communist Party of China. The fear was that the country would fall into economic decline and that the corruption in place would become worse. As the protests continued the military were brought in and things quickly got out of hand.

There are varying reports of anywhere from 300-3000 deaths of the tens of thousands of people who protested. While the square is peaceful now, there is always a high security presence as well as airport-style check points.

The square is used for many important national celebrations and Chairman Mao Zedong announced the founding of the People’s Republic of China here in 1949. His embalmed body is now on display in a mausoleum there.

Other than that there’s not a lot happening in the square now. However, the Imperial Palace (also known as the Forbidden City) is across from Tianenmen and is an impressive place to visit.

Bodie ghost town, California USA

Contributed by Olivia from Girl With Blue Sails

Bodie State Historic Park, once a booming California gold town, is now a notorious ghost town. It sits in a memorialized state of “arrested decay” with dilapidated buildings preserved in their state of abandonment from the late 1800’s. Walking down the dusty, dirt roads of Bodie invokes a bit of a dark appreciation and wonder about what happened to the people that lived here. 

Visitors can walk through the main streets of the town, seeing the various houses, stores, and saloons. Canned goods still on store shelves, original newspapers in the buildings, and old wooden pews still in the church. There are old forgotten cars in the grass, rusting and being overgrown by nature.  

Bodie is most popular with history buffs, photographers, and those who love to visit dark tourism sites. Plan your trip to Bodie in the morning to avoid the peak desert heat. While walking through Bodie can be a grim experience, it also provides a unique and realistic glimpse of 1800s California mining life.  

Choeung Ek Killing Fields – Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Contributed by Tasha Amy from Backpackers Wanderlust

The Killing Fields, also known as Choeung Ek Geocidal Centre, is located just a short 17 kilometer journey from Phnom Penh city center . This closeness is important considering the horrible events which occurred here between 1975 and 1979.

During this period, Cambodia was run by the Khmer Rouge Regime communist party who arrested and executed anyone they saw as a threat. This included people with education, opposing beliefs, or anyone who stood up for what was right.

Quite a few foreigners even got executed after accidentally stumbling upon Cambodia during this period. Children were trained as soldiers and those who were disobedient were killed. For a greater understanding of life under the direction of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot watch the film First They Killed My Father .

The Killing Fields outside of Phnom Penh is just one of many locations across the country. Though this one is the most known due to the fact of the horrible acts performed here.

You can book a tour or visit by tuk tuk. The tuk tuk ride for the day should cost you around $12.00. Once at the Killing Fields make sure you hire the audio guide for the stories of those who lived through these events.

Nazi Rally Grounds – Nuremberg, Germany

Contributed by LeAnna from Wander In Germany

It’s no secret that Germany is riddled with a dark, difficult, and oppressing past.  However, decades after WWII, the country does a phenomenal job of walking the fine line between erasing the atrocities and showing respect as well as raising awareness of exactly just what happened. 

One such place is the unfinished Nazi Rally Grounds in  Nuremberg . These huge grounds were Hitler’s vision for an enormous epi-center and headquarters for the Third Reich. 

Walking around the lake at the site, it’s almost easy to not realize exactly what you are standing on. However, on the grounds is the Nazi Dokumentation Zentrum. Here you can see all the blueprints and plans for the grand scheme Hitler envisioned. It makes walking the grounds that much more realistic. 

The museum does an exceptional job of showing exactly how a man with such polarizing, disgusting, racist views could enchant not only an entire nation, but take over much of Europe.  

While in Germany, doing any sort of Nazi salute or tribute in public is illegal.  Therefore, this site is not flocked to by Neo Nazis, but instead is seen as a place of learning from the past. 

Guanajuato Mummy Museum – Mexico

Contributed by Shelley from Travel Mexico Solo

The Museo de las Momias (Museum of the Mummies) is one of the most popular places to visit, and  best things to do in Guanajuato City, Mexico . 

One of the most famous of Mexico’s dark tourism sites has about 100 mummified human bodies on display, in both glass cases and in the open. Most of the bodies are from older adults, but the museum also claims to have the “world’s smallest mummy” of an approximately nine-month-old child.

While not for everyone, it is the most visited place in Guanajuato City . When visiting, you’ll notice Mexican families with children of all ages. In Mexico, death is a much less taboo subject than in other countries — evidenced by annual festivals like Día de Muretos (Day of the Dead).

The story of the mummies is as fascinating (and bizarre) as seeing them in person. Between 1865-1958, Guanajuato’s government decided to start collecting a “grave tax” on buried bodies. If left unpaid by the living relatives for three years, the body was exhumed.

Located in arid Central Mexico, Guanajuato has extremely dry soil and the bodies came out of the ground incredibly well preserved. When the government ended the grave tax in 1958, they had so many mummified bodies that they created this museum.

House of Terror – Budapest, Hungary

Contributed by Marco from Nomadic Fire

Budapest is popular with both tourists and expats for stunning architecture, gorgeous scenery along the Danube river, and affordable cost of living . The city is also home to the infamous museum: the House of Terror.

This museum juxtaposes two of the cruelest regimes of the 20th century: Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. Fittingly located in a building that was once the headquarters of both the Nazi and Communist secret police, the museum is an important reminder of both the crimes perpetrated by those regimes and their victims’ courage and resistance. 

Stepping into the House of Terror transports visitors back to a terrifying time in Europe’s history. The museum’s artifacts include personal items confiscated by the secret police. It also tells stories such as a family’s desperate attempt to hide a young boy and baby girl from the Nazis during the Holocaust. Although now a museum, many rooms remain exactly as they were when the headquarters were operational. This includes prison cells, rooms filled with torture devices, and a guillotine scale model.

You can spend anywhere from 45 minutes to a few hours wandering around this well-curated museum. Through exhibits of movie posters, photos, and re-created scenes.

9/11 Memorial and Museum – New York City, USA

One of the most emotional activities on a trip to New York is visiting the 9/11 museum. Built below the original location of the Twin Towers, the World Trade Center site of the 2001 disaster. Entering the museum from the street level, you descend past the twisted metal remains of the massive steel beams that once held the tower up.

The museum is a somber place which stirs up a lot of raw feelings from anyone who visits. It guides you on a journey from the history of the WTC towers to a timeline of the events of that morning.

With witness testimonials, photographs and messages left by those who didn’t make it, the museum is very hard to experience. But the exhibits also talk about what has happened since, what they have learned and why this site is so important. Outdoors, the footprints of the original towers have now been turned into two giant pools. The name of every single victim is engraved around them.

Did you know that white roses are placed at the name of any victim whose birthday it would have been that day? As dark tourism sites go, this one is especially somber given how recently the event took place. But it’s well worth a visit if you’re in New York .

Imperial Crypt – Vienna, Austria

Contributed by Martina & Jürgen from PlacesofJuma

A really cool spot and interesting dark tourism site not to be missed on any visit to Vienna is the Imperial Crypt. It is a real insider tip among  Vienna’s best attractions  and a visit is an eerie experience.

The Imperial Crypt is the final resting place of many of the most famous Habsburgs from Europe. Hidden under the Capuchin Church, it can be visited on a guided tour daily from 10:00 to 18:00.

The crypt is the final resting place of 150 members of the Habsburgs. Among the most famous are Emperor Franz Joseph I, Empress Sisi and Crown Prince Rudolf and Maria Theresa. Walking through the ten dark rooms of the imperial crypt, you travel through a 400-year-long stylistic epoch. You’ll see richly decorated coffins are sometimes even adorned with skulls.

The Habsburgs were preoccupied with their death and therefore had the sarcophagus made according to their wishes. Why not take a tour where you will get lots of information about the funeral rituals?

Auschwitz Concentration Camp – Poland

Contributed by Sean from LivingOutLau

Auschwitz is arguably one of the most tragic sites in the entire world. It was the largest of many German Nazi concentration camp and extermination center in World War II. Over 1.1 million men, women, and children, mostly Jews, lost their lives here. The collective genocide of WWII, known as the Holocaust, is one of the most horrific events in human history.

The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum is now a site where visitors can learn more about how the events unfolded, living conditions, defenses that were set up to prevent the captives from escaping and more.

Auschwitz is more than just a popular attraction in Poland; it is a place where visitors can understand human nature. Auschwitz is the standing testimony of the terror that humans can do to each other. It warns out what happens when an ethnic group is dehumanized. A visit to Auschwitz is solemn and eye-opening.

The best way to visit Auschwitz is to take a tour from Krakow , the nearest touristy city from Auschwitz. As part of your Krakow itinerary , don’t forget to book your tour as early as possible. There are multiple languages you can choose to have the tour in and the English-speaking tours are always the first ones to run out!

Visiting popular dark tourism sites

There’s no denying that visiting many of these dark tourism sites around the world is uncomfortable. The atrocities that happened there or the stories they tell are often unfathomable. But dark tourism sites are just as important as any museum or regular attraction.

Whether or not you want to visit any (or all) of the sites on this post, you have to agree that they are truly fascinating. As long as you have good reasons for wanting to visit, and a respectful attitude towards them you will be welcomed.

If you’ve enjoyed reading this post leave a comment or share using the social media buttons below. Which of these dark tourism sites are you most interested in visiting to learn more about?

Share this:

• Share on Tumblr

37 thoughts on “20 Unique Dark Tourism Sites Around The World”

I really appreciate this post and how you emphasized that respect is key. I so agree! I think visiting these places can be very powerful and very educational. I’ve visited four on this list, as well as a few others not mentioned, and am so grateful for those experiences to learn more and witness humanity’s dark history.

Absolutely love the unique concept of this post. I especially appreciated how you included the section on mindfulness and respect. Hope to pay many of these places a visit.

this was a great post… and while these sites aren’t for everyone, i think it’s important to connect with ‘dark’ parts of the past, so we don’t repeat those same mistakes.

It is very rare to come across such posts. I absolutely loved the concept. Keep up the awesome work.

This is such an interesting guide! I have been to a few of these places and I’ve also visited some older prisons around the world that have a dark past to them. I definitely have to visit some of these in the future. Especially the ones in Europe!

This is one of the most unique posts I’ve seen in a while! I honestly haven’t been to most of the places on this list, but I’m bookmarking it for later.

I have visited a number if these sites but never heard of the them, ‘dark tourism’ before. I can understand how the term has come about. I always leave these sites very reflective. There’s no denying they have an enormous impact on me. I have pinned the post because, in my opinion, ‘dark tourisn’ is an important aspect of world travel.

I have been to a few of them and wrote about the profound realizations I went through. Thanks for sharing a thought-provoking post.

I love how you mentioned the importance of respect when visiting these places. These places really make you think! It’s important to not forget the ‘dark’ parts of history so it doesn’t happen again.

I definitely find places that would class as ‘dark tourism’ interesting. Although to be fair, we very rarely remember the ‘good’ and ‘peaceful parts of history so I think most places could be considered ‘dark’ in one way or another! I’ve only visited Alcatraz from the places on this list but it was definitely a fascinating place and I’d love to go back. I’d like to visit the catacombs in Paris too. There’s also a lot on this list that I haven’t heard of before but I’d definitely love to check them out. Thanks for the great guide!

This list is very important given the history of these places! It’s also interesting to note the different feelings at each of them. I haven’t been to every single one, but Auschwitz, Alcatraz, 9/11, the House of Terror, Catacombs, and Gravensteen Castle (wow, I didn’t realize how many I had been to) but all of them were so uniquely dark. I think Auschwitz was my most striking and moving, though.

This is such an interesting post. It’s so heartbreaking to read through some of the dark things that have happened around the world. I believe it’s important that we visit these places to pay our respects and remember the people whose lives were drastically impacted by these places. I appreciated how you emphasized the importance of showing respect at these places. Thank you for sharing this post!

You can learn so much at these dark tourism sites. The 911 memorial has moved me to tears. I’m not sure I could visit the mummy museum.

I’ve been to Alcatraz and the Catacombs, but it was interesting to discover some new ideas from this list. And yes, mindfulness and respect are so important, particularly for several entries on the list.

As a historian I’m interested in visiting these sites, although we’ve skipped them the last years, since we found our son to young for them. I’ve been to 2 of the sites mentioned.

What a great list of dark tourism places to visit! I’ve been to many of these such as Alcatraz, Bodie, Ghent and 9/11 memorial. I’d love to visit Chernobyl and the catacombs in Paris.

What an interesting article and list of places to visit. I’ve visited a few on this list and I agree with you, visiting these places can be very educational, but we need to be respectful.

What a great post. Yes, I have been to a few of these dark tourist sites and am now adding a few more to my bucket list.

What an utterly informative and sobering post. I visited the Killing Fields in Cambodia back in 2013 but today still hold it so close to my heart.

Lenin’s Mausoleum was a surreal experience to say the least. No stopping, no taking photos, only getting a quick glance at Lenin before being ushered out. Auschwitz was another one that was really eye opening for me and a unique although sad experience.

What a fascinating post! I have never visited any of those sites other than the World Trade Center site in NYC. I would be interested in seeing several of them. sites like that are so educational and bring history to the forefront.

Thank you for this important post. I think sites of dark tourism are important for exposing atrocities of the past for many reasons. They allow us to pay tribute to those who have suffered, but more importantly, hopefully they instil in visitors the importance of playing a role in ensuring that history isn’t repeated.

I’m not sure that ‘penal tourism’ (sites such as Alcatraz and Eastern State Penitentiary) need to be included in the category of ‘dark tourism.’ My visits to S-21 and Cheoung Ek in Cambodia can’t be equated to the failings of a penal system. My visits to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, Dachau in Germany, or Auschwitz in Poland can’t be compared to Alcatraz.

‘Dark tourism’ and ‘penal tourism’ are important, but… separate.

Thank you for bringing attention to this issue.

that’s a fair point, and I’m in no way comparing one of these places to another, but understand that many people also have different levels of comfort in where they might want to visit so wanted to include a wide range of places. There are certain sites (like the ones you mentioned) that are always going to be the worst of the worst with regards to history. Thanks for reading

Very cool article! Haven’t seen many like this one. I’m actually in Tasmania right now!!

I have not done a lot of tourist type things alone, but one was Alcatraz. Fascinating experience walking that prison by myself and the audio tour.

I love this! I really want to try dark tourism after I saw “Dark Tourist” on Netflix! I totally agree with you, visiting these sites is very educational and an eye opener. And yes, respect is the key. It applies to everywhere we go! I will definitely save this for my future travels! 🙂

This is an interesting list. We’ve visited some already – like the catacombs in Paris. And some – like Tschernobyl are on our bucketlist!

Great compilation! There are so many places to go for dark tourism. And I know I can’t brave to most of them. I guess I can do it with museums. Opss how I missed the Crypt museum in Vienna!

What an interesting and informative article. I’ve been to a few of these sites, as well as a few more that didn’t make your list. I think that travelling is learning- and it’s important to visit places such as these to honour, respect and learn from our past.

In a way, I am really into some aspects of dark tourism, I love things that are creepy or have a ghost story behind it. I did find a few spots on this list that interest me such as the castle in Belgium. Looks beautiful and with an interesting story!

Dark tourism is no doubt not everyone’s cuppa tea. Travel ushers understanding and these sites may serve as monuments that will remind humanity about life itself and not taking the same dark path twice.

Great post Emma, I love visiting places like these (or, in some cases, “love” would definitely not be the appropriate word, but I think they’re important to visit). The hardest place I’ve ever visited is the Killing Fields in Cambodia. Horrendous. The genocide museum in Sarajevo in Bosnia was hard-hitting too. I’d be really interested to visit that KGB museum in Latvia!

Very good topic and original. i agree in most of the places listed, indeed most of them are scenario of some of the darkest moments of humanitty. I have only one thing that I don’t understand by you choose to put Lenin Mausoleum? Independently of the personal believes of rach one, Lenin led the biggest and most sucessul revolution in history . Poeple can like it more or less but I don’t how his resting place is part of dark tourist places….If would be Stalin inside ok, but this one i don’t get it. Great work overall, I am argentinian and I really appreciate that you brought-up the story of Potosi…. Well done! Looking forward for your next post!

Thanks for reading. For this one it’s also more about the fact that you can visit the body of Lenin and that it is on display as dark tourism is focused around often morbid places. There are a few countries that have former leaders on display – Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam, Chairman Mao in China – and I think the idea of visiting one of these places to see an embalmed body on display is a little dark in itself

Got your point! You know that is the same guy who embalmed Lenin and Ho Chi Minh? 😁

Great post! Especially seeing these are all easily accessible, no trespassing required. I have only been to a few, but I really recommend the Nuremberg Ralley Ground and the adjacent museum. Few people visit, and it is quite eerie. Also, the 1936 Olympic Village in Berlin which is similar architecture to Nuremberg rallye grounds, it was really abandoned a few years ago, I think more touristic now.

Have definitely been to a few dark tourist sites but Chernobyl has been on my list for ages now!

One of the most eye opening museums was the Anne Frank in Amsterdam but definitely want to keep visiting some new ones.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

17 Must-Visit Dark Tourism Destinations Around the World

Dark Tourism destinations were once the remit of a select group of travellers. However, after the launch of popular Netflix show Dark Tourist, these attractions have hit the mainstream. 

If you’re interested in the morbid and the macabre, look no further. After making several visits to dark history sites myself, I’ve teamed up with other travellers to bring you this list of dark tourism destinations all around the world. 

Read more: (opens in new tab)

• What is Dark Tourism?
• Are Bolivia’s Mine Tours Ethical?
• Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Photographic Guide

17 Must-Visit Dark Tourism Destinations

1. chernobyl exclusion zone – kyiv, ukraine.

The abandoned amusement park in Pripyat is one of dark tourism’s crowning images. The haunting stills of the fairground that never heard the laughs of children hang in modern consciousness, a symbol of tragic loss and a warning of the mistakes men can make. 

In 1986, the nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl power plant exploded, causing the worst nuclear accident in the world’s history. The effects were huge; people were forced to evacuate their homes and the surrounding areas became a hotbed of radiation. It was predicted that never again in our lifetime, would Chernobyl be inhabited by anything living. 

Surprisingly, the Chernobyl exclusion zone has recovered quicker than was ever predicted. Although there are still risks with spending long periods in the exclusion zone, wild animals have returned and are thriving. Despite its recovery, Chernobyl acts as a very sobering reminder of the damage humanity can do without intention.

2. Sucre Cemetery – Sucre, Bolivia

Sucre Cemetery is an unlikely attraction in Bolivia’s capital. Regularly appearing on tourist maps, it is a peaceful place which attracts visitors who come to see how the Bolivians handle death and all that comes after. 

Also frequently visited by locals, this cemetery is a surprisingly popular spot for catching up with friends, studying and paying homage to the dearly departed. 

Unlike other cemeteries I’d visited, these graves were arranged in a block system above ground. The vast majority of these were carefully maintained and were regularly stocked with gifts for departed loved ones. Small bottles of spirits were a common appearance, alongside slices of cake!

In Bolivia, death is accepted as an inevitability of life. While graveyards ultimately provide a space for burial, they hold a far more important symbolic role in Bolivian culture. Although death is traditionally seen as a dividing force, Sucre Cemetery demonstrates that death can continue to unite us all, long after somebody is gone. 

3. The Poison Garden – Alnwick, England

Home to around 100 toxic and narcotic plants, the Poison Garden is undoubtedly one of the best things to do in Alnwick . This small but deadly garden is home to some of the world’s most dangerous plants and visitors are only allowed to enter on a guided tour. 

Deadly nightshade, cannabis and coca (the plant from which cocaine is derived) are a few examples of the plants housed in the Poison Garden. Visitors are prohibited from touching any of the greenery and there have even been cases of people passing out after smelling the plants!

The tour guides at the Poison Garden are great at explaining the real-life application of the plants using case studies such as Harold Shipman (Doctor Death) and Graham Young (The Teacup Poisoner). The garden also runs tours for local school children, educating them about drug use. 

4. Paneriai Massacre Site – Vilnius, Lithuania

Paneriai is one of Vilnius’ many neighbourhoods. However, it will be forever remembered as the Ponary massacre site. The Einsatzgruppen (Nazi death squads) rounded up groups of Jews from the Vilna Ghetto, took them to Paneriai, executed them and forced other Jewish prisoners to dig mass graves and bury them.

There are six burial sites within the complex, each the site of multiple mass executions. Because so many sets of bodies are stacked on each other, it is impossible to know the exact number of deaths. It is estimated to be around 100,000.

Those brought to Paneriai were burned to death in an attempt to destroy evidence. They were then shovelled into the pits, which today are marked by memorials. Like many of the massacre sites in the Baltics, Paneriai is a forested area. This makes walking around a surreal experience as it is quiet, peaceful and beautiful, a stark contrast to the memorials reminding you that thousands of people were slaughtered there.

Contributed by Cultura Obscura . Follow them on Facebook !

5. St. Nicholas’ Church – Hamburg, Germany

In July 1943, Hamburg was the target of an allied aerial World War Two bombing. The tall spire of St. Nicholas’ Church was used as an orientation marker and the building was almost completely destroyed. All that remained were some external walls, the crypt and most of the tower.

Today, St. Nicholas’ Church stands as a memorial to the victims of WWII. The memorial exhibits in the crypt provide many details of the events leading up to Operation Gomorrah , the air war over Europe. Beautiful sculptures sit inside, illustrating the futility of war and its disastrous consequences. A 51-bell carillon has been installed in the tower and sounds every Thursday at noon.

We visited the church on a walking tour of Hamburg and the experience still haunts me. The vast majority of people in Hamburg during Operation Gomorrah would have been perfectly ordinary citizens going about their daily lives – people just like me.

Contributed by Lesley of Freedom 56 Travel . Follow her on Twitter !

6. Comuna 13 – Medellin, Colombia

Medellin was once the most dangerous city in the world. When infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar controlled the city, crime was extremely high and the locals lived in fear. The neighbourhood of Comuna 13 had direct access to the main highway, making the exportation of drugs, weapons and other illegal goods extremely easy. 

Drug cartels fought over control of the area and as a result, Comuna 13 was a very dangerous place. It was not uncommon to hear gunshots throughout the day and even to see dead bodies piled on the street. With that in mind, it might come as a surprise that Comuna 13 is now one of the most visited neighbourhoods in Medellin. 

Over recent years, a tremendous amount of money has been invested in Comuna 13. A cable car system was installed to link it to the city centre. The resulting increase in tourism has sparked real change for the locals and the neighbourhood has become one of the country’s leading creative hubs.

Contributed by LivingOutLau . Follow him on Instagram ! 

7. Gulag Labour Camps – Karaganda, Kazakhstan

My trip to Kazakhstan left a deep impression on me. While I had heard about the so-called gulags, I did not know that most of them were in Kazakhstan. Stalin deported whole ethnic groups to the remotest corners of the country. This is how during WWII, the Volga Germans ended up in Karaganda .

Stalin wanted to develop the farms and coal mines in Karaganda and set up a network of labour camps to support these projects. Political prisoners and deportees provided the free labour that was necessary.

Even though not much of the labour camps remain, Karaganda is the perfect example of a dark tourist site. There is an excellent Gulag Museum in the former headquarters of the labour camp in Dolinka.

Also nearby, the Ecological Museum covers other dark parts of Soviet history. The museum has an exhibition on the nuclear tests done in Kazakhstan and the debris that falls from the sky from the space program in Baikonur.

Contributed by Ellis of Backpack Adventures. Follow her on Instagram ! 

8. The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius – Pompeii, Italy

Pompeii was a thriving coastal city in Italy that was completely destroyed in 79AD when the neighbouring Mount Vesuvius erupted and covered the city in ash. It is a prime example of what is termed disaster tourism, where tourists visit a location where an environmental disaster has occurred. 

What makes the eruption of Mount Vesuvius more tragic was that the majority of people who died were slaves, who either had no means of escaping or were trapped. When archaeologists began excavating the site, they found several bodies. The ash preserved these bodies which allowed historians to create the human casts we see on site today. 

Seeing these casts in crouching positions while covering their faces, gave me shivers. To get a greater understanding of the site and everything inside of it, I highly suggest finding a good tour guide. This photographic travel guide to Pompeii gives lots more tips for planning a visit. 

Contributed by Natasha of And Then I Met Yoko. Follow Natasha on Instagram !

9. Mary King’s Close – Edinburgh, United Kingdom  

Below the Royal Mile in Edinburgh hides an underground street paved with dark history. Mary King’s Close was alive with residents when the bubonic plague seized the country in 1645. The grievous epidemic turned the once-thriving close into a dreadful place, where its inhabitants suffered a slow and torturous death.

Mary King’s Close was sealed off and used as a foundation for the Royal Exchange in the late 1700s. Years passed and its terrible secrets were left trapped within its dark walls. In the 1990s, the close was rediscovered and opened to the public, allowing people to explore the subterranean streets that once festered with disease. 

The mental image of the street once bustling with life left a lump in my throat – the locals had no idea how many would lose their lives to the Great Plague. Like Mary King’s Close, the entire city of Edinburgh is filled with dark and spooky places so be sure to check out Scotland’s capital if you’re a fan of the macabre.

Contributed by Wandering Crystal. Follow her on Instagram !

10. The Killing Fields and S-21 – Phnom Penh, Cambodia

During the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia, execution, starvation and disease were allowed to flourish, killing an estimated three million people. Led by Pol Pot, the regime attempted to enforce brutal and inhumane policies to push Cambodia into being a classless society.

Phnom Penh and the surrounding area are home to S-21, a political prison used by the regime, and Choeung Ek, the largest of the Killing Fields. Over 12,000 prisoners were held at S-21 during the regime and with only seven known survivors, it’s a place known for unthinkable torture and suffering. The S-21 site now houses the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum where you can learn more about the Cambodian massacre. 

Much like S-21, a tour of the Cambodian Killing Fields can be hard to digest. There is a memorial stupa filled with the skulls of victims and you can still see bone fragments and strips of clothing along the paths. It’s a horrifying place but important to visit to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.

Contributed by Ben at Horizon Unknown . Follow him on Facebook !

11. Abandoned Ghost Palace – Bali, Indonesia

Located near the village of Bedugul lies an abandoned hotel. Legend has it that in the early 1990s, the hotel began to be constructed by Tommy Suharto, the youngest son of the former Indonesian President. Tommy was later convicted of ordering the assassination of a judge who previously found him guilty of corruption and he subsequently went to prison. The hotel was never completed.

Another theory is that the hotel is haunted by the landlocked souls of labourers who were worked to death during its construction. The hotel, originally named Hotel Pondok Indah Bedugul, isn’t open for visitors but if you hand the guard 10,000 IDR, he’ll let you in to explore. I recommend seeing it as soon as possible because rumours indicate that visitors will no longer be permitted entrance (even with a bribe) because of how dangerous it is.

Contributed by Nat Wanderlust.

12. Auschwitz-Birkenau – Oświęcim, Poland

The “Final Solution to the Jewish Question” was the official code name for the murder of Jews during World War II. At least 1.3 million people were sent to Auschwitz by the Nazis and a shocking 1.1 million people were murdered by the SS, mainly in gas chambers.

Auschwitz-Birkenau is located on two different sites. Auschwitz I comprises brick buildings and the Death Block where people were gassed. Auschwitz II, known as Birkenau, was opened as they could not cope with the scale of death at Auschwitz I. 

On arrival, you’ll see the famous train tracks where people were transported in and either sent to the gas chambers or given labour duty. Once the latter were emaciated, they were gassed and replaced with new prisoners.

I cried in horror seeing the piles of shoes, suitcases and false legs that once belonged to people. Human hair was used to make felt for socks given to the forces in submarines – 293 sacks of hair were found on liberation. Words cannot describe the emotions you’ll have upon seeing this symbol of this horrific dark chapter in our history.

Contributed by Vanessa from Wanders Miles, follow her on Instagram !

13. Day of the Dead – Oaxaca, Mexico  

The Mexican Day of the Dead festival is a darkly uplifting event that occurs each year between October 31st and November 2nd. On these days, family and friends celebrate the lives of loved ones passed. It is widely believed that for three days each year, the veil between this world and the next is especially thin. 

During the Day of the Dead festival, the spirits of the departed return to provide counsel to their living family members and friends. Much of the reunion is celebrated within the cemetery, where graves are cleaned and decorated for the occasion. On certain dates, families spend the whole night in the cemetery eating sugar skull sweets, drinking alcohol and playing music. 

UNESCO recognises ‘Dia de Los Muertos’ as being ‘ Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity ’. Experiencing the Day of the Dead is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; especially in Oaxaca where visiting graves is commonplace. Prepare for everything you have ever thought about death to be challenged.

Contributed by Castaway With Crystal. Follow her on Instagram! 

14. Red Terror Martyrs’ Museum – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The military junta who took power after Ethiopia’s Emperor Haile Selassie was ousted were known as the Derg. After prolonged internal wranglings, Mengistu, a soldier from the ranks, emerged as their leader and the dictator of Ethiopia.

Within a couple of years, the Derg had created terror among ordinary Ethiopians, tens of thousands of whom had been imprisoned without trial and tortured, or worse, executed. The term ‘Red Terror’ comes from Mengistu’s famous speech when he smashed a bottle of blood to illustrate the killings to come. His regime is estimated to be responsible for the deaths of between 1.2 and 2 million Ethiopians.

Today, the horrors of Mengistu’s regime are remembered in the Red Terror Martyrs’ Museum in Addis Ababa . Opened in 2010, this small museum teaches about the atrocities of the regime. Photos of victims cover the walls alongside displays of human remains recovered from mass graves. We came away from the Martyrs’ Museum appalled by man’s inhumanity to man.

Contributed by Andrea of Happy Days Travel Blog. Follow her on Facebook ! 

15. Constitution Hill – Johannesburg, South Africa

Constitution Hill is now a living museum which tells the story of South Africa’s journey to democracy. It’s hard to comprehend that people like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi served time here in the 1960s and that the prison was still operational until 1982.

There are several sites that you can visit at Constitution Hill. The Old Fort is where white male prisoners were housed. Although the cells were overcrowded and unhygienic, the rooms are larger than those of the black prisoners. They were held in Block number 4. There was very little daylight and as I stepped inside, I was terrified that someone would shut the cell door behind me.

There’s also the Awaiting Trial Block. The block was demolished and the bricks were used to build South Africa’s new Constitutional Court. Thankfully this court serves to uphold the rights of all South Africans, regardless of colour, but the bricks are a poignant reminder of its troubled past.

Contributed by Fiona of Passport and Piano . Follow her on Facebook !

16. Shanghai Tunnels – Portland, USA

In a city known for the slogan ‘ Keep Portland Weird ,’ the Shanghai Tunnels fit right in. It’s believed that from 1850 until 1941, men in Portland, Oregon, were regularly kidnapped and sold to ship captains as labourers. During this period, there was a shortage of labour available for the city’s booming shipping industry and this created a black market. 

To capture these men, underground tunnels originally built to move inventory between businesses were repurposed for illicit use. Trapdoors were even installed in some of the local bars so that drunk men would drop into the tunnel below.

Today, tours of these tunnels are offered daily by a non-profit organisation, Shanghai Tunnels/Portland Underground. All tour participants are advised to be prepared for spending an hour in a confined space. While the nature of the tour is sad and tragic, it’s an important part of Portland’s history.

Contributed by Wendy of Empty Nesters Hit the Road. Follow her on Facebook !

17. Brno Ossuary – Brno, Czech Republic

Of the attractions in Brno , several of them could be classed as dark tourism attractions. The one that moved me the most, though, was the ossuary underneath the St. James Church.

Surrounding this church, which is known as the ‘Kostnice u sv. Jakuba’ in Czech, was one of the main churchyard cemeteries in Brno. Eventually, as the city grew, there was no room left for new burials so a grave rotation system was adopted. 

When a burial took place, the body was left in the grave for between 10 to 12 years. After that, the bones were taken out to make room for the next burial. The displaced remains were then relocated to the ossuary, where bones from thousands of graves were piled up.

It’s estimated that Brno Ossuary holds the bones of more than 50,000 people, which makes it the second-largest ossuary in Europe; only second to the Paris catacombs. The mortal remains laid to rest here include victims of the Swedish siege of Brno and the Thirty Years’ War, as well as many victims of plague and cholera epidemics.

Contributed by Wendy of The Nomadic Vegan. Follow her on Instagram ! 

Do you have any dark tourism examples to share? Let us know in the comments!

9 thoughts on “17 Must-Visit Dark Tourism Destinations Around the World”

Comuna 13 is spellt with only 1 -m-.

I wonder why choose the cemetery in Sucre, when so many others are more characteristic (eg. Père Lachaise in Paris) or even ‘livelier’ (eg. in Santiago de Chile).

Interesting & important topic though. I’m in the process of rewriting an article about the mines of Potosi. That is one dark tourism destination I strongly oppose, for one simple reason; people are still dying in there.

Thanks for the heads up Anthony! 🙂

I chose the cemetery in Sucre because it was a little bit off the beaten track – I like visiting the lesser known places as well as the more famous ones.

I can understand your point about the mines of Potosí and can see why you disagree with it. I must say though, from my own personal experience, I found my visit to be hugely enlightening. I was initially very torn about the idea of visiting an active mine but in the end, we chose a company run by an ex-miner who took us into the mine personally. In my opinion, our visit never felt voyeuristic at all and the miners seemed very grateful for the tourists visiting. A percentage of the tour cost went directly into the funding the healthcare of the miners when needed and also towards maintenance of the mine.

Such a great and informative post, Sheree! There were so many sites here that I was not even aware of – that is why sharing posts about dark tourist sites is so important! It really helps educate the world and helps us honour the past and the lives that were lost at some of these sites.

Like you, I am a huge fan of cemeteries. It is so wonderful that some countries treat death as a natural normal part of life (unlike some of our countries!). It really helps people remember happy memories of their loved ones they recently lost.

Thanks so much for being a part of it Crystal! I also learnt about loads of new dark tourism sites – it has definitely been an eduction as there was plenty of these I had never even heard of. It is definitely important to make sure the stories behind these places get told.

Thank you for including us in this fantastic collab!

I love how varied these sites are, and that you’ve included a lot of lesser know dark tourism destinations mixed in with some of the big ones. Even as professional dark tourists (that’s a thing, right?), we hadn’t heard of all of these places. The Shanghai Tunnels were completely new to me, but definitely want to head to Portland now.

I’m also a little embarrassed to admit that despite being to Hamburg MANY times, I was not aware of the St. Nicholas’ Church. I blame that on the fact that I was visiting a friend and not really touristing…

Awesome post everyone! I think it is really important for people to visit at least one of these in their lifetime. I think we are jaded from the major events that happened to our world and it’s people when we are told the stories. To see the places in real life, it puts life into perspective and how crazy life can be if we don’t fight for what is right.

I couldn’t agree more. Even though visiting these kinds of places is hard, I still think it is really important to help us realise the human effect of what we see on the television. As you said, it is only once you truly understand the devastation that you realise the importance of fighting for the right things.

Great article . I’ve been to a lot of places around the world and haven’t even heard of some of these .

Thanks Jennifer! I’ve certainly added a lot of places to my future visit list!

Leave a comment Cancel reply

30 Dark Tourism Destinations and How to Visit

By: Author Zachary Friedman

Posted on Last updated: March 1, 2024

Categories Travel Destinations

Home » Travel » Travel Destinations » 30 Dark Tourism Destinations and How to Visit

Many of us have a natural morbid curiosity. Death, disasters, atrocities, and destruction fascinate us. Every year, millions of people travel to some of the darkest and most tragic sites on earth to satisfy that curiosity as well as to gain a deeper understanding of the events that took place there. This is called dark tourism. In this guide, we’ll outline some of the most popular dark tourism destinations and explain how to visit them. We’ll also explain exactly what dark tourism is and talk a bit about the ethics, controversies, and motivations of dark tourism.

Personally, I’m a big fan of dark tourism. Over the years, I’ve visited many of the dark tourism sites on this list. In this guide, I’ll share my experience.

Table of Contents

• Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial, Poland
• Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster Site, Ukraine
• Choeung Ek Killing Fields and S-21, Cambodia
• September 11 Memorial and Museum, New York
• Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum, Japan
• Kigali Genocide Memorial, Rwanda
• Pompeii, Italy
• Slave Castles, Ghana
• Sedlec Ossuary, Czech Republic
• Alcatraz Island, San Francisco
• Suicide Forest (Aokigahar), Japan
• Fukushima, Japan
• Robben Island, South Africa
• Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
• The Colosseum, Rome
• Mount St. Helens, Washington
• Anne Frank House and Museum, Amsterdam
• Various Nuclear Test Sites
• The Catacombs of Paris
• Warsaw Ghetto, Poland
• Perm-36 Gulag, Russia
•   Cremations on the Ganges River in Varanasi, India
• WWII memorials and museums in Berlin, Germany
• Communist Leader Mausoleums
• Somme Battlefield, France
• Verdun Battlefield, France
• D-Day Beaches and Memorials in Normandy
• Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg, Maryland
• Cu Chi Tunnels, Vietnam

What is Dark Tourism?

Dark tourism is a relatively new term for a form of tourism that involves travel to a site where death, tragedy, disaster, violence, atrocity, or suffering took place. This could include sites of genocide, assassination, natural disaster, war, terrorism, man-made disaster, etc. Usually, dark tourism sites have some kind of historical significance. They could also be the site of a recent or ongoing tragic event. Dark tourism is also called black tourism, morbid tourism, and grief tourism.

A few of the most well-known and popular dark tourism sites in the world include the ruins of Pompeii, Auschwitz concentration camp, the site of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster, the Paris Catacombs, Gettysburg, Ground Zero, and the 9/11 memorial in New York. In each of these sites, death, suffering, tragedy, or disaster took place.

Most people visit dark tourism sites for educational purposes. These sites usually have interesting histories. Some people visit because these sites pique a morbid curiosity. Others just want to witness large scale destruction and damage. Everyone has their own motivation.

There are different types of dark tourism as well. For example, dark tourism and heritage tourism are sometimes closely related. For example, someone may choose to visit Holocaust sites to learn about the events that their ancestors experienced. Descendants of slaves may choose to visit slavery heritage sites. Some consider this a form of dark tourism as well.

To consider someone a dark tourist, they must visit the site for dark tourism purposes. Some sites have a dark element but aren’t exclusively visited for dark tourism purposes. For example, if you visit Mount St. Helens to go for a hike, you’re not a dark tourist. If you visit to learn about the volcanic eruption and the damage it caused, you are a dark tourist.

Dark Tourism Destinations

1. auschwitz-birkenau memorial and museum, poland.

Located outside of Krakow, Poland, Auschwitz was the largest and most deadly of the Nazi concentration camps. Between 1.1 and 1.6 million men, women, and children were murdered here during the Holocaust. Auschwitz is one of the largest mass murder sites in the world.

Today, the site symbolizes genocide and the evil acts that humans inflict upon one another. It also acts as a valuable education tool to help prevent atrocities such as the Holocaust from happening again.

Auschwitz is actually a series of 40 concentration camps rather than one large camp. Auschwitz I is the older and smaller camp where political prisoners were held. Here, you’ll see a terrifying exhibition of some of the inmates’ possessions including piles of suitcases, shoes, and human hair.

Auschwitz-Birkenau, which is located a couple of miles down the road, is a much larger concentration camp and extermination camp. Here, you’ll find the ruins of the infamous gas chambers, barracks with wooden shelves where prisoners slept, and the train track which was used to haul thousands of people into the camp.

Auschwitz has become a mass tourist site seeing over 2 million visitors per year and over 60 million visitors since the site opened in 1947. This is probably the world’s biggest and most well known dark tourism site. The Auschwitz Memorial is free to enter but you should book in advance. Only a limited number of tickets are available per day because the site is so popular.

2. Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster Site, Ukraine

On April 26, 1986, the world’s worst nuclear meltdown took place at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near Pripyat, Ukraine. This disaster caused the death of around 4,000 individuals from radiation-related illness as well as the displacement of over 300,000.

The area is still not safe for people to inhabit, even though some have moved back into their villages anyway. In fact, scientists believe it could take 20,000 years before the exclusion zone is completely safe. The radiation has dissipated enough for tourists to make short visits on guided tours.

Several tour companies offer day trips and multi-day trips to Chernobyl from the nearby city of Kyiv. During the tour, you’ll see the radiation-contaminated Red Forrest and eerie abandoned buildings including the famous Pripyat Amusement Park and a Kindergarten. You’ll also learn about the impact the disaster had on the region.

Keep in mind that there is still a risk of radiation poisoning when visiting the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Radiation levels are still hazardous in much of the zone. Your guide will explain the safety precautions you must take and guide you through the areas that are safe enough to visit.

Chernobyl is one of the world’s most famous and popular dark tourism sites. The recent HBO miniseries, Chernobyl, greatly increased the popularity of the area. Following the release of the show, tourism increased by 30%.

Note: Currently, it’s not possible to visit this site. Hopefully, it will be possible to visit again in the near future.

3. Choeung Ek Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (S-21), Cambodia

The Khmer Rouge regime came into power after the Cambodian civil war ended in 1975. The new government was called the Communist Party of Kampuchea. Their leader was prime minister Pol Pot.

Immediately following the end of the war, the Cambodian genocide began. From 1975 to 1979, between 1.7 and 2.5 million people were killed at 300 sites throughout the country. These sites are known as killing fields.

The most famous of these killing fields is Choeung Ek, which is located about 11 miles outside of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. It is estimated that around 17,000 men, women, and children were killed at this site. Many were killed violently with knives, scythes, bats, and bayonets. This is the main memorial for the Cambodian genocide.

At this site, you’ll see a memorial Buddhist stupa made of glass. Inside the stupa, there are 5,000 human skulls. Many of the displayed skulls are catastrophically damaged, showing the brutal manner in which the victims were killed. The site also includes a mass grave that contains the remains of almost 9,000 people that were exhumed from the surrounding area. Human bones still litter the entire site. Occasionally fragments wash up after heavy rain.

Another famous Cambodian Genocide site is the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum or S-21. This museum is located in Phnom Penh. Originally, this site was built as a secondary school but was converted into a prison by the Khmer Rouge. Around 20,000 people were imprisoned here during Pol Pot’s reign. Many were tortured and killed. Here, you’ll see prison cells, photos of victims, as well as an exhibit that documents the events of the Cambodian genocide.

4. National September 11 Memorial and Museum, New York

This New York City memorial and museum was built to commemorate and honor the 2,977 people who died in the September 11, 2001 terror attacks as well as the six people who died in the 1993 World Trade Center bombings. The memorial sits on the site where the twin towers once stood.

The main memorial, called Reflecting Absence, consists of two 1-acre pools that occupy the exact footprints where the Twin Towers stood. Each pool features a large waterfall. Bronze parapets with the name of each victim etched in surround the pools. The September 11 Museum, located underground, contains thousands of images, artifacts, recordings, and videos. The exhibit tells the complete story of the events of 9/11.

This site is fairly controversial. Partly for the high price of entry ($24) but mostly for the fact that the remains of over 1000 victims were placed in a tomb in the bedrock under the museum. Many people find this disrespectful. Even so, the 9/11 Memorial is one of the world’s most popular dark tourism sites. Over 6 million people visit this memorial per year.

5. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Museum

This memorial and museum commemorate and honor the city of Hiroshima and the 140,000 people who died when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city on August 6, 1945. It also memorializes the world’s first nuclear attack. The aim is to educate people about the danger of nuclear weapons as well as to promote peace.

The atom bomb, codenamed “Little Boy,” detonated 600 meters above the busiest part of downtown Hiroshima. The explosion essentially leveled the area except for a few ruins. This event marked the beginning of the end of WWII. Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945. The park was built on the site of the bombing. Today, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park contains a number of monuments as well as a museum and a lecture hall.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is the main feature of the park. The museum educates visitors about the events leading up to the bombing as well as the catastrophic effect the bomb had on the city. You’ll see photos and artifacts from the bombing. A major section of the museum is dedicated to the stories of the victims and survivors.

The A-Bomb Dome is the second most important site in the park. This is the ruins of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. Today, it’s just a shell of a building. This building is significant because it is one of the only buildings that survived the blast. Most structures in Hiroshima were built from wood and burned up in fires that the bomb started. This building was also just 150 meters from the hypocenter of the blast. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A few more significant points of interest in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park include Children’s Peace Monument, Peace Flame, Peace Bells, Peace Pagoda, Gates of Peace, and Atomic Bomb Memorial Mount. You could easily spend half a day wandering around the park viewing the various monuments and memorials.

3 days after the bombing of Hiroshima on August 9, 1945, The United States bombed the city of Nagasaki in a second nuclear attack. Today, you’ll find a number of memorials and museums including the Atomic Bomb Museum, Peace Park, Oka Masaharu Memorial Peace Museum, and more.

6. Rwanda Genocide Sites (Kigali Genocide Memorial and Murambi Genocide Memorial)

In 1990, a rebel group of Tutsi refugees called the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) invaded Rwanda from Uganda. This started the Rwandan Civil War. President Juvénal Habyarimana signed peace accords in 1993. The following day, the president was assassinated. Genocidal killings of Tutsi people began soon after and the civil war resumed.

The Rwandan genocide lasted from April 7 to July 15, 1994. During that time 500,000-1,000,000 people were killed. This includes about 70% of Rwanda’s Tutsi population. The genocide ended when the RPF captured Kigali and gained control of the country. The government and genocidaires were forced into Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).

Today, there are a number of genocide memorials located throughout the country. The largest and most visited is the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre. The remains of an astonishing 250,000 people are interred at this site. The attached museum includes three exhibits. The first documents the events of genocide from start to finish. The second exhibit is a memorial to the children who died. It includes photos and details about their lives, things they liked, and the way they died. The third exhibit covers genocide around the world.

The Murambi Genocide Memorial (Murambi Technical School), located in southern Rwanda is one of the darkest dark tourism destinations on the planet. Here, around 50,000 Tutsi men, women, and children were murdered by Hutu Interahamwe militiamen in April of 1994.

The Tutsis were told that they could safely shelter at the school and that the French military would protect them. This turned out to be a trap. After being starved for several days to weaken them, they were attacked and killed. Only 34 people survived the attack and escaped. At Murambi, the remains of 800 people are displayed partially decomposed and preserved by lime.

7. Pompeii, Italy

This ancient Roman city was wiped out when nearby Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. Historians estimate that about 2,000 people died in the disaster. The thick layer of ash and pumice that covered the city preserved this little slice of ancient Rome.

At the ruins, you can see beautifully preserved artwork, pottery, casts of people who died, houses, an amphitheater, and more. Pompeii is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is one of Italy’s most popular tourist destinations with over 2.5 million visitors per year.

Some people question whether or not Pompeii is actually a dark tourism site due to the age of the site. After all, the eruption occurred nearly 2000 years ago. In my opinion, Pompeii is absolutely a dark tourism site due to the large scale death and destruction that happened here. The age of the site is irrelevant.

8. Slave Castles, Ghana (Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle)

During the colonial period of West Africa, the British, Dutch, and Portuguese built around 40 castles or forts along the Gold Coast. The Europeans originally used these castles as trading posts for timber or gold.

During that time, African slaves were in high demand in the Americas. The European traders quickly found that the slave trade was more profitable.

They modified their forts to hold as many slaves as possible. Usually in an underground dungeon. African slavers would capture slaves inland then sell them to the Europeans who lived in the castles on the coast. The slaves stayed in the castles until they were shipped across the Atlantic to the Americas.

Living conditions for the slaves were horrible. Slavers shackled and packed the slaves into the castle’s dungeons. There was very little light or ventilation. There was no water or sanitation so the floors were covered in waste. Many became ill. The slaves lived in these conditions for up to three months before being shipped across the Atlantic.

Today, dark tourists visit these castles to learn about the horrors of the slave trade. Two of the most significant castles to visit include Elmina Castle and Cape Coast Castle. Both are located in Ghana. Guided tours are available.

Elmina Castle was the first European trading post and is the oldest European building in Sub Saharan Africa. The Portuguese built the castle in 1482. Today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here, you can see the famous ‘Door of No Return’ where slaves exited the castle before boarding ships to Brazil and other Portuguese colonies. You’ll also see the dungeon where the slaves were held as well as the living quarters for the European slavers, who lived on the upper floors of the castle.

Cape Coast Castle was built by Swedish traders in 1653. Over the years, the castle changed hands multiple times until it came into British possession. Here, you can see the dungeons where slaves were held and cannons that were used to defend the fort. In 2009, President Obama visited Cape Coast Castle during his visit to Ghana.

9. Sedlec Ossuary, Czech Republic

This small Roman Catholic chapel is located in a cemetery in a suburb of the city of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic. Here, you’ll find the remains of 40,000-70,000 people. Initially, the remains were moved from the cemetery into the basement of the chapel to solve an overcrowding problem that was caused by the plague in the 14th century.

In 1870, a local artist named František Rint rearranged the piles of bones into artwork. The most impressive piece is a massive chandelier in the center of the chapel that is made entirely from human bones. Supposedly it contains at least one of every bone in the human body.

Another interesting piece is a large coat of arms made from bones. In the corners of the chapel, you’ll find large stacks of bones. There are cabinets filled with damaged skulls of those who were killed violently in war. The artist also signed his name in bones.

You can visit Selded Ossuary as a day trip from Prague. It’s easy to visit independently by train. Organized tours are available as well. The chapel is pretty small. It only takes 20 minutes or so to see the whole thing. The place gets pretty crowded as it receives over 200,000 visitors per year.

10. Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, San Francisco

Also known as The Rock, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary was a maximum-security prison from 1934-1963. It is located on an island in the San Francisco Bay, 1.25 miles offshore. During the 29 years that the prison operated, some of the hardest criminals of the day served time here including the infamous Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, Henri Young, and ‘the Birdman of Alcatraz’, Robert Stroud.

For punishment, prisoners were sent to solitary confinement, known as ‘the hole’ at Alcatraz. These inmates got one shower and one hour of exercise per week. Almost equally punishing for some, the prison sits close enough to the mainland that prisoners could see people going about their lives on the outside.

Today, Alcatraz is San Francisco’s most popular tourist attraction with up to 1.5 million visitors per year. The National Park Service manages the island. After arriving at the island by boat, you can take a tour of the prison. You’ll see the prison cells, learn about the dark history of the island, and hear stories of former inmates. Much of the prison remains the way it was while the prison was in operation.

11. Suicide Forest (Aokigahar), Japan

This forest, located to the Northwest of Mount Fuji, is famous for being one of the most popular suicide site in Japan. In 2003, a record was made when 105 bodies were found in the forest. In 2010, over 200 people attempted suicide here with 54 of those being successful.

The most common methods of suicide used are hanging and drug overdose. Because the suicide rate is so high here, Japanese officials installed a sign at the entry to the park which urges suicidal people to seek help.

Part of the reason for the popularity of this forest as a suicide site is that the area has long been associated with death in Japanese culture. The forest is said to be haunted by the yūrei, which are spirits that can’t leave our world.

Here, visitors can roam about the many trails that wind throughout the 30 square kilometer forest. This is an excellent place to enjoy the solitude of the dense forest. Tours are available as well.

Some visitors come here to see if they can spot a body. As you can imagine, this is a very controversial form of dark tourism. For example, YouTuber Logan Paul was criticized for filming a video of a man who had recently committed suicide here in 2018.

12. Fukushima, Japan

On March 11, 2011, an earthquake off the east coast of Japan triggered a tsunami that flooded the reactors at Fukushima nuclear power plant and caused an electrical grid failure. The reactors lost their cooling which led to three nuclear meltdowns at the plant. 154,000 people had to be evacuated. Many were never able to return to their homes.

Today, there is a 20 km exclusion zone surrounding the nuclear plant to protect people from radiation exposure. In 2018 tours to visit the exclusion area began. In 2020, The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum opened. On the tour, you’ll see abandoned structures and witness the effects that the disaster had on the region.

13. Robben Island, South Africa

Robben Island, located in Table Bay, north of Cape Town, was used as a prison from the colonial times of the late 1600s until 1996. The prison gained notoriety during the apartheid era of South Africa. It held political prisoners between 1961 and 1991.

The most famous prisoner was political revolutionary, Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. He served 18 of his 27-year imprisonment on Robben Island before his release in 1990. in 1994, South Africa elected Mandela as the first president. A total of three former inmates went on to become South African presidents including Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma.

Conditions in the prison were incredibly harsh. Prisoners were held isolated from one another in small cells. The prison was segregated by race. Food rations were small and communication with the outside world was limited. Prisoners were also forced to do hard labor in a lime quarry located on the island.

Today, Robben Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a South African National Heritage Site. The only way to visit Robben Island is on a guided tour. The tour leaves from Cape Town and lasts for about 3.5 hours. The guides are all former prisoners. They take you around the prison and share their first-hand stories about their time there. You’ll see the lime quarry where the prisoners were forced to work as well as Nelson Mandela’s prison cell.

14. Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service surprise attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The goal of the attack was to prevent the United States Navy fleet from interfering with the Japanese military plans to expand throughout Southeast Asia. If Japan crippled the United States fleet was crippled, they could invade and conquer US and British held territories such as the Philippines, Guam, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, as well as other small islands of the Pacific.

The Japanese launched a massive attack with 353 aircraft which took off from six aircraft carriers. They sank 4 of the 8 battleships stationed at Pearl Harbor. They seriously damaged the other four. 188 aircraft were also destroyed in the attack 159 were damaged. The attack killed 2,403 Americans and injured 1,178. The attack also damaged or destroyed a considerable amount of the base’s infrastructure including a power station, piers, various buildings, and more.

The most significant loss was the battleship USS Arizona. It suffered a direct hit to an ammunition magazine which exploded and caused the ship to sink almost instantly. 1,000 sailors sank with the ship.

The attack on Pearl Harbor dragged the United States into World War II. The day after the attack, Japan declared war on the United States. The next day, the United States declared war on Japan. Three days later, Germany and Italy both declared war on the United States.

Today, there are a number of museums and memorials at Pearl Harbor that commemorate the attack. The main site is the USS Arizona memorial. This memorial straddles the sunken ship and is accessible only by boat. Inside, you’ll see a number of exhibits including one of the ship’s anchors, a shrine with the names of all of those who died as well as some plaques with information about the attack. There is also an opening in the floor where you can view the deck of the ship underwater. Onshore, there is also a museum that outlines the events leading up to the attack and the attack itself.

Nearby, you can also view the USS Missouri Memorial, USS Utah Memorial, USS Oklahoma Memorial, Pacific Aviation Museum, and USS Bowfin Museum.

15. The Colosseum, Rome

Built in Ancient Rome between 72-80 AD, the Colosseum is one of the oldest and most recognizable dark tourism sites. At the time, it was the largest amphitheater ever built with a capacity of 50,000-80,000 spectators. The Colosseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, hosted a number of dark and violent events including gladiatorial events, executions, animal hunts, and battle re-enactments.

The most famous of these events were the gladiatorial contests. People and animals brutally battled to the death for the entertainment of thousands of spectators. Most gladiators were slaves, criminals, or prisoners of war but some volunteered to seek fame and fortune.

Exotic wild animals including lions, hippos, rhinos, elephants, bears, tigers, crocodiles, etc. were brought in from Africa and the Middle East. These animals were used for hunts or battles. In some cases, people were fed to lions.

Over the course of the 400 years that these gladiatorial events took place, historians estimate that around 400,000 people died in the Colosseum. Some people consider these events the earliest form of dark tourism.

Today, the Colosseum is one of the top tourist destinations in Rome and the world. Around 7 million people visit this site per year. There are a number of guided tours available. You’ll see the underground level where the gladiators prepared to fight, the arena floor where the gladiatorial fights took place, areas where the animals were kept, and artwork.

16. Mount St. Helens, Washington

The 1980 volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens killed 57 people and caused a great deal of destruction to the mountain and surrounding area including the largest landslide in recorded history. The eruption was so violent that the mountain’s elevation decreased by 1300 feet. The top completely blew off.

Many tourists come to visit the area each year. Today, you can see tree stumps and dead trees that still stand around the blast site. There is a visitor center with an exhibition about the eruption. In the visitor center, they also have a small movie theater that shows a short documentary about the event. The surrounding state park offers plenty of hiking, camping, climbing, and other recreational activities.

17. Montserrat

This volcanic island in the Caribbean is sometimes called a modern-day Pompeii. The Soufriere Hills Volcano became active in the mid-1990s and slowly covered the former capital of Plymouth in ash. The town was evacuated in 1997 just before a major eruption covered much of it.

The volcano is still very active today, periodically spewing ash, smoke, and gasses across 1/3 of the island. Occasionally pyroclastic flows cover more of the island’s land. Travelers can hike to a lookout point to view smoke spewing from the volcano and maybe get a glimpse of Plymouth. It is also possible to view the volcano and town by boat. It is unsafe to visit the town of Plymouth at this time.

16. Anne Frank House and Museum, Amsterdam

In this famous canal house Anne Frank, her family, and four others hid from Nazi persecution for 761 days. They quietly lived in a hidden part of the house called the Secret Annex. Anne Frank is famous for keeping a diary of her daily thoughts and experiences during her days in hiding during World War II.

Sadly, Anne Frank and the others hiding in the Secret Annex were betrayed by an unknown informant and discovered by the Nazis on August 4, 1944. The Nazis split them up and moved them to various concentration camps. Anne Frank died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in February of 1945 when she was just 15 years old. Anne’s father Otto, who survived the Holocaust, discovered his daughter’s diary after the war and published it in 1947.

The canal house where the two families hid is a now museum that attracts up to 1.2 million visitors per year. Here, you can walk through the Secret Annex where Anne Frank and her family hid. The original diary is on display in the attached museum. The museum also includes a permanent exhibit about the life of Anne Frank and her experience during the war.

19. Nuclear Test Sites

Since nuclear testing began in 1945, 8 countries have detonated around 2056 nuclear bombs at dozens of test sites around the world. A few nuclear test sites that you can visit include:

• Semipalatinsk Test Site (The Polygon)- Semipalatinsk was the Soviet Union’s primary nuclear test site from 1949-1991. It is located on the steppe of northeastern Kazakhstan. More nuclear weapons detonated here than anywhere else on the planet. Beginning in 2014 parts of the area have opened up for tourism. There isn’t all that much to see here outside of some massive craters and some concrete towers and bunkers that housed instruments to measure the blasts.
• Nevada Test Site- This site was the United States’ main nuclear testing site from the time it was established in 1951 until nuclear testing ended in 1992. The site is located about 65 miles to the northeast of Las Vegas. Here, you can see a number of large craters in the desert where nuclear weapons were detonated for testing purposes. Monthly public tours are offered but are often fully booked months in advance. This is a difficult place to visit.
• Bikini Atoll, Martial Islands- This was one of the United States’ main nuclear test sites. Between 1946 and 1958, 23 atomic bomb tests were performed here. The blasts turned out to be more destructive than anticipated and resulted in significant contamination to the surrounding area. Probably the biggest attraction for tourists here is Scuba diving the 10 ships that were sunk during nuclear tests. This is a risky area to visit due to the significant levels of radiation that still exist.

20. Catacombs of Paris, France

This network of underground ossuaries underneath the city of Pairs holds the remains of around 6 million people. The tunnels were originally mine tunnels. The Paris Catacombs were built to solve the problem of the city’s overflowing cemeteries. The dead were crowding the living. Starting in 1786, the city began transporting human remains from the city’s cemeteries into the underground tunnels by covered wagon during the night. The catacombs open to tourism in 1867.

Today, the Catacombs are one of the more popular tourist destinations in Paris. You can book a guided tour and wander through the labyrinth of bone filled tunnels and view the millions of bones stacked neatly throughout. Around 300,000 people visit this site per year. It is only accessible by tour.

21. Warsaw Ghetto, Poland

Ghettos were segregated neighborhoods where Jewish people were forced to live while under Nazi occupation during WWII. The largest of these was the Warsaw Ghetto. The area actually consists of two smaller ghettos with a footbridge between them. At its peak, approximately 460,000 people lived in Warsaw Ghetto.

During the Uprising the ghetto was almost completely destroyed. Today, you can visit the area and view a small number of streets and buildings that survived. The monument called ‘The Footbridge of Memory’ stands at the site of the original footbridge.

22. Perm-36 Gulag, Russia

Following the Bolshevik Revolution, the Soviet Union built a large system of forced labor camps to imprison ‘enemies of the state.’ These included government officials, military members, and regular citizens. Anyone who was anti-communist or anti-Stalin was imprisoned. These camps were known as gulags. Millions of people were held in these camps and forced to perform backbreaking work in extremely brutal conditions.

Perm-36 is the only remaining Soviet gulag. It is located about 60 miles from the Russian city of Perm in the Western Ural Mountains. The camp operated from 1946-1987. Perm-36 is unique because it was not closed after Stalin’s death in 1953. This is one of the only gulags that was not demolished after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

When Perm-36 opened, it was used as a forced labor camp for regular criminals. In later years, the camp housed political prisoners. The prisoners were forced to do logging work. Some political prisoners lived in 24 hour closed cells. Perm 36 was considered the harshest political camp in the Soviet Union.

Today’s site operates as a museum and memorial called The Museum of the History of Political Repression Perm-36. It opened to the public in 1995. Here, you’ll see the wooden barracks that the prisoners built, various prison buildings, and an exhibit about the gulag system and the prisoners. You’ll also learn about the economic benefit that the gulag system created for the Soviet Union.

23. Cremations on the Ganges River in Varanasi, India

Varanasi is a holy city located on the Ganges river in Uttar Pradesh, India. The city has become a popular dark tourism destination for its famous Hindu cremation ceremonies that take place on the banks of the river. In the Hindu religion, people believe that cremation on the banks of the Ganges river breaks the cycle of reincarnation so they can achieve salvation. Along the river, dozens of cremations take place out in the open every day.

The bodies are placed atop piles of wood and set on fire until they turn to ash. The ashes are then scattered in the Ganges River, which is considered a holy site in the Hindu religion. Poor families who cannot afford a cremation sometimes release the entire body of their loved one in the river to decompose naturally. Some terminally ill people travel to Varanasi so they can die and be cremated in the holy city.

Tourists are welcome to view and experience these cremation ceremonies. When you arrive at the famous ghats on the bank of the river in Varanasi, you’ll clearly see the cremation sites. Just look for the smoke. You’ll see open areas with large fires and piles of wood sitting around. The cremations take place here.

For a few dollars, you can hire a guide to walk you through the cremation site and explain how the process works. There are multiple cremations taking place simultaneously at all hours of the day. You can walk right up and see the cremation and feel the heat from the fire and smell the smoke.

As you can imagine, this is a fairly controversial form of dark tourism. After all, you are essentially attending a cremation for touristic purposes as the family grieves of the loss of their loved one. Some view this as voyeuristic. It’s up to you to decide whether or not this form of dark tourism is ethical.

24. Berlin, Germany

Berlin is one of the darkest cities on earth. It was the capital of Nazi Germany, one of the world’s most evil regimes. Next, it became the most significant city in the cold war. It was also the capital of the socialist single-party regime of the former GDR. As a result, Berlin is packed with dozens of dark tourism sites. A few of the most popular ones include:

• Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (the Holocaust Memorial)- This memorial is to the Jewish people murdered during the Holocaust. It contains 2,711 concrete slabs ranging in height from .2-4.7 meters. The slabs are arranged in a grid pattern over a 19,000 square meter site. Below the memorial is an information center that contains the names of 3 million Holocaust victims as well as photographs and letters. This memorial is quite controversial. Partly because it is so vague. There is no mention of Nazi Germany or the Holocaust on the memorial itself or in the official name of the memorial. People also use the site as a recreational area, sitting or standing on the pillars. Many consider this to be disrespectful. Due to its size and design, the memorial is difficult to defend from vandals.
• Berlin Wall- Between 1961 and 1989, this concrete barrier divided West Berlin from surrounding East Germany. The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) constructed the wall to prevent East Germans from defecting to the west. The four-meter tall wall extended 155km (96 miles) and cut through 55 streets. Today, you can see several small sections of the wall still standing in the city. The largest is is a 1.4 km section that is part of the Berlin Wall Memorial. Here, you can see the graffiti on the west side and learn about the historical significance of the wall.
• Checkpoint Charlie Museum- Checkpoint Charlie is the most well-known crossing between East and West Berlin. The original guardhouse was preserved and today is part of the Checkpoint Charlie museum. Here, you can see exhibits about the Berlin Wall, the Cold War, and some famous escape attempts.
• Jewish Museum- Designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, the Jewish Museum is one of Germany’s best and most popular museums as well as one of Berlin’s most striking landmarks. Here, you’ll find thousands of artifacts, photos, religious objects, and archives that document the struggle of the German Jewish people from the Middle Ages to the present time. The museum also houses a massive library and hosts various events throughout the year.
• Topography of Terror Museum- This museum is located on the site of the Gestapo secret police and SS headquarters. Allied bombings destroyed the original building in 1945. After many years of delay, the museum opened in 2010. The main exhibit focuses on policing under Nazi rule. You’ll see photos, documents, short films, and artifacts that show the crimes that the SS and Gestapo committed throughout Europe. The grounds of the museum also contain some historic artifacts including a large section of the Berlin Wall. You’ll also see an excavated trench that exposes the cellar wall, where political prisoners were kept, tortured, and ofttimes executed.
• DDR Museum- This newer museum outlines life in East Berlin under communist rule with a hands-on approach. Here, you’ll see a recreation of an interrogation room, prison cell, and an apartment. You can try on clothing and watch television from the era. The exhibit covers food, music, daily life, education, architecture, and more. You’ll also learn about the mass surveillance conducted during the time. This is a private museum and is one of Berlin’s most popular.

25. Communist Leader Mausoleums

For whatever reason, communists love to embalm their leaders after they die and put the bodies on public display. A few famous mausoleums you can visit include:

• Lenin Mausoleum- This mausoleum is located in the Red Square in the center of Moscow. Inside, you can view the embalmed corpse of the Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin. The body has been on public display since shortly after his death in 1924. The mausoleum is open to the public and free to enter. Stalin’s body was put on display here from 1953-1961 but was removed and buried near the mausoleum.
• Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum- This mausoleum is located in Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi, Vietnam. Inside, you can view the embalmed body of Vietnamese revolutionary and president Ho Chi Minh, who died in 1969. The body is kept in a dimly lit glass case which is heavily guarded by military honor guards. The mausoleum is open to the public.
• Mausoleum of Mao Zedong- This large mausoleum, also known as Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, is located in the center of Tienanmen Square in central Beijing. Here, you can view the embalmed remains of Mao Zedong, who served as the Chairman of the Communist Party of China from 1945-1976. Interestingly, Chairman Mao wanted to be cremated. The mausoleum is open to the public.
• Kumsusan Palace of the Sun (Kim Il Sung Mausoleum)- This absolutely massive palace is located in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. The building was intended to be the official residence of Kim Il Sung but was converted into a mausoleum when he died in 1994. Inside, you can view the embalmed remains of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung as well as his son and former leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Il. Both bodies lie inside of glass sarcophaguses. The mausoleum is open to the public. Foreigners can only enter the palace when they are on an official government tour.

26. Somme Battlefield, France

The Battle of the Somme was a WWI battle fought between the French Third Republic and British Empire against the German Empire. The battle took place between July 1 and November 18, 1916. Over three million men fought in the Battle of the Somme. One million were killed, injured, or went missing, making this the most bloody battle of WWI and possibly the most deadly battle in world history.

Several factors contributed to the massive amount of death in the battle. First, the battlefield was small. The Germans were also well prepared and trained for trench warfare. An incredible amount of heavy artillery was also used in this battle.

The Battle of the Somme ended when British Commander in Chief Sir Douglas Haig decided to stop the offensive near the Somme River. When the battle ended, the British and French armies had gained just six miles of land. Modern historians are not in agreement as to whether or not the battle was a success.

Today, there are a number of monuments, museums, cemeteries, and battle sites that you can visit in Somme. The Remembered Trail leads visitors through some of the most significant locations. It’s is a great place to start in the region. Guided tours of the area are also available.

27. Verdun Battlefield, France

The battle of Verdun lasted from February 21-December 18, 1916, making it the longest battles in World War One at 302 days. This battle was also one of the most costly with up to 1 million casualties between the French and German armies.

Today, you can view the battlefield complete with shell craters that are still visible over 100 years later. You’ll also find several memorials including an ossuary. The battlefield itself contains the remains of 100,000 soldiers. You can also visit the Verdun Memorial Museum which features artifacts from the battle as well as information about the time.

28. D-Day Beaches and Memorials in Normandy

On June 6, 1944, the Allied Forces invaded Nazi occupied France on the beaches of Normandy. This operation, known as Operation Overlord, was the largest amphibious invasion in world history. This event marked the beginning of the liberation of France and Western Europe and eventually led to the Allied victory over the Third Reich on the Western Front. The D-Day invasion of Normandy resulted in 4,000-9,000 German casualties and around 10,000 Allied casualties including 4,414 deaths.

Today, there are dozens of memorials, museums, and war cemeteries along the beaches of Normandy as well as further inland. A few of the most significant D-Day sites to visit include:

• Beach landing sites- The 50 miles stretch of Normandy beach was divided into 5 sections where the invasion took place. The beach landing sites include Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Today, you can visit each of the 5 beaches. Probably the most popular beach to visit is Omaha. Here, you’ll see German bunkers and the sculpture Les Braves which commemorates the American soldiers who died on D-Day.
• Utah Beach Museum- This museum outlines the entire D-Day invasion from the planning phase until the end of the battle. Here, you’ll see vehicles, artifacts, and photographs from the massive invasion. The museum overlooks Utah Beach.
• Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial- This cemetery, overlooking Omaha Beach, contains 9,388 graves of American soldiers who died in WWII. Mostly on D-Day.
• Overlord Museum- This museum, located near Omaha Beach and the American cemetery, documents the time period between the Allied landing and the liberation of Paris. Here, you’ll see thousands of artifacts from the invasion including tanks and cannons as well as photos and reconstructed battle scenes.
• Pegasus Bridge- 6000 British paratroopers landed here with supplies and weapons just past midnight on June 6, 1944. Their job was to secure the bridge so German reinforcements couldn’t cross. The current bridge is a reconstruction of the original, which was destroyed.
• Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy- This museum, which is located in Bayeux, outlines the military operation in detail. Here, you’ll see military equipment, artifacts, photos, and a fantastic short film about the D-Day landings.
• Caen Memorial Center- This museum outlines the battle of Normandy from the end of WWI all the way to the beginning of the Cold War. This gives you a great overview of the historical events leading up to the war and their effects on Europe and the world. Here, you’ll see letters and personal belongings from soldiers, airplanes, and a short documentary film with footage of the D-Day invasion.
• Airborne Museum- This museum, located in Sainte-Mère-Église, focuses on the paratroopers who landed in Normandy the night before the attack. Here, you’ll see photos, artifacts, tanks, and airplanes including a WACO glider and C-47 that you can enter.

29. Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg, Maryland

On September 17, 1862, Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia battled Union General George B. McClellan and his Army of the Potomac in the Battle of Anteteitum near Sharpsburg, Maryland. This was the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War with 22,717 dead, injured, or missing. This massive loss of life took place over the course of just 12 hours.

The battle ended when Lee decided to withdraw back to Virginia. McClellan decided not to follow him. The Union claimed victory. After the battle, President Lincoln announced his Emancipation Proclamation which freed 3.5 million slaves.

Antietam is considered to be one of the most well-preserved American Civil War Battlefields. Probably because it was one of the first battlefields preserved in 1890. Today, visitors can take a self-guided tour of the battlefield or hire a tour guide. You’ll see landmarks of the battle such as the Cornfield, Dunker Church, and Burnside’s Bridge.

30. Cu Chi Tunnels, Vietnam

The Cu Chi Tunnels are a massive network of underground tunnels located outside of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. They were used by Viet Cong soldiers for a number of purposes including hiding spots, supply routes, living quarters, hospitals, and food and weapons caches. They were famously used as a base of operation for the North Vietnamese during the Tết Offensive in 1968.

Life in the Cu Chi Tunnels was difficult. Air quality was poor. The tunnels were cramped and claustrophobic. Food and water were limited. Rodents, ants, snakes, scorpions, and spiders infested the tunnels. Diseases including Malaria and intestinal parasites were common. During heavy bombing campaigns, soldiers had to stay in the tunnels for days at a time.

Today, the Cu Chi Tunnels are a war memorial operated by the Vietnamese government. They are also a popular tourist dark tourist attraction. You can visit the tunnels on a day trip from Ho Chi Minh City. Here, you can crawl through a safe section of the tunnels, watch a short film about the war, and view some different booby traps and trap doors as well as an entrance into the tunnels. There is also a firing range where you can shoot Vietnam War era weapons including an M60 machine gun.

My Experience: Why I Enjoy Dark Tourism

My main motivation to visit dark tourism sites is education. For whatever reason, I wasn’t interested in history when I was in school. I just found it boring. Now, I love history. By visiting dark tourist sites, I have gained a deeper understanding of some of the most significant events in world history. It’s so much more real and engaging when you are standing where an event took place and exploring the landscape and looking at actual artifacts.

It’s also amazing to see how human civilization evolves over the years. For example, 2000 years ago, gladiator games were an acceptable form of entertainment. Most people would not be okay with that today. It is also interesting to see how technology, weapons, clothing, politics, and more have changed throughout the years. The world was a completely different place just 20 years ago. Times change quickly.

I also have a pretty strong morbid curiosity. Dark things simply interest me. I find it fascinating to imagine the horrors that humans have endured and overcome.

Final Thoughts About Dark Tourism

Dark tourism often gets a bad rap in the media. People get the idea that it is disrespectful, voyeuristic, sick, or even unethical. Some country’s tourism departments also try to hide their dark tourism sites because they fear a bad reputation. They may not want people to associate the country with its dark past.

The truth is that most dark tourism is simply educational. People like to visit these sites to learn about their history. They also satisfy our natural morbid fascination. There is nothing wrong with visiting dark tourist places, as long as you do so respectfully.

One important thing to remember is that dark tourism is not a new form of tourism. People have been visiting dark sites for as long as tourism has existed. For example, tourists began visiting Pompeii in the 1800s. The gladiatorial games could be considered one of the earliest forms of dark tourism. Those began when the Colosseum opened in 80 AD. People are naturally interested in these types of destinations and will continue to be.

Dark tourism is also a very broad term. Many of the world’s most visited tourism sites can be considered dark tourism sites. There is also a lot of overlap with mass tourism. Most people don’t travel exclusively to visit dark sites. Instead, they pair dark tourism with regular tourist attractions. For example, if someone is in Hawaii, they may spend a day visiting Pearl Harbor and the various memorials then go to the beach the next day. If someone visits Kyiv, they’ll probably take a day trip to Chornobyl because it’s one of the biggest tourist attractions in the region. It’s common to pair dark tourist sites with other types of sites.

Hopefully, this guide helps you in planning your visit to some of the world’s best dark tourism sites.

If you’re on the fence about dark tourism, check out my guide to the ethics and criticisms of dark tourism.

Are you a dark tourist? Share your favorite dark tourism destination in the comments below!

Pin it for later!

More from Where The Road Forks

• 35 Types of Tourism
• How to Plan a Round the World Trip
• 30 Free Things to do While Traveling
• The Best Solo Travel Destinations
• Whale Watching in South Africa: Where to Go
• 21 Free Airline Stopover Options

Zachary Friedman is an accomplished travel writer and professional blogger. Since 2011, he has traveled to 66 countries and 6 continents. He founded ‘Where The Road Forks’ in 2017 to provide readers with information and insights based on his travel and outdoor recreation experience and expertise. Zachary is also an avid cyclist and hiker. Living as a digital nomad, Zachary balances his professional life with his passions for hiking, camping, cycling, and worldwide exploration. For a deeper dive into his journey and background, visit the About page. For inquiries and collaborations, please reach out through the Contact page. You can also follow him on Facebook.

Sharing is caring!

Sign me up for the newsletter!

10 Haunting Dark Tourism Destinations From Around the World

Eerie but still fascinating, these dark tourism spots are definitely off the beaten path, yet could still be worth visiting (if you don’t mind the macabre).

By Tobias Wartime | Sep 25, 2023

While some people go on vacation for a little rest and relaxation, others prefer to travel to destinations that are primarily associated with the morbid and the macabre.

The practice, which is known as dark tourism , involves visiting locations with a lot of notoriety because they’re largely associated with death , devastation, and unspeakable acts against humanity.

“It’s not a new phenomenon,” J. John Lennon, a professor of tourism at Glasgow Caledonian University told The Washington Post in 2019. “There’s evidence that dark tourism goes back to the Battle of Waterloo where people watched from their carriages [as] the battle [took] place.” Lennon and his colleague Malcolm Foley are credited with coining the term dark tourism in 1996, and together they wrote the book Dark Tourism: The Attraction to Death and Disaster .

In recent years, foot traffic to Civil War battlefields and places like Auschwitz have even been on the rise, perhaps because tourists want to better understand some of history’s most tragic chapters. Below are some of the most well-known dark tourism destinations from around the world.

1. The Ruins of Pompeii // Pompeii, Italy

In the fall of 79 CE, Mount Vesuvius erupted with the force of 100,000 atom bombs, releasing toxic gas, ash, and other volcanic debris into the air. It subsequently wiped out the nearby cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii . Nearly 2000 years later, the ruins of Pompeii , as part of Vesuvius National Park, have become one of Italy’s most frequented tourist attractions, in large part due to the volcanic ash deposits that completely coated and preserved the ancient city.

There are a number of guided tours and excursions that take tourists to historical sites around the ruins that are still frozen in time, such as Pompeii Archaeological Park, The Forum, Teatro Grande, and more. 

2. Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum // Oświęcim, Poland

One of the most harrowing places on the planet to visit is the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum , which opened in 1947 in Oświęcim, Poland. Auschwitz was the largest Nazi concentration camp during World War II (an estimated 1.3 million people were sent there before 1945); it was also the site of a mass genocide where more than 1.1 million people—including over 960,000 Jewish people—were murdered or died due to illnesses like typhus , tuberculosis, and dysentery. Poor sanitary conditions also led to issues like scabies, and many prisoners suffered from boils, rashes, and abscesses that were largely caused by vitamin deficiencies.

Today, Auschwitz is a memorial and museum that’s dedicated to history, education, and remembrance of the atrocities inflicted on fellow humans.

3. National September 11 Memorial & Museum // New York City, New York

Ever since the terrorist attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, people from around the world have flocked to New York City’s Financial District to pay their respects to the nearly 3000 lives lost at Ground Zero. 

In fact, according to a 2022 survey by Passport Photo Online, Ground Zero is one of the most popular dark tourism destinations in the world. The National September 11 Memorial and Museum , which opened in 2014, features twin reflecting pools containing the largest man-made waterfalls in North America where the Twin Towers once stood. The names of every victim are engraved in bronze panels surrounding each acre-sized pools. The museum itself has artifacts on display, personal stories , special exhibitions, and more. There are also exhibits focused the World Trade Center bombing that happened on February 26, 1993.

4. The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek // Phnom Penh, Cambodia

From 1974 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge regime murdered more than 1 million political prisoners in Cambodia (about one-fourth of the country’s total population), burying the bodies in mass graves known as “killing fields.” The largest of the killing fields was Choeung Ek, located on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. The site was an orchard and Chinese cemetery before the Khmer Rouge used it for widespread massacres.

In 1980, after the regime was overthrown, the remains of nearly 9000 people were exhumed from the mass graves surrounding Choeung Ek (although some graves were left untouched ). Roughly 8000 skulls that were taken from those graves are now on display behind glass panels at the Choeung Ek memorial stupa, a Buddhist-style structure which was erected in 1988 to remember the victims who were lost.

In 2019, more than 250,000 visitors—a mix of international travelers and Cambodians— explored the site ; prior to the COVID-19 epidemic, approximately 300 to 600 guests visited daily. Attendance rates sharply declined after 2020 because it was closed, but in 2022, more than 45,000 foreign guests and over 21,000 Cambodians visited. In addition, the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center is a focal point every year during Cambodia’s National Day of Remembrance, which is observed on May 20.

5. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum // Hiroshima, Japan

Since it opened in August 1955, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima, Japan, has been dedicated to preserving stories, photos, and other artifacts that convey the unimaginable terror and loss of life that the city endured after being on the receiving end of the world’s first atomic bomb strike on August 6, 1945. (The U.S., in case you missed it in your history classes, was responsible for dropping the bomb .)

The museum reportedly gets around 1 million visitors every year and is a very popular choice for school field trips within the country. Inside you’ll find victim testimonials and exhibits depicting the horrors of war and the destructive nature of nuclear weapons. As the museum explains , “Each of the items displayed embodies the grief, anger, or pain of real people. Having now recovered from the A-bomb calamity, Hiroshima’s deepest wish is the elimination of all nuclear weapons and the realization of a genuinely peaceful international community.”

6. Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre // Murambi, Rwanda

Formerly a technical college, the Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre in southern Rwanda is one of the grimmest places for dark tourism. While the destination itself is picturesque (complete with rolling countryside hills and other scenic views), it was also the site of a brutal 1994 massacre which claimed approximately 50,000 lives during the Rwandan Civil War.

Approximately 65,000 refugees from the Tutsi minority community had fled to the technical college after being told by authorities that they would be safe there . Instead, they were confined without food or water, and subsequently massacred by a government-backed Hutu militia. Only 34 people are believed to have survived the carnage that ensued.

Throughout the 100-day period now known as the Rwandan genocide , Hutu militias collectively murdered upwards of 800,000 civilians, many of whom were Tutsis. The Murambi Genocide Memorial Centre, which opened in April 1995, is now one of six National Genocide Memorial Sites within the country. More than 800 mummified corpses and preserved skeletons are on display in Murambi, to serve as a reminder of the horrific darkness and gruesomeness of the genocide, and to honor those who were victimized.

7. The Catacombs of Paris // Paris, France

During the 18th century, Paris had a big public health problem on its hands: Local cemeteries were overcrowded and improper disposal of corpses was fueling the spread of disease. In response, the city decided to convert its subterranean Lutetian limestone quarries into sprawling underground ossuaries.

Located about 65 feet below the City of Light’s streets, the Les Catacombes de Paris (a.k.a. the Catacombs of Paris ) house the remains of more than 6 million late Parisians. Today, visitors can take guided tours and learn about its unique history, all while viewing the millions of human skulls and bones that line the walls of the cavernous space.

8. Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary // Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, California

It might come as a surprise, but one of San Francisco ’s most popular tourist attractions is technically located in San Francisco Bay, on Alcatraz Island. Better known to some as “The Rock,” Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary was a former maximum-security federal prison that closed down in 1963. But before it did, it hosted some pretty infamous inmates , including Al Capone , George “Machine Gun” Kelly, James “Whitey” Bulger, and others.

Over the decades, Alcatraz has been immortalized in pop culture through music and movies. It’s also considered a U.S. National Park now and has over 1.5 million visitors annually. Tourists can take guided walks around the main cell-house, dining hall, lighthouse, and other locations around the grounds.

9. Cape Coast Castle // Cape Coast, Ghana

Originally built for the Swedish Africa Company in 1653 for the purposes of trading gold and timber, Ghana’s Cape Coast Castle later became an integral part of the Atlantic slave trade. Famously, one of the doors at the slave-trade outpost was known as the “ Door of no Return .” Many believe that captive Africans were led through it to ships that were about to embark on the Middle Passage , and were never seen or heard from again. (However, some have recently speculated that the door may not have been linked to the slave trade at all, and may have actually been used as a way to dispose of waste by tossing it into the sea.)

During the ‘70s, Cape Coast Castle was converted into a museum and monument, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) later named it a World Heritage Site for preservation and protection, as a “cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.” Over the years, it has become a major tourist attraction for some Black Americans (including former President Barack Obama ) looking to reconnect with their roots.

10. Chernobyl // Pripyat, Ukraine

On April 26, 1986, nuclear reactor number four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Pripyat, Ukraine exploded, leaving the area uninhabitable and in ruins. Although it’s currently unsafe to visit due to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster has been a favored destination for dark tourism since 2011 , when the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone opened up for visits.

Pripyat has since become a ghost town with abandoned schools, hospitals, apartment buildings, and more; there’s also a deserted amusement park with a Ferris wheel and bumper cars. Scientists believe it could take up to 20,000 years for the land to fully recover from the radioactive damage. However, there have been very strict short-term guided tours allowed in the past throughout the exclusion zone. There are a number of very strict safeguards —like wearing restrictive clothing and using a Geiger counter—to prevent radiation poisoning. In 2019, an estimated 200,000 tourists visited the site.

Exploring the Dark Side: Dark Tourism Sites Visited Around the World

Zimmin Around the World

Is dark tourism a growing trend among travelers around the world? Visitors seeking out attractions and locations that that are associated with death, tragedy, bizarreness, and the macabre. Dark tourism includes visiting sites that are considered to be unordinary, tragic, and sometimes even scary. I myself have always been fascinated by dark tourism, even before it was a thing. I enjoy learning about the darker side of history and realizing that travel is not always pretty and perfect. This post we’ll take a look at some of the dark tourism sites I’ve visited around the world.

**This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one of the links or banners throughout the page, whether it be TripAdvisor, Booking.com. Agoda.com, or any other affiliate, I might receive commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, you can visit my affiliate link page here. Thanks for the support!

***Warning***

There are images and topics in this post some viewers might find disturbing.

Table of Contents

What is Dark Tourism?

To me, dark tourism is defined as visiting attractions and places that involve some sort of tragedy or unusual place of interest. 

Everyone has their own version of what dark tourism truly is. To some it might be visiting a war museum and to others it can mean visiting a site of immense tragedy. 

Dark tourism generally involves traveling to places or visiting attractions that are associated with death, catastrophe, haunted places, locations where horrific events occurred, or even places with bizarre artifacts and unusual oddities. 

When it comes down to it, every traveler has visited a dark tourist spot whether it be the catacombs in Paris and ruins of Pompeii in Italy or the atomic bomb dome in Hiroshima. 

Dark Tourism Sites We've Visited

I’ve always been fascinated by dark tourism. I’d say I have morbid curiosity when it comes to traveling. I enjoy learning and seeing as much as possible, both good and bad.

Traveling is not always pretty. Many people travel to Poland just to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau or maybe to the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology to catch a glimpse of Ötzi the Iceman. 

I’ve found myself traveling to destinations specifically for a dark tourist attraction, like the Mummies of Guanajuato in Mexico or paying a visit to the Yde Girl in Assen, Netherlands .

If you are like me and curious about dark tourism, here is a list of  dark tourism sites  around the world that I have personally visited broken down by region. 

Aokigahara Forest (Japan's Suicide Forest)

When it comes to dark tourism, Japan’s Aokigahara Forest or informally known as Japan’s “Suicide Forest” is probably one of the world’s most famous sites. 

Known around the world as the “ Suicide Forest ,” Aokigahara Forest unfortunately received this name due to the high volume of suicides that occur at this location.

Aokigahara Forest has been the subject of many horror films, folklore, and stories. 

Today, anyone can visit Japan’s “Suicide Forest.” Honestly, the forest is quite beautiful. There are hiking trails throughout the forest and visitors can even explore Narusawa Ice Cave and Wind Cave. 

Okinawa Battle Sites

During the Battle of Okinawa, anywhere from 12,000 Americans and over 100,000 Japanese lost their lives. 

The island of Okinawa has a long history, unfortunately WWII is one of the most notable historical events that occurred on and around Okinawa. 

Some of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific occurred on Okinawa. There are many sites in Southern Okinawa related to the war that can be visited today. 

I’m surprised dark tourists don’t flock to Okinawa. Some of the famous sites include Hacksaw Ridge, the Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters, and the Peace Memorial Museum. 

The Former Japanese Navy Underground Headquarters is not to be missed especially if seeking out the darker side of history. Visitors can walk through the tunnels and view some of the special rooms. One room that stood out to me had holes all over the walls and ceiling from a grenade that was used by an officer to end their life.  

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Besides visiting Aokigahara Forest, dark tourists will most likely find themselves visiting either the cities of Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

Both cities were devastated by atomic bombs during WWII and there are still remnants remaining around each city left as a reminder of the devastation that took place. 

If visiting Hiroshima, you can pay a visit to the hypo center, A-Bomb Dome, Peace Memorial Park and Museum, Honkawa Elementary School, and Bank of Japan. 

Although Nagasaki is less visited then Hiroshima, there are many sites related to the war that are of interest. Visitors can go to the Atomic Bomb Museum and Peace Park.

Sokushin-Butsu (Buddhist Mummies in Japan)

Japan might be one of the last countries you’d think would have mummies. But in northern Japan in Yamagata Prefecture, there are Sokushin-Butsu, which is a Buddhist Mummy. 

I am definitely interested in visiting dark tourist sites in Japan. I visited the Buddhist Temple of Dainichibou while on a road trip through the Prefecture of Yamagata. 

This temple has the mummified remains of Shinnyokai-Shounin. According to information at the temple, Shinnyokai-Shounin was a Buddhist Monk during the Edo period who became a Sokushin-Butsu.

These monks sacrificed their lives and practiced ascetic disciplines according to the temple. The monks would not eat grain, instead they ate nuts, tree roots, bark, wild plants, among other natural edibles. They then fasted on saltwater for 42 days and drank Urushi (An ingredient in lacquer) basically beginning the mummify process while still alive. 

After self mummification, Shinnyokai-Shounin buried himself alive. Again, according to the temple, after 1,000 days of being buried, the body would be exhumed. 

Today, visitors can go to Dainichibou and see the mummified body of Shinnyokai-Shounin sitting there. You can partake in rituals. Just be warned, photographs of the mummy are not allowed.

Hoa Lo Prison

No  trip to Hanoi, Vietnam is complete without a visit to Hoa Lo Prison. Vietnam has many dark tourist sites, mainly around Ho Chi Minh City but Hanoi has its fair share like the  Vietnam Military Museum or the notorious Hoa Lo Prison .

Hoa Lo Prison, or “The Hanoi Hilton,” is a historical prison that was built in the late 1800’s during the French occupation. 

First, the prison was built to house political prisoners. Then it was used by the Vietnamese as a prison for US prisoners of war. 

During the French occupation, Hoa Lo Prison was a place of nightmares. Prisoners were kept in horrendous conditions where sickness spread, food was poor, and the prison was at max capacity. 

More bizarre then dark is the Museum of Froggy Land in Split, Croatia. 

While exploring Split, we stumbled upon this museum by accident and of course our curiosity led us to visit one of the more bizarre museums I’ve ever visited.

Froggy Land is a museum in Split, Croatia. The museum has taxidermied frogs on display. Each display has several taxidermied frogs that appear to be doing human day to day activities like going to school, working in a shop, or getting into some sort of trouble. 

According to the Froggy Land  website , the collection consists of 507 stuffed frogs. 

Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a 155 Kilometer (96 Miles) long wall that separated West Berlin from East Berlin. 

The Berlin Wall was nearly built overnight on August 13, 1961 separating neighborhoods and even families in an instant. 

The Berlin Wall was heavily guarded and guards were ordered to shoot on sight if anyone attempted to flee into Western Germany. Overall, around 140 people lost their lives before it finally fell on November 9, 1989. 

Today, there are portions of the Berlin Wall that still stand in certain parts of the city. 

Medieval Crime Museum (Rothenburg Torture Museum)

Who doesn’t love a good torture museum? Well, the Medieval Crime Museum in Rothenburg ob der Tauber has thousands of exhibits related to history, humiliation, punishment, and torture.

You can spend hours at this museum viewing the shame masks, torture devices, and other historical artifacts. There is even an Iron Maiden on display and various types of axes and swords used for beheadings. 

Netherlands

Bog bodies of europe.

I took a road trip from northern Germany to  Assen, Netherlands , just to visit the Drents Museum and see the Yde Girl.

The Netherlands has plenty of dark tourist sites and seeing the Yde Girl, a Bog Body is one of them.

Bog bodies are mummified bodies that have been discovered in bogs, primarily in Northern Europe to include the United Kingdom. 

Bog bodies can be thousands of years old. Many of them, so well preserved they have been mistaken for recent murder victims. 

The Yde Girl is a well preserved bog body at Assen’s Drents Museum, in the Archaeology Department. 

The Yde Girl was dug up in the Netherlands in 1897. Found with a noose around her neck, which appeared to be quite common among other bod bodies, she most likely died from being a victim of sacrifice or from wounds inflicted of being tortured. 

Veenhuizen: National Prison Museum

Another dark tourist site in the Netherlands is the National Prison Museum in Veenhuizen.

We stopped at the prison museum while en route to the beautiful city of  Groningen . 

What we know and see today as the National Prison Museum in Veenhuizen was at one point an actual prison housing criminals.

The prison is pretty interactive and starts off with torture and forms of punishments that date back hundreds of years. From here you can walk through the rest of the prison. Visitors can see what cells where like, get to know, more like read about some of the prisoners that stayed here in the past, and learn a little about the Netherlands past and current legal systems. 

Auschwitz-Birkenau

One of the most intense, sad, and chilling places I’ve ever visited has to be Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland. 

Auschwitz is huge, you can spend most the day here walking around the concentration camp.

Visitors will see the Arbeit Macht Frei sign, Gate to Auschwitz, crematoriums, barracks, the “death wall,” gallows, and even the site where Josef Mengele performed medical experiments.

Some of the rooms that really hit me hard were the evidence rooms showing piles among piles of items that belonged to prisoners. There were rooms full of artificial limbs, glasses, shoes, suitcases, and everything else imaginable. 

North America

Guanajuato: mummies of guanajuato.

By far the spookiest museum I’ve ever been to is Museo de las Momias in  Guanajuato, Mexico .

As far as dark tourism goes, this is a must visit museum. Not only is the Museo de las Momias an interesting museum but it will definitely stick with you for the rest of your life. 

In the 1850’s, a cholera outbreak swept through Guanajuato. Cemeteries could not keep up with the amount of dead.

The government started to tax families for plots. For those that could not afford the fees, the bodies were dug up and placed in storage. 

The arid climate and soil preserved the bodies. The well preserved corpses peaked the interest of locals to the point where the cemetery was charging people to view the bodies.

This site got so famous, the owner of the grounds decided to turn it into a museum for everyone to enjoy! Feel free to read my  2 Days in Guanajuato post for more information. 

Guanajuato: Purgatory Museum

Guanajuato was the ultimate Dark Tourist destination. Between the Museo de las Momias, mines, and Museum of Purgatory, I feel like anyone fascinated with dark tourism needs to add Guanajuato to the list. 

The Museum of Purgatory in Guanajuato was a thrilling, cheesy, and entertaining experience. 

The Museum of Purgatory had several exhibits and portrayals of the Spanish Inquisition and other exhibits that were flat out terrifying. There were replicas of torture devices and torture methods on display and other exhibits that were just meant to be spooky. 

United States

Florida: robert the doll.

When it comes to Dark Tourism sites, the United States has many attractions that fly under the radar. 

Have you ever heard of Robert the Doll? I remember listening to a podcast years ago and heard about this haunted doll. 

like most haunted dolls, Robert the Doll, is said to move on his own, giggle, even mess with people. 

For those who want to see one of America’s most haunted dolls, Robert the Doll is on display at the East Martello Museum in Key West, Florida. 

Remember, when taking a photo of Robert the Doll, always ask for his permission, and ask nicely. You don’t want to have your nice trip at the Florida Keys ruined by his curse.

Colorado and Missouri: Graves of Famous Outlaws and Cannibals

I’ve visited many famous graves around the United States, from the grave of Benjamin Franklin to Samuel Adams. But none stand out more to me then visiting the graves of two very different people, a well known outlaw and a wilderness guide known as the “Colorado Cannibal.”

When I lived in Kansas City, I took a day trip to Kearney, Missouri to visit the birthplace of Jesse James. Jesse James is perhaps one of Americas most famous outlaws. 

In Kearney, you can visit the Jesse James Boyhood home and his grave at the Kearney Cemetery. 

The second grave I visited was that of Alferd Packer. Alferd Packer was a guide among other trades. 

While guiding others across the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, Alferd and his crew ran into months of brutal winter conditions. 

After more then sixty days, only Alferd Packer emerged from this journey. He later admitted that he turned to  cannibalism to survive the harsh winter. The remains of the five other people were found at a campsite.

Today, you can visit the grave site of Alferd Packer at Littleton Cemetery in Littleton, Colorado near Denver.

Pennsylvania: Mütter Museum

In the United States, a list of dark tourism sites can’t be complete with noting the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

The Mütter Museum is a fascinating museum with an extensive display of medical oddities, historical medical equipment, and specimens.  

Some of my favorite exhibits at the Mütter Museum include the skeleton of a giant (7’6″ man, tallest skeleton on display in North America), slides of cells from one of the world’s most brilliant minds, Albert Einstein, and the many deformities and wet specimens. 

Missouri: Glore Psychiatric Museum

One of the most interesting yet terrifying museums I’ve visited is the Glore Psychiatric Museum in St. Joseph, Missouri. 

The Glore Psychiatric Museum has exhibits and displays from the State Lunatic asylum No. 2 Hospital dating back 140 year ago. 

There is much more to the museum as it has exhibits on the history of mental asylums as they progressed to more modern times. 

The Glore Psychiatric Museum has medical equipment on display, rooms, what we would see as torture devices, and even collections of unusual behaviors from patients.

There is an exhibit showing 1,446 items that were removed from one individuals stomach. The items included things like pins, nails, bolts, etc.. Needles to say, she did not survive the operation when doctors performed surgery to remove the items. 

I remember there was a display of letters, I believe the patient thought the television was a mailbox, so he slipped them behind the television. Overtime there were over 500 letter accumulated. 

Dark tourism sites are not for everyone but they do offer selected visitors with a unique opportunity to explore and learn about some of the more tragic sites and attractions around the world. Many of these sites do serve as an important reminder of atrocities that have happened in the past. Dark tourism sites can be overwhelming and unsettling but do offer insight  and can help many of us better understand different kinds of history around the world. This list of dark tourist sites is a collection of places I’ve visited around the world. I’ve stated, traveling is not always pretty, there are sites around the world that many of us seek out that are quite bizarre, sad, or even terrifying. But we can learn from many of these tragic sites and promote awareness, empathy, and understanding. 

Enjoying my photos and want to see more? Check out my Picfair Store . 📸  

Plan Your Trip: 🗺 ✈️  

Booking Accommodations ⛺️ 🛖 

For booking recommendations on the best deals and locations, check out  Agoda or Booking.com

Activities and Tours  🏖 🚁 

Find fun activities and things to do through Tripadvisor . If you are looking for tours and day trips,  Viator and   Get Your Guide have a lot of great options. 

In need of a car rental? 🚗 🚘 

I recommend checking with  Rental Cars .

• Google Plus

You may also like

Three Great Gardens of Japan: Kairaku-en, Kenroku-en, Koraku-en

Quick Visit to Ushiku Daibutsu: Japan’s Tallest Buddha Statue

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

A travel & food blog

17+ Chilling Dark Tourism Sites Around the World

Travel is often treated as a holiday experience – light, cheery, and fun. But recently, there is another side of travel that is gaining popularity around the world: dark tourism.

Dark tourism includes traveling to “places historically associated with death and tragedy.” It is somewhat a controversial topic, since these are actual places where human suffering and loss took place. Tourists who are planning to visit a dark tourism site are expected to educate themselves about the history and culture of their destination and show respect at all times.

There are different reasons people are drawn to dark tourism. It can be the historical or educational value, simple curiosity, or in some cases morbid fascination.

Please enable JavaScript

Here are the top dark tourism sites around the world you should consider visiting:

1. Auschwitz Concentration Camp (Poland)

2. hiroshima (japan), 3. choeung ek killing fields (cambodia), 4. catacombs of paris (france), 5. ground zero (new york, usa), 6. mount pinatubo (philippines), 7. the dmz (north korea) , 8. tana toraja (south sulawesi, indonesia), 9. holocaust memorial (germany), 10. anne frank house (amsterdam), 11. robben island (cape town south africa), 12. alcatraz island (san francisco, usa), 13. pompeii (italy), 14. new orleans haunted history tour (new orleans, usa), 15. resistance museum (timor leste), 16. la cabaña (cuba), 17. tyneham village (uk), 18. zanzibar slave market.

The genocide of European Jews, lead by Adolf Hitler, is one of the darkest times of human history. The Auschwitz-Birkenau (also known as Auschwitz Concentration Camp) is the largest concentration camp where various groups of people were executed.

It is possible to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau without a guide. However, it’s recommended to book a guided tour to learn more about the place. There are 2 areas you can explore. Auschwitz I is the original concentration camp containing the barracks. Auschwitz II or Birkenau is another camp built later on to house the majority of prisoners; it’s also where the people were executed in gas chambers and then processed in crematoriums.

Visiting the Auschwitz Concentration Camp is a powerful experience. It’s a sorrowful reminder of what humans are capable of and of the value of human lives.

It’s hard to imagine that Hiroshima, now a vibrant city not unlike Tokyo, was once a site of one of the deadliest catastrophes in history.

In 1945, the United States detonated nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, resulting in thousands of deaths. The whole city of Hiroshima was wiped out and about 140,000 people died.

Since then, Hiroshima rose out of the ashes like a phoenix and rebuilt itself. There is little remnants left of the bombings from WWII, but visitors who would like to learn more about it can visit several places. The Atomic Bomb Dome was one of the few structures left intact near the bomb’s hypocenter. It’s now known as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, which also houses other museums related to the Hiroshima incident.

The killing fields are a grim reminder of Cambodia’s darkest history.

From 1975 to 1974, the Khmer Rouge (also called the Communist Party of Kampuchea) assumed power and aimed to create a classless, agrarian society. Free markets were abolished, cities were evacuated of thousands of its residents, families were separated, and children were forced into education camps. During the four years of Khmer Rouge’s occupation, about 20% of the country’s population was executed.

The Cambodia killing fields are remote fields where thousands were massacred and buried. The largest of these is Choeung Ek Killing Fields, which is located about 40 minutes away from central Phnom Phen.

Currently, Cheong Ek Killing Fields has been transformed into a memorial site that draws both locals who want to pay respect and tourists who want to learn more about the country’s history. You can see numerous untouched graves and listen to a guide telling the stories of people who passed away and those who survived.

The Catacombs of Paris are underground ossuaries containing the remains of several millions of Parisians. It was built in the 1770s — at the time, the city faced a problem of overflowing cemeteries, so they decided to transfer the dead into a large network of underground tunnels. Afterwards, renovations were made to transform the area into a visitable mausoleum: the bones were stacked into what is seen today and other displays were added.

The Catacombs is a subject of curiosity for tourists who know Paris as a City of Love. Currently, it is open for visitation and no authorization is required. Different guided tours are offered for individuals and/or groups who want to see first-hand the skulls lined up in walls underneath the city.

The 9/11 is one of the more modern acts of terror in history. Also known as the September 11 Attacks, it includes four coordinated attacks by the group Al-Qaeda against the United States. Two airplanes were hijacked midair and then crashed against the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, which collapsed and damaged the other World Trade Center structures and surrounding buildings.

The Ground Zero is a museum built at the base of the Twin Towers. The museum aims to showcase the story of the 9/11 and its aftermath, as well as the story of the people who experienced it. As per its official website , it welcomes visitors with “messages of healing, unity, and renewal.”

Mount Pinatubo is an ancient volcano located in the northern island of the Philippines. In 1991, it violently erupted – this eruption is considered the second-largest terrestrial eruption in the 20 th century. Surrounding towns were affected, as houses were either damaged or completely destroyed by ashfall and mud. Several hundred people perished, although tens of thousands survived due to immediate evacuation. Wildlife and agriculture were also affected for years. The eruption also caused global temperature to decrease by .5 °C in the subsequent years.

The caldera of the volcano has since been filled with water, which is known today as Lake Pinatubo. Currently, it’s a popular hiking spot among locals. You can book a tour wherein you will ride a 4×4 and then trek for 2 hours to reach the crater lake. You may also stop by the Aeta Village where you can meet Aetas, one of the indigenous tribes in the country.

By Steve Rohan of The Trip Goes On

North Korea is a country on the radar of many “Dark Tourists” and nowhere more so than the  Demilitarized Zone , or DMZ, that separates North and South Korea. On a trip to the DMZ you’ll learn a lot about the Armistice after the Korean War and be able to see some interesting exhibits and photographs.  

It’s actually quite easy to visit North Korea (unless you are American or South Korean) and there a few tourist companies specializing in trips to the hermit Kingdom. 

I have visited North Korea twice, and on the second visit took a trip to the famous blue huts at Panmunjom and the DMZ. It was interesting to see the soldiers patrolling the demarcation line known as the 38th Parallel.

By De Wet & Jin of Museum of Wander

A  funeral in Tana Toraja  is a grim and fascinating experience, and everyone is invited! Tana Toraja in southern Sulawesi is a beautiful valley where the people practice macabre funeral rituals.

When someone passes, the family preserves the body using formalin and keeps it in the house for up to a year or longer until the family has saved enough money for the funeral. Expensive water buffaloes must be bought for sacrifice, and a realistic wooden effigy of the deceased must be carved before the funeral.

On the day of the funeral, everyone is invited, including tourists. The decorated buffaloes are shown off, and the effigy is displayed. There is some bullfighting, and then everyone gathers to watch the sacrifice of the buffaloes.

The deceased’s soul only leaves the earth after the animal sacrifice. The body and the effigy are then carried off to be buried in a nearby cave.

Funeral season is in July and August, and it is free to attend. It is customary to bring some cigarettes or a gift for the deceased’s family.

By Ali Garland from Berlin Travel Tips

The official name of the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. This site was created to honor the Jewish victims of the Nazis before and during World War II. Not only is this an important memorial, but it’s one of the most popular  free things to do in Berlin .

The Holocaust Memorial was designed with 2,711 concrete blocks at different heights. These blocks sit on an uneven slope, like a wave, and the intent is to make visitors uneasy. Walking through these blocks is a somber experience that encourages you to think about the horrors the victims went through.

Beneath the concrete slabs is an information center where you can learn more about the victims. You’ll see diaries, photographs, letters, and more, which gives the experience a more personal touch.

This is a place to show respect for victims who experienced unimaginable things. Please do not climb or sit on the concrete slabs or take selfies here, even if you see other people doing these things.

The Holocaust Memorial is located at Cora-Berliner-Str 1, not far from Brandenburg Gate.

By Erin Hynes of Pina Travels

The Anne Frank House is a historical home in central Amsterdam , on a canal called the Prinsengracht. It’s a biographical museum dedicated to the Jewish wartime diarist, Anne Frank. During the Second World War, Anne kept a diary in which she documented life in hiding under Nazi persecution. 

For more than 2 years, Anne and her family hid in an attic at Prinsengracht 263. On August 4th, 1944, the hiding place was betrayed, and Anne and her family were deported to concentration camps. Anne’s diary survived the raid and was published as a book post-war. 

Visitors can tour Prinsengracht 263 to see the moveable bookcase that hid the entrance into the family’s hiding place, and the attic where they hid. The rooms of the hiding place give visitors a sense of what hiding in the attic would have been like. Throughout the rooms there are quotes from Anne’s diary, historical documents, photos, films, and some of the original objects that were in the attic during the war. And, Anne’s original diary is on display in the museum. 

Visiting the Anne Frank House is an educational, and emotional experience that helps visitors understand what the Frank family, and other Jewish families, went through during the Second World War.

By Anwar of Beyond My Door

Robben Island is known as the prison where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years in (of his 27 years imprisoned), as did other political prisoners who were there for decades.

Named after the Dutch word for seals, the 5-square-kilometer island is located 7 kilometers off the western coast of Cape Town in South Africa. Tours of the island take visitors through the various buildings and history of the island.

Visitors can explore parts of the prison and its difficult past — from the graveyards of those who died among the prison population to the health issues, the life of the prisoners, living conditions, and more. One of the most incredible aspects of the tour is the talks by a former inmate of the prison who narrates his first-hand experience on his time there.

Visiting Robben Island is one of the most  popular activities in Cape Town . There is tragedy and hope to its history, and this is important to understand the present South Africa. Access to the island is via tickets that include ferry travel to reach the Island. Visitation to the island is only via guided tours.

By Anu Agarwal of Destination Checkoff

Touring Alcatraz prison is a very popular attraction in any  San Francisco itinerary . Every year millions of visitors come to see Alcatraz. Alcatraz prison was a federal prison in the 1900s and considered to be impossible to escape, due to it being an island surrounded by extremely cold water and strong currents of the San Francisco Bay. 

There were a lot of escape attempts but no one made it out of this prison. There is a true story that three prisoners hatched a plan and escaped and were never found. There is a movie made out of this story called ‘Escape from Alcatraz’. 

You need to book Alcatraz ferry tickets to reach the island. The Alcatraz prison is free to explore and there are docents who provide a guided tour. There are prison buildings here to explore, prison cells, and prison gardens. You can see excellent views of San Francisco Bay from Alcatraz Island. 

By Anda Bartos of Travel for a While

One of the most visited attractions in Italy, and one of the dark tourism destinations at the same time, is  Pompeii . The town of Pompeii was one of the prominent resorts for rich people in Ancient Rome. However, all that ended suddenly in 79 AD, when Mt. Vesuvius nearby, erupted violently. 

People in Pompeii didn’t know much about volcanoes, and though some of them fled in time, most lost their lives, trapped in the ash and poisonous gases of the eruption.

Seventeen centuries later, the buried town was found under thick layers of ash. Pompeii was beautifully preserved under the volcanic debris. Archaeologists also found empty spaces left where people died. They were able to create plaster bodies to fill those spaces and thus, appeared figures of people with the look they faced death with on their faces. These plaster bodies are one of the most moving remains of the dark tourism sites in Europe.

By Lindsey Puls of Have Clothes, Will Travel

Haunted history tours of New Orleans will give a look into the darker, more sinister historical events of the city. Tour guides will take you through the French Quarter of New Orleans for about 2 hours. They will stop at various spots to educate about the historical event/ brutal death that had happened there. While they are dark, they are also informational and deserve to be on your  New Orleans itinerary .

The darkest stop on these tours, though, is outside Madame Delphine LaLaurie’s house. She was a New Orleans socialite who tortured and murdered her slaves. In 1834, one of her slaves set fire to the home, and this is how authorities found the torture chamber in her basement. 

By Catherine Xu of Nomadicated

The Resistance Museum in Timor Leste preserves the stories of its bloody struggle for independence from Indonesia, which began in 1975 and ended in 2002. Over this time, 25% of the population was extinguished in the 24 years of occupation, making it one of the deadliest in recent history. 

This Timor-Leste attraction  does an excellent job explaining the conflict through interactive exhibits that chronicle the events that led up to the war, from Portuguese colonialism to independence.

As you walk through the archives, you’ll see photos and artifacts, as well as personal stories from victims of violence and the world’s final straw at the horror of the Santa Cruz Massacre.

The Resistance Museum is a powerful and moving tribute to those who lost their lives in this brutal conflict. It paints a vivid picture of the human cost of war and how, ultimately, the world can come together to heal.

By Carley from Home to Havana

Located across the harbor from  Old Havana , the Fortaleza de San Carlos de la Cabaña, known simply as  La Cabaña , is a Spanish colonial structure in Havana, Cuba with a long history. It is more recent history that makes it a dark tourism site.

Following the Cuban Revolution in January 1959, the historic fortress was used as a political prison for several months under the command of Che Guevara. Those designated as traitors were rounded up, tried, and executed within the walls of the fortress. It is estimated that anywhere between 50 to 200 prisoners were executed here.

Visitors will quickly find that a visit to La Cabaña does not highlight its dark history; in fact, it avoids focusing on it altogether. However, the dark, damp chambers of the fortress somehow speak of their dark past. While displays within the fortress mention its use, details about this bloody chapter of the Cuban Revolution are ones that most would rather soon forget.

By Paulina from the UK Every Day

Travelers to the famous  Durdle Door Beach  frequently overlook Tyneham Village — one of the best hidden gems in the UK located only 20 minutes away. Those who have visited it call it the ghost village because its inhabitants have never returned to Tyneham since the 17th of December 1943.

Why did they leave their dreamland surrounded by rolling hills and beautiful views of the Jurrasic Coast just before Christmas? This area was taken over for temporary military training, but residents of Tyneham were never allowed to come back.

As soon as you enter the village you will see remains of military equipment and houses ruins. However, there are a few buildings in a decent state such as church and school. Children’s notes in exercise books on school desks look like the lesson was just a few hours ago, but in reality, the place was abandoned for many years. 

By Shaun of Travel Mad Mum

The Stone Town in  Zanzibar  is infamous as being one of the largest and most brutal slave markets in history. 

This horrific institution is where enslaved people from all over were bought on  crammed dhow boats to be inspected by potential buyers. With inhumane conditions, little food and rampant disease most didn’t survive the trip. 

The Slave Market Memorial tour is a very somber experience indeed. Visitors can see where the captives were held underground in terribly small chambers with no light in which they shared with over 80 other slaves.

Today there is an Anglican Church which stands on the exact spot of the slave market, at the altar is a round circle of stones in the marble which represent where the whipping tree was  located. The slaves were tied to the tree and whipped repeatedly to show how  strong they were. The more lashings a slave could  withstand the better price they could fetch. 

The sordid history of  Zanzibar’s slave market is told through many presentations and photos of this truly disturbing time. It is a very emotional experience walking through and reading accounts of what happened here, witnessing the slave pit, including the actual chains that were used to bind them.

Are you interested in dark tourism? What other dark tourism spots will you recommend? Let us know in the comments section below!

Get discounts on your travels!

Enjoy discounts with KLOOK using our promo code: TARALETSANYWHERE

Katherine Cortes is a long-time backpacker and a freelance writer/editor. She likes beaches, snorkeling trips, and relaxing staycations (preferably with bath tubs!).

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Beaches? Cruises? ‘Dark’ Tourists Prefer the Gloomy and Macabre

Travelers who use their off time to visit places like the Chernobyl nuclear plant or current conflict zones say they no longer want a sanitized version of a troubled world.

By Maria Cramer

North Korea. East Timor. Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous enclave that for decades has been a tinderbox for ethnic conflict between Armenians and Azerbaijanis.

They’re not your typical top tourist destinations.

But don’t tell that to Erik Faarlund, the editor of a photography website from Norway, who has visited all three. His next “dream” trip is to tour San Fernando in the Philippines around Easter , when people volunteer to be nailed to a cross to commemorate the suffering of Jesus Christ, a practice discouraged by the Catholic Church.

Mr. Faarlund, whose wife prefers sunning on Mediterranean beaches, said he often travels alone.

“She wonders why on earth I want to go to these places, and I wonder why on earth she goes to the places she goes to,” he said.

Mr. Faarlund, 52, has visited places that fall under a category of travel known as dark tourism , an all-encompassing term that boils down to visiting places associated with death, tragedy and the macabre.

As travel opens up, most people are using their vacation time for the typical goals: to escape reality, relax and recharge. Not so dark tourists, who use their vacation time to plunge deeper into the bleak, even violent corners of the world.

They say going to abandoned nuclear plants or countries where genocides took place is a way to understand the harsh realities of current political turmoil, climate calamities, war and the growing threat of authoritarianism.

“When the whole world is on fire and flooded and no one can afford their energy bills, lying on a beach at a five-star resort feels embarrassing,” said Jodie Joyce, who handles contracts for a genome sequencing company in England and has visited Chernobyl and North Korea .

Mr. Faarlund, who does not see his travels as dark tourism, said he wants to visit places “that function totally differently from the way things are run at home.”

Whatever their motivations, Mr. Faarlund and Ms. Joyce are hardly alone.

Eighty-two percent of American travelers said they have visited at least one dark tourism destination in their lifetime, according to a study published in September by Passport-photo.online, which surveyed more than 900 people. More than half of those surveyed said they preferred visiting “active” or former war zones. About 30 percent said that once the war in Ukraine ends, they wanted to visit the Azovstal steel plant, where Ukrainian soldiers resisted Russian forces for months .

The growing popularity of dark tourism suggests more and more people are resisting vacations that promise escapism, choosing instead to witness firsthand the sites of suffering they have only read about, said Gareth Johnson, a founder of Young Pioneer Tours , which organized trips for Ms. Joyce and Mr. Faarlund.

Tourists, he said, are tired of “getting a sanitized version of the world.”

A pastime that goes back to Gladiator Days

The term “dark tourism” was coined in 1996, by two academics from Scotland, J. John Lennon and Malcolm Foley, who wrote “Dark Tourism: The Attraction to Death and Disaster.”

But people have used their leisure time to witness horror for hundreds of years, said Craig Wight, associate professor of tourism management at Edinburgh Napier University.

“It goes back to the gladiator battles” of ancient Rome, he said. “People coming to watch public hangings. You had tourists sitting comfortably in carriages watching the Battle of Waterloo.”

Professor Wight said the modern dark tourist usually goes to a site defined by tragedy to make a connection to the place, a feeling that is difficult to achieve by just reading about it.

By that definition, anyone can be a dark tourist. A tourist who takes a weekend trip to New York City may visit Ground Zero. Visitors to Boston may drive north to Salem to learn more about the persecution of people accused of witchcraft in the 17th century. Travelers to Germany or Poland might visit a concentration camp. They might have any number of motivations, from honoring victims of genocide to getting a better understanding of history. But in general, a dark tourist is someone who makes a habit of seeking out places that are either tragic, morbid or even dangerous, whether the destinations are local or as far away as Chernobyl.

In recent years, as tour operators have sprung up worldwide promising deep dives into places known for recent tragedy, media attention has followed and so have questions about the intentions of visitors, said Dorina-Maria Buda, a professor of tourism studies at Nottingham Trent University .

Stories of people gawking at neighborhoods in New Orleans destroyed by Hurricane Katrina or posing for selfies at Dachau led to disgust and outrage .

Were people driven to visit these sites out of a “sense of voyeurism or is it a sense of sharing in the pain and showing support?” Professor Buda said.

Most dark tourists are not voyeurs who pose for photos at Auschwitz, said Sian Staudinger, who runs the Austria-based Dark Tourist Trips , which organizes itineraries in the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe and instructs travelers to follow rules like “NO SELFIES!”

“Dark tourists in general ask meaningful questions,” Ms. Staudinger said. “They don’t talk too loud. They don’t laugh. They’re not taking photos at a concentration camp.”

‘Ethically murky territory’

David Farrier , a journalist from New Zealand, spent a year documenting travels to places like Aokigahara , the so-called suicide forest in Japan, the luxury prison Pablo Escobar built for himself in Colombia and McKamey Manor in Tennessee, a notorious haunted house tour where people sign up to be buried alive, submerged in cold water until they feel like they will drown and beaten.

The journey was turned into a show, “Dark Tourist,” that streamed on Netflix in 2018 and was derided by some critics as ghoulish and “sordid.”

Mr. Farrier, 39, said he often questioned the moral implications of his trips.

“It’s very ethically murky territory,” Mr. Farrier said.

But it felt worthwhile to “roll the cameras” on places and rituals that most people want to know about but will never experience, he said.

Visiting places where terrible events unfolded was humbling and helped him confront his fear of death.

He said he felt privileged to have visited most of the places he saw, except McKamey Manor.

“That was deranged,” Mr. Farrier said.

Professor Buda said dark tourists she has interviewed have described feelings of shock and fear at seeing armed soldiers on streets of countries where there is ongoing conflict or that are run by dictatorships.

“When you’re part of a society that is by and large stable and you’ve gotten into an established routine, travel to these places leads you to sort of feel alive,” she said.

But that travel can present real danger.

In 2015, Otto Warmbier , a 21-year-old student from Ohio who traveled with Young Pioneer Tours, was arrested in North Korea after he was accused of stealing a poster off a hotel wall. He was detained for 17 months and was comatose when he was released. He died in 2017, six days after he was brought back to the United States.

The North Korean government said Mr. Warmbier died of botulism but his family said his brain was damaged after he was tortured.

Americans can no longer travel to North Korea unless their passports are validated by the State Department.

A chance to reflect

Even ghost tours — the lighter side of dark tourism — can present dilemmas for tour operators, said Andrea Janes, the owner and founder of Boroughs of the Dead: Macabre New York City Walking Tours.

In 2021, she and her staff questioned whether to restart tours so soon after the pandemic in a city where refrigerated trucks serving as makeshift morgues sat in a marine terminal for months.

They reopened and were surprised when tours booked up fast. People were particularly eager to hear the ghost stories of Roosevelt Island, the site of a shuttered 19th-century hospital where smallpox patients were treated .

“We should have seen as historians that people would want to talk about death in a time of plague,” Ms. Janes said.

Kathy Biehl, who lives in Jefferson Township, N.J., and has gone on a dozen ghost tours with Ms. Janes’s company, recalled taking the tour “Ghosts of the Titanic” along the Hudson River. It was around 2017, when headlines were dominated by President Trump’s tough stance on refugees and immigrants coming into the United States.

Those stories seemed to dovetail with the 100-year-old tales of immigrants trying to make it to New York on a doomed ship, Ms. Biehl said.

It led to “a catharsis” for many on the tour, she said. “People were on the verge of tears over immigration.”

Part of the appeal of dark tourism is its ability to help people process what is happening “as the world gets darker and gloomier,” said Jeffrey S. Podoshen , a professor of marketing at Franklin and Marshall College, who specializes in dark tourism.

“People are trying to understand dark things, trying to understand things like the realities of death, dying and violence,” he said. “They look at this type of tourism as a way to prepare themselves.”

Mr. Faarlund, the photo editor, recalled one trip with his wife and twin sons: a private tour of Cambodia that included a visit to the Killing Fields , where between 1975 and 1979 more than 2 million Cambodians were killed or died of starvation and disease under the Khmer Rouge regime.

His boys, then 14, listened intently to unsparing and brutal stories of the torture center run by the Khmer Rouge. At one point, the boys had to go outside, where they sat quietly for a long time.

“They needed a break,” Mr. Faarlund said. “It was quite mature of them.”

Afterward, they met two of the survivors of the Khmer Rouge, fragile men in their 80s and 90s. The teenagers asked if they could hug them and the men obliged, Mr. Faarlund said.

It was a moving trip that also included visits to temples, among them Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, and meals of frog, oysters and squid at a roadside restaurant.

“They loved it,” Mr. Faarlund said of his family.

Still, he can’t see them coming with him to see people re-enact the crucifixion in the Philippines.

“I don’t think they want to go with me on that one,” Mr. Faarlund said.

52 Places for a Changed World

The 2022 list highlights places around the globe where travelers can be part of the solution.

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram , Twitter and Facebook . And sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to receive expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places for a Changed World for 2022.

Maria Cramer is a reporter on the Travel desk. Please send her tips, questions and complaints about traveling, especially on cruises. More about Maria Cramer

Open Up Your World

Considering a trip, or just some armchair traveling here are some ideas..

52 Places:  Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? Our 2024 list has all those elements, and more .

Mumbai:  Spend 36 hours in this fast-changing Indian city  by exploring ancient caves, catching a concert in a former textile mill and feasting on mangoes.

Kyoto:  The Japanese city’s dry gardens offer spots for quiet contemplation  in an increasingly overtouristed destination.

Iceland:  The country markets itself as a destination to see the northern lights. But they can be elusive, as one writer recently found .

Texas:  Canoeing the Rio Grande near Big Bend National Park can be magical. But as the river dries, it’s getting harder to find where a boat will actually float .

How to visit dark tourism destinations in an ethical way

Jan 28, 2021 • 6 min read

Abandoned ferris wheel in amusement park in Pripyat, Chernobyl area © Hellen Sergeyeva / Shutterstock

Even if you don’t consider yourself a dark tourist, it’s natural to be intrigued by sites associated with death and tragedy. Concentration camps, disaster memorials and other dark tourism sites preserve the evidence of humankind’s worst cruelty. They also offer stories of hope and solidarity from the bleakest chapters of world history. 

Although dark tourism is often motivated by a desire to learn or pay respects, it can still be controversial. Some visitors can cause offense by taking ill-conceived photos, or by treating a site of tragedy like a theme park. After all, dark tourism sites don’t exist in a vacuum: lives unfold nearby, and local people tread a tightrope between honoring the memory of past horrors and stepping out from their shadow. 

These five dark tourism destinations memorialize terrible events, and each one requires a thoughtful approach from visitors. Touring these sites can be perspective-altering, even life-changing, provided you go with kindness and care – here’s our guide to being an ethical dark tourist.

Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial & Museum, Poland 

During WWII, more than 1.1 million people were murdered by the Nazis at Auschwitz-Birkenau . Now preserved as a memorial, these notorious concentration camps bring in enormous numbers of tourists (more than 2.32 million people in 2019). 

Many tourists arrive at Auschwitz-Birkenau on day trips from charming Kraków , 65km east. There’s a similar day-trip effect at other sites of former concentration camps, such as Terezín (north of Prague ) and Dachau (outside Munich ). The challenge is transitioning between holiday mode – selfie stick aloft, picnic packed, sunhat and novelty T-shirt – to a mindset appropriate to seeing the place where Jewish and Roma people, as well as prisoners of war and LGBTIQ+ people, were tortured, starved and murdered.

Respectful photography sounds obvious, but officials at the site need to repeatedly remind visitors . Don’t strike an enigmatic pose on the railway lines that brought hundreds of thousands of people to their deaths. Reconsider whether selfies are appropriate: by their nature they center on you rather than those who suffered here.  

Killing Fields and S-21, Cambodia

More than 1.7 million people were murdered in the Cambodian genocide of 1975–79. The S-21 prison and interrogation cells in Phnom Penh are where the Khmer Rouge tortured thousands. If they weren’t murdered on-site, victims would be taken to Choeung Ek’s Killing Fields , 15km south. The Killing Fields are now a memorial site and S-21 is conserved as the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum . 

Up to 800 people visit the Killing Fields each day, most also paying a visit to S-21 where guides – some survivors of the genocide – lead visitors between rusty bedframes and bare-walled cells. Though there are concerns that the site cannot handle the increasing volume of tourists, locals are generally pleased to see visitors. Tourism represents more than 15% of Cambodia’s GDP. As well as boosting the economy, visitation of Khmer Rouge–era sites ensures their preservation and encourages confrontation of the country’s history. 

Although most are respectful, it’s not unusual to see tourists ignoring signs prohibiting photography or walking directly across mass graves. Bone fragments have been stolen, while graffiti has been left in Tuol Sleng. Visit with environmental and emotional sensitivity: observe signs, watch where you’re treading, refrain from photography at sensitive locations and hire a local guide to ensure your tourists dollars go straight into Cambodians’ pockets. 

A-Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Museum, Hiroshima, Japan

After US Army Air Forces bombed Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, the Japanese city became forever associated with death on an apocalyptic scale. Hiroshima was flattened by the atomic blast. More than 70,000 people were killed instantly, and a similar number died later from terrible burns and radiation-related illnesses. 

The A-bomb dome , the only major structure to have survived, stands as a witness to that day. Nearby, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum displays harrowing reconstructions of what the victims endured, as well as thoughtful messages of optimism for world peace. 

This history is a heavy burden for Hiroshima. While it’s important to devote time to Hiroshima’s dark tourism sites, it’s equally worthwhile to learn about the city beyond the bombing. Understand hundreds of years of history at Hiroshima-jō , the faithful rebuild of a 16th-century castle. Take a ferry to Miyajima Island to admire temples and spot miniature deer. Talk to local people about their town, if you can. Above all, leave with memories of Hiroshima as a living town, rather than a by-word for wartime horror.

Kigali Genocide Memorial, Rwanda

Tourists need to be especially considerate when visiting a place associated with a very recent tragedy. The Kigali Genocide Memorial remembers the victims of 1994’s 100-day genocide of the Tutsi people. One-quarter of a million people are buried in mass graves, killed by the Hutu extremists and their supporters. Video testimony by survivors of Rwanda ’s genocide, accompanied by heart-rending descriptions of children who were murdered, make this a confronting place to visit.

Thoughtful conduct is paramount, and this extends to giving your full attention to displays that you read. Ideally, do some research before arriving and be attentive to what you see and read. People who lost their loved ones in the genocide come to the memorial to remember those who were killed. The least that visitors can do is give their undivided attention.  

Chernobyl, Ukraine

The 1986 explosion at Chernobyl’s nuclear power plant has gone down in infamy. The accident caused dozens of deaths, innumerable radiation-related illnesses, thousands of evacuations and a toll on wildlife that is still being debated and calculated. 

In 2019, HBO’s miniseries Chernobyl beamed a blow-by-blow account of the disaster onto screens across the world. Local tour guides received heightened interest in trips around the "exclusion zone," the badly contaminated 2600-sq-km area that was evacuated after the blast. 

A TV series can have a dangerous distancing effect, but despite the occasional influencer using the site as staging for photoshoots, the exclusion zone is no movie set. Tour guides urge visitors to protect themselves by wearing long-sleeved clothing and refraining from touching anything. Custodians of the carefully guarded area scan visitors after their visit, to make sure radioactive dust isn’t clinging to their clothing. 

It’s painful for a country when land is poisoned and people displaced; it’s even more unsettling when a place becomes a macabre curiosity around the world. But be prepared to challenge your preconceptions about Soviet-era wreckage and wildlife-free wastelands. Against advice, as many as 200 people still live in the exclusion zone. Younger Ukrainians eager to build something positive from Chernobyl’s grim legacy offer photography and educational tours, and have even hosted a music festival in the zone. As with so many other dark tourism sites, an ethical visit to Chernobyl requires an open mind.

You might also like:

Is there an appropriate age to bring children to visit Auschwitz?    Cemetery tourism: an ethical traveler's guide to graveyards    Why Japan’s Michinoku Coastal Trail is the best hike I’ve ever done

Explore related stories

Mar 4, 2020 • 5 min read

Step away from Japan's big cities and sample some slow travel in and around the Seto Inland Sea.

Mar 13, 2024 • 6 min read

Mar 5, 2024 • 6 min read

Feb 29, 2024 • 6 min read

Feb 11, 2024 • 11 min read

Jan 16, 2024 • 8 min read

Nov 17, 2023 • 6 min read

Nov 6, 2023 • 5 min read

Oct 19, 2023 • 8 min read

Aug 3, 2023 • 6 min read

• Destinations
• Travel Checklist
• Travel By Sea (Ferries)

15 Gut-Wrenching Dark Tourism Destinations for 2024

Having just finished the new Netflix series ‘ Dark Tourist ’ it compelled me to write an article on the subject of dark tourism and list some of my favourite dark tourism destinations around the world. So, let’s find out, what is dark tourism.

Examples of dark tourist destinations include sites of natural and man-made disasters from Pompei to Chernobyl. Places like Auschwitz and the killing fields in Cambodia, the Unit 731 Museum in China and the Karagana gulag in Kazakhstan.

As someone with a curious interest in all things dark and spooky, I’ve been visiting dark tourism sites ever since I first start travelling. I’ve visited Iraq, North Korea twice and spent the night at Chernobyl. I’ve explored museums around the world and even use to volunteer at Highgate Cemetery in London.

*Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links, which means should you click and purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Table of Contents

Quick Summary of Dark Tourism Sites Covered

• Albania – BunkArt Museum
• Armenia – Memorial of the Armenian genocide
• Bosnia and Herzegovina – Old front line, Mostar
• China – Unit 731 Museum
• England – Cold war nuclear bunker
• Hungary – House of Terror
• Iraq – Erbil
• Kazakhstan – Karaganda gulag
• North Korea – DMZ
• Northern Ireland – Belfast murals
• Romania – Bran “Dracula” Castle
• Transnistria – Europe’s last communist regime
• Turkey – City of Diyarbakir
• Turkmenistan – the “Door to Hell” at Darvaza
• Ukraine – Chernobyl

My Top List of Dark Tourism Destinations

Wherever I travel I am always looking out for dark tourism destinations, and below are some of my top picks from all around the world.

1. BunkArt, Albania

If there is one thing that former Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha loved, it was concrete bunkers. One of the most interesting of these is now a museum under the streets of the capital, Tirana. Th BunkArt Museum is a must-visit ark tourism destination for visitors to Albania.

Situated next to the parliament buildings in the centre of the city is a small grey bunker that descends into a dark underground tunnel. Inside is a museum detailing the country’s recent history as one of the harshest and most reclusive regimes in the world.

As well as the interesting history and cold war stories contained below, the bunker is home to conceptual sculptures created by local artists. Located on Fadil Deliu Street near the main square. View my BunkArt guide or visit the official website for more information.

Address: Street Abdi Toptani, Tiranë, Albania. See location on Google maps . Entrance: Free Time Needed to Visit: One to two hours Website : bunkart.al

2. Genocide Memorial Complex, Armenia

The Genocide Museum Institute in Yerevan , also known as the Armenian Genocide Museum, is a museum dedicated to educating visitors about the Armenian Genocide that took place in Western Armenia (modern-day Turkey) at the beginning of the 20th Century.

The museum is located on a hill overlooking the city and houses a collection of artefacts, photographs, and personal accounts from survivors of the genocide. The exhibits guide visitors through the history of the genocide, including the events that led up to it and the aftermath.

The museum also features a memorial garden and a monument dedicated to the victims of the genocide. The Genocide Museum Institute serves as an important reminder of the atrocities committed against the Armenian people and a tribute to those who lost their lives.

Address: 8 Tsitsernakaberd Highway, Yerevan 0028, Armenia. See location on Google maps . Entrance: Free Time Needed to Visit: One to two hours Website: www.genocide-museum.am

3. Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Mostar in itself is a beautiful town and deserves to be appreciated on its own merits as a tourist destination. However, given tragic events in its recent history it seems appropriate to include in this list. One of the defining features of old Mostar is the famous Stari Most bridge.

The bridge was shelled in 1993 during the Bosnian War but has thankfully been painstakingly rebuilt using the same stone quarried nearby. Evidence of the war is not hard to miss and the old front line has been preserved as a terrible reminder of what happened here during the early nineties.

You can reach Mostar by train or bus from Sarajevo in Bosnia or by bus from Split an Dubrovnik in Croatia. I’ve been to Mostar twice now; in 2010 and 2022, and it’s still one of my favourite places to visit.

Address: Dr Andre Starcevica, Mostar, BiH. See location on Google maps . Entrance: Free Time Needed to Visit: One to two hours

4. Unit 731 Museum, China

One of the darkest chapters of recent human history is Shiro Ishii’s Unit 731. The unit was set up to research chemical and biological weapons and the Japanese Imperial Army tested these on unwitting and unwilling subjects in far northeast China.

The museum, located in China’s coldest city of Harbin , houses a grim collection of artefacts, confessions, experiment reports and photographs (the most extreme of which are not on display). There are also disturbing dioramas detailing some of the sick experiments.

This is truly one of the darkest of dark tourism destinations and it’s surprising that the horrors that went on here are not more widely known. The museum was closed for renovation when I lived i Harbin in 2016, but I went bak to visit in 2021 and I’m glad I did.

You can read more or see my short film taken at the museum.

Address: Xinjiang Street, Pingfang District, Harbin, China. See location on Google maps . Entrance: Free Time Needed to Visit: Two to three hours Website: unit731.org

5. Kelvedon Hatch Nuclear Bunker, England

Ever wondered where the UK government would go in the event of an all-out nuclear war? Wonder no more as this “secret” nuclear bunker is now open to the public. I visited on a trip back from China and loved the experience.

Tucked away beneath the Essex countryside, Kelvedon Hatch would have housed up to 10,000 people, including the Prime Minister, who would have managed the response to a nuclear attack and run the country from the confines of the bunker.

The nearest rail station is Brentwood. You can take a tube from London to Epping, Debden or Theydon Boice and then a taxi (approx 7 miles).

Check out my list of 10 dark tourism destinations in London .

Address: Kelvedon Hatch, Brentwood, Essex, CM15 0LA. See location on Google maps . Entrance: £7.50 ($9.20) Time Needed to Visit: Two to three hours Website: secretnuclearbunker.com

6. House of Terror, Hungary

One of my favourite museums is the House of Terror in Budapest. This is one of the top dark tourist sites thanks to the building’s dark history as a prison and interrogation centre for both the nazis and communists.

Address: Budapest, Andrássy út 60, 1062 Hungary. See location on Google maps . Entrance: 400 HUF ($1.10) Time Needed to Visit: Two to three hours Website: www.terrorhaza.hu

I had always been intrigued to visit Iraq as my grandfather used to work at Baghdad University in the 1950s. He inspired my own travels by driving all the way from England , and in late 2022 I arrived in Iraq after travelling overland myself.

Lik Mostar, Iraq is a beautiful place with friendly locals and a history dating back millennia. I visited the city of Erbil in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq and was blown away by the place. Cities like Baghdad, and especially Mosul still show the scars of conflict and safety remains a concern in the region.

8. Karaganda Gulag, Kazakhstan

I visited the Karaganda Gulag (Karlag) whilst travelling from Kazakhstan’s capital Astana to Almaty. This fascinating complex includes a museum with photographs, exhibits and dioramas reflecting the history of the place under Stalin and during the time of the USSR.

Explore recreations of the officer’s quarters, dungeons and transport vehicles used to move prisoners. The camp is located in the heart of the vast Kazakh steppe, once part of the Soviet Union.

Address: 39, Dolinka 101604, Kazakhstan. See location on Google maps . Entrance: 1,000 Tenge ($2) Time Needed to Visit: Two to three hours

9. The DMZ, North Korea

Like Turkmenistan, North Korea is an equally reclusive and paranoid country, but one we hear a lot more about in the media. For the curious, it can make a fascinating holiday destination.

I’ve been to North Korea twice and visited different cities across the country from Sinuiju in the north to the capital Pyongyang and Kaesog in the south. Not far from Kaesong is the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) which separates North Korea from South Korea.

10. Belfast Murals, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has a long and tragic history culminating in 30 years of violence from the 1970s up to 1998 when the Good Friday Agreement put an end to the “Troubles”. The north of Ireland has a population made up of two distinct groups; Irish republican/catholic and British loyalist/Protestant.

The Catholic/republican side want to be reunited with the rest of Ireland and this led to the formation of the IRA (Irish Republican Army). The loyalist/protestant side want to remain a part of the UK and set up different paramilitary groups like the UDA (Ulster Defence Association) and UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) to take on the IRA.

The cities of Belfast and Derry are home to many brightly coloured murals depicting the years of struggle on either side of the divide. I took a three-hour political walking tour which included many of the murals and a history of the troubles from ex-prisoners. Book the tour with Get Your Guide .

11. Bran Castle, Romania

Vlad Tepes, also known as Vlad Dracul or Vlad the Impaler was born in 1428 in a charming old house in Sighisoara that now serves as a restaurant. Tepes was the inspiration behind Bram Stoker’s Dracula and it’s possible to visit Bran Castle in Transylvania which has long been associated with the Dracula story.

Bran Castle is worth a visit for its beautiful gothic architecture, but there is’t a great deal to do i the village aside for that. I spent two days there, but it’s better to take a day trip from nearby Brasov .

Book a tour of Bran Castle with Get Your Guide

Address: Strada General Traian Moșoiu 24, Bran 507025, Romania. See location on Google maps . Entrance: 40 Lei ($8.70) Time Needed to Visit: One to two hours

12. Transnistria

Like Mostar above, it seems a little unfair to include Tiraspol on a list of dark tourism sites, but as charming as this small city is, it gets a place due to Transnistria being a country that doesn’t exist according to the rest of the world (it is recognized only by Abkhazia, Artsakh and South Ossetia; themselves also unrecognized breakaway republics).

Stuck in a soviet time-warp, the KGB is still active here, posters of Lenin adorn the streets and tanks and troops guard the demilitarized zone separating it from Moldova.

You can take a bus to Tiraspol from Chisinau in Moldova and get a VISA/permit at the border. Journey time is approx 2 hours including border crossing and costs under 5 Euros.

Need somewhere to stay in Transnistria or looking for a tour guide? Check out Mars Hostel !

13. Diyarbakir, Turkey

Diyarbakir is a city in southeastern Turkey close to the border of Syria and Iraq. The city is home to Turkey’s largest Kurdish population ad has something of a troubled history. During the 2016 Seige of Sur, many houses were destroyed by Turkish forces.

I spent six weeks living in Diyarbakir in 2022 and although the city has suffered (most recently in the 2023 earthquake), it is also a fantastic destiation with lots of history dating back to Roman times.

14. The Darvaza Gas Crater, Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan deserves a place all of its own on any dark tourist’s list thanks to the strange city of Ashgabat and the bizarre laws still in place in this reclusive former soviet republic. The country is made up of 90% desert, and hidden deep within is a huge flaming sinkhole that has been burning for over 40 years.

I visited the Darvaza Gas Crater (also known as the Door to Hell) in 2017 on my way overland from England to China and spent the night camping next to the crater.

Arrive as the sun is setting and camp next to the roaring crater, but don’t get too close as there are no safety barriers and the fumes can be quite toxic! Definitely one of the top dark tourism destinations in the world!

15. Chernobyl, Ukraine

Chernobyl is one of the top dark tourism destinations in the world and is well worth a visit for anyone interested in not only dark tourism, but also the cold war and the former Soviet Union.

Wander around the deserted city of Pripyat where nature has well and truly reclaimed the town. Pripyat was once a bustling metropolis of 50,000 nuclear power plant workers and their families.

Travel through the exclusion zone with a Geiger counter to see how dangerous the radiation can be. Marvel at the massive Duga Radar Station hidden deep in the radioactive forest. Ironically, it was used by the soviets to detect incoming nuclear missiles from the West.

What Exactly is Dark Tourism?

According to the Wikipedia page, Dark Tourism “has been defined as tourism involving travel to places historically associated with death and tragedy.” But goes on to state that “The main attraction to dark locations is their historical value rather than their associations with death and suffering.”

Dark tourism can mean different things to different people. For me it is the exploration of places with a dark or similarly interesting aspect. From Dracula’s castle in Transylvania or Salem in the USA to the Darvaza ‘Door to Hell’ gas crater in Turkmenistan or North Korea and Chernobyl, these are all places I have recently visited that could be considered dark tourism spots.

The University of Central Lancashire is conducting studies into the rise of dark tourism which makes for some interesting reading.

Most people equate Dark Tourism with human suffering. But although many such places on the dark tourist’s map will have been witness to such horrors, it can equally include creepy abandoned places (Chinese abandoned cities), cold war bunkers or just the outright weird (Ashgabat in Turkmenistan).

Dark Tourism can include sites linked to genocide (Auschwitz, the Killing Fields etc), nuclear catastrophe (Chernobyl, Fukashima etc), war or disaster tourism (Iraq, Afghanistan etc) and much more.

It is up to the individual to visit what they feel comfortable with. If you go with the aim of increasing knowledge and a better understanding, then that can’t be a bad thing. If you are going to simply gawp at misfortune or tragedy, then better stay at home and turn on the TV!

Is Dark Tourism ok or Ethical?

It’s important to remember that many dark tourist sites have seen tragic events and as with travelling anywhere, respect is key to coming away from the experience a better person.

Dark tourism should not be about voyeurism, but for those with a morbid fascination, or even a healthy curiosity, seeking out such places can be extremely educational as well as humbling.

Check out this great list of 50 crazy destinations for lovers of the weird and macabre.

Below I list 10 of my favourite dark tourism destinations. You can find details of how you can visit them too if you dare!

The best resource for travellers interested in dark tourism is the site dark-tourism.com. The site is home to hundreds of articles on dark tourist locations across the globe.

Now you know the answer to the question: what is dark tourism, which sites would you like to see?! Comment below with your favourite dark tourism destination!

Dark tourism is popular around the world and most countries have dark tourist sites. From Pompei in Italy to Auschwitz in Poland and Chernobyl in Ukraine, these places see many visitors every year.

Dark tourism places include Bran Castle in Romania, the House of Terror in Hungary, Chernobyl, Fukushima, the Uit 731 Museum in China and many more. Countries on the dark tourist map include Syria, North Korea ad Iraq.

Dark tourists are people that search out the macabre, spooky or places with a dark history.

Final Thoughts

With so many interesting dark tourism destinations from Albania to Armenia and North Korea to Northern Ireland, which of these sites are you interested in seeing? I will continue to search out ore fascinating dark tourist sites on my travels.

About the author: Steve Rohan is a writer from Essex, England. He has traveled to over 60 countries, lived in Armenia, China and Hong Kong, and is now living the digital nomad life on the road.

Steve prefers “slow travel” and has covered much of the world by train, bus and boat. He has been interviewed multiple times by the BBC and recently featured in the documentary Scariest Places in the World . See the About page for more info.

Where I am now: Yerevan, Armenia 🇦🇲

5 thoughts on “ 15 Gut-Wrenching Dark Tourism Destinations for 2024 ”

These are some very interesting places and a few I didn’t even know tourists could go visit (NK) but it’s awesome that you shed a bit of bright light on places that are known as quite “dark” to the average person.

Thanks Dom, yes North Korea is open to tourists and makes a fascinating destination!

I love Dark Tourism and find most of the sites fascinating. This is a great list and I want to travel to so many of these places!

I would also suggest the Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Genocide museum in Cambodia

Hi KS, thanks for the heads-up. I will be visiting Cambodia later this year and will definitely be visiting the Killing Fields and adding it to this post. Best, Steve

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• Account and Profile
• Newsletters & Alerts
• Gift Subscriptions
• Home Page U.S. & World | Regional
• White House
• Courts and Law
• Monkey Cage
• Fact Checker
• Post Politics Blog
• The Post's View
• Toles Cartoons
• Telnaes Animations
• Local Opinions
• Global Opinions
• Letters to the Editor
• All Opinions Are Local
• Erik Wemple
• The Plum Line
• PostPartisan
• DemocracyPost
• The WorldPost
• High School Sports
• College Sports
• College Basketball
• College Football
• D.C. Sports Bog
• Fancy Stats
• Fantasy Sports
• Public Safety
• Transportation
• Acts of Faith
• Health and Science
• National Security
• Investigations
• Morning Mix
• Post Nation
• The Americas
• Asia and Pacific
• Middle East
• On Leadership
• Personal Finance
• Energy and Environment
• On Small Business
• Capital Business
• Innovations
• Arts and Entertainment
• Carolyn Hax
• Voraciously
• Home and Garden
• Inspired Life
• On Parenting
• Reliable Source
• The Intersect
• Comic Riffs
• Going Out Guide
• Puzzles and Games
• Theater and Dance
• Restaurants
• Bars & Clubs
• Made by History
• PostEverything
• Entertainment
• Popular Video
• Can He Do That?
• Capital Weather Gang
• Constitutional
• The Daily 202's Big Idea
• Letters From War
• Presidential
• Washington Post Live
• Where We Live
• Recently Sold Homes
• Classifieds
• WP BrandStudio
• washingtonpost.com
• 1996-2018 The Washington Post
• Policies and Standards
• Terms of Service
• Privacy Policy
• Submissions and Discussion Policy
• RSS Terms of Service

Dark tourism, explained

Why visitors flock to sites of tragedy.

Every year, millions of tourists around the world venture to some of the unhappiest places on Earth: sites of atrocities, accidents, natural disasters or infamous death. From Auschwitz to Chernobyl, Gettysburg, the site of the Kennedy assassination and the 9/11 Memorial in New York, visitors are making the worst parts of history a piece of their vacation, if not the entire point.

Experts call the phenomenon dark tourism, and they say it has a long tradition. Dark tourism refers to visiting places where some of the darkest events of human history have unfolded. That can include genocide, assassination, incarceration, ethnic cleansing, war or disaster — either natural or accidental. Some might associate the idea with ghost stories and scares, but those who study the practice say it’s unrelated to fear or supernatural elements.

“It’s not a new phenomenon,” says J. John Lennon, a professor of tourism at Glasgow Caledonian University, in Scotland, who coined the term with a colleague in 1996. “There’s evidence that dark tourism goes back to the Battle of Waterloo where people watched from their carriages the battle taking place.”

The hit US drama "Chernobyl" brought a new generation of tourists to the nuclear disaster zone. (Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images)

That was in 1815, but he cites an even longer-ago example: crowds gathering to watch public hangings in London in the 16th century. Those are relatively modern compared with the bloody spectacles that unfolded in the Colosseum in Rome.

There aren’t official statistics on how many people participate in dark tourism every year or whether that number is on the rise. An online travel guide run by an enthusiast, Dark-Tourism.com , includes almost 900 places in 112 countries.

But there’s no question the phenomenon is becoming more visible, in part thanks to the Netflix series “Dark Tourist” that was released last year. And popular culture is fueling more visitation to some well-known sites: After the HBO miniseries “Chernobyl,” about the 1986 power plant explosion, came out this spring, travel companies that bring people to the area said they saw a visitor increase of 30 to 40 percent. Ukraine’s government has since declared its intention to make the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone an official tourist spot, despite lingering radiation.

[How to navigate the etiquette of dark tourism]

Philip Stone, executive director of the Institute for Dark Tourism Research at the University of Central Lancashire, in England, says anecdotally that he sees the appetite for such destinations growing.

“I think, for political reasons or cultural reasons, we are turning to the visitor economy to remember aspects of death and dying, disaster,” he says. “There is a kind of memorial mania going on. You could call that growth in dark tourism.”

(Illustrations by Laura Perez for The Washington Post)

Why are tourists so enamored with places that are, as Lennon puts it, “synonymous with the darkest periods of human history?” Academics who study the practice say it’s human nature.

[Ukraine wants Chernobyl to be a tourist trap. But scientists warn: Don’t kick up dust.]

“We’ve just got this cultural fascination with the darker side of history; most history is dark,” Stone says. “I think when we go to these places, we see not strangers, but often we see ourselves and perhaps what we might do in those circumstances.”

“When we go to these places, we see not strangers, but often we see ourselves and perhaps what we might do in those circumstances.”

Philip Stone, executive director, Institute for Dark Tourism Research at the University of Central Lancashire

There is no one type of traveler who engages in dark tourism: It could be a history buff who takes the family on a road trip to Civil War battlefields, a backpacker who treks to the Colosseum in Rome, or a tourist who seeks out the near-abandoned areas near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster, in 2011, in Japan.

Visitors walk between barbed wire fences at the Auschwitz I memorial concentration camp site in Oswiecim, Poland. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Those who are most familiar with the phenomenon do not condemn it. In fact, they argue that the most meaningful dark-tourism sites can help visitors understand the present and be more thoughtful about the future.

“These are important sites that tell us a lot about what it is to be human,” says Lennon, the tourism professor. “I think they’re important places for us to reflect on and try to better understand the evil that we’re capable of.”

There are even efforts underway to research the way children experience dark tourism, a joint project between the Institute for Dark Tourism Research and the University of Pittsburgh.

Mary Margaret Kerr, a professor of education and psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, says the idea came about when the National Park Service asked her to help create a team to design children’s materials for families who visit the memorial to United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked on Sept. 11, 2001, and crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.

Her research team now includes middle-school students who have studied how their peers interact with the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, in Washington, or the site of the Johnstown flood, in Pennsylvania, which killed more than 2,200 in 1889.

(Illustration by Laura Perez for The Washington Post)

“We wouldn’t want families to stop traveling, and adults want to see these places for very good reasons,” Kerr says. “It’s not so much making the decision for parents whether you take the children or not, but what are the appropriate safeguards."

She said the goal is to provide appropriate safeguards and ways to experience a site, even for children too young to grasp the history, “so the family can be there together, but each member of the family can take meaning that works out for them at their age and stage.”

As more sites with dark histories become popular spots — even part of organized tour packages — experts say there is a risk that they could become exploited, used to sell tchotchkes or placed as backdrops for unseemly photos.

“It does kind of invite that passive behavior — let’s call it that touristy behavior — that might be out of place,” Stone says.

Visitors look at the bodies of eruption victims exposed in the ruins of ancient Pompeii. (Mario Laporta/AFP via Getty Images)

Bad conduct by tourists at sensitive sites — smiling selfies at concentration camps, for example — has been widely shunned on social media. The online Dark-Tourism.com travel guide cautions against such behavior, as well as the ethically questionable “voyeurism” of visiting an ongoing or very recent tragedy to gape.

“These are important sites that tell us a lot about what it is to be human. I think they’re important places for us to reflect on and try to better understand the evil that we’re capable of.”

J. John Lennon, tourism professor at Glasgow Caledonian University

“What IS endorsed here is respectful and enlightened touristic engagement with contemporary history, and its dark sites/sides, in a sober, educational and non-sensationalist manner,” the site says .

Lennon says he’s sometimes “dumbfounded” by some of the behavior that gets publicized, but he declines to say what the right or wrong way is for tourists to behave. Overall, he says, he still hopes that by visiting places with dark histories, people are becoming better informed about atrocities like racial and ethnic cleansing.

“I’m heartened by the fact that they choose to try to understand this difficult past,” Lennon says.

Berlin’s Holocaust memorial is ‘not a place for fun selfies’

Will gun violence lead to a growing ‘dark tourism’ industry?

A selfie ban in the Czech Republic is the latest effort to combat bad tourist behavior

Hannah Sampson

Hannah Sampson is a staff writer at The Washington Post for By The Way, where she reports on travel news.

More stories

Airline helpfully tweets advice on where on a plane you are least likely to die in a crash

Fatality rates are usually not what customers want to hear about, but one carrier's regional Twitter account went there anyway.

Can tourism ‘pledges’ help keep visitors on their best behavior?

Destinations across the world are turning to a new tool: a morality-based honor code, largely without concrete punishments.

• Heritage & Culture

Explore Dark Tourism With 8 Of These Sites From Across The World

Dark tourism is a travel trend that has gained significant momentum over the last few years. The term itself has been coined in the recent past to categorise “tourism directed to places that are identified with death and suffering”. Tourists are choosing to visit places that have dark, morbid histories often associated with mass killings, gruesome deaths and other such tragedies. These sites harbour deeply tragic memories, therefore tourists visiting must maintain a certain sense of decorum to honour the place.

While these sites have macabre histories, the structures that stand today honouring their memory have a unique aesthetic. Visually awe-inspiring, here we have a list of some of the most intriguing dark tourism destinations from across the world.

Costa Concordia Shipwreck, Italy

This Italian cruise ship capsized and sank in 2012 after striking an underwater obstruction off Isola del Giglio. Tragically, despite sinking only 1,300 feet off the island, 32 out of more than 4,000 people aboard died in the accident. Mere months after the incident, the wreck of Costa Concordia became a sombre tourist attraction. Thousands of tourists queued up to catch a ferry that passed within just a few feet of the submerged cruise ship. In July 2014, after being brought to a vertical position, the ship began its final journey to be scrapped in Genoa

Suicide Forest, Japan

The Suicide Forest in Japan is officially called Aokigahara . It covers 4 square miles of land and lies at the northwest base of Mount Fuji in Japan. Historically, the forest has been associated with demons in Japanese mythology. What adds to its eerie atmosphere is the fact that the forest has a dense tree distribution, blocking winds. This makes it uncannily quiet and unnerving. The forest has seen several suicides; statistics suggest that 100 suicides occur there every year.

Leap Castle, Ireland

Built during the 13 th century, Leap Castle has a very gruesome past. The castle was the site of a fratricide committed in the chapel. The chapel has since been referred to as the ‘Bloody Chapel’. At the chapel, a man interrupted mass and impaled his priest brother with a sword. Rumours suggest that the castle is home to many spirits that haunt the grounds to this day.

The most violent spirit is known as the Elemental, recognizable by its smell of rotting flesh and sulphur. A secret dungeon was also discovered and it contained three cartloads of human remains and spikes to impale those thrown into the dungeon. Now, the castle has become the private residence of musician Seán Ryan, who says he often hears the ghosts moving around the castle.

Oradour-sur-Glane, France

Now considered a ghost town, Oradour-sur-Glane is located in the west-central region of France. It was the unfortunate site of one of the German SS’ most brutal massacres. After the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, the German army decided to spread terror among the French resistance and send a strong message.

They went on to slaughter the entire population of this small village. The men were shot dead while the women and children were executed in church. A total of 642 men, women and children were killed in the chilling massacre. Ever since, the town remains completely vacant. It was never rebuilt. Today, it stands as a museum commemorating the gruesome incident.

Babenhausen Barracks, Germany

This site used to house soldiers for combat in World War II. The barracks eventually fell into disuse post the war, but what makes it a dark tourism spot is the frequent occurrence of paranormal activity. People have spotted ghosts of German soldiers in uniforms, lights turn on and off at their whim and voices along with German commands are often heard shouted out in the middle of the night.

Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, Rwanda

This memorial centre opened in 2004 to commemorate the Rwandan genocide. This genocide was the mass slaughter of the ethnic groups Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda by members of the Hutu majority. An estimated 500,000-1,000,000 Rwandans were killed between April 1994 and mid-July 1994. Almost 20% of the population was massacred in the span of only 100 days. Atrocities like rape and other violence against women were widespread. The memorial was opened on the tenth anniversary of the genocide. It also serves as a mass grave for the victims and a permanent exhibition for the benefit of survivors.

Pripyat, Ukraine

Pripyat is the town where the infamous Chernobyl disaster took place on April 1986. Located in northern Ukraine, the town has been deserted ever since the incident. The nuclear power plant accident was the worst in human history, releasing radioactive particles into the air, endangering the lives of millions. Several individuals died and the long term effects of the accident (due to radiation) persist till today. The 30-mile exclusion zone now serves as a popular tourist destination. The acclaimed HBO show ‘Chernobyl’ has further fueled people’s interest in the place. The area resembles a post-apocalyptic town today.

Vilnius, Lithuania

Vilnius was once home to a full operation KGB headquarters and prison. Today, there exists a Museum of Genocide Victims . The exhibits highlight the repression of Lithuanian citizens under Soviet rule, including the deportations to Siberian gulags. The atrocities that took place in Lithuania during this period in history remain fairly unknown. Over 75,000 Lithuanians disappeared under Soviet rule and others were imprisoned or executed.  The educational museum serves the purpose of enlightening visitors about this dark period in history.

The museum has a basement with KGB prisons cells and an execution room showing visitors some of the most grotesque elements of this dark site. Political prisoners, as well as local Lithuanians,  were interrogated and tortured here.  Additionally, over 1,000 victims were killed in their execution room.

Are there any other dark tourism destinations we’ve missed? If so do share them in the comments below.

LEAVE A REPLY Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Unveiling the wonders of culture and tradition!

Are you ready to embark on a journey filled with adventure, culture, tradition, and exciting attractions? Let your explorer's spirit soar and make unforgettable memories as you explore the beauty of our diverse world.

11 Of The Best Dark Tourism Destinations For First-Timers

Dark tourism is relatively new in the world of travel, and these destinations are perfect for those looking to get a taste of it.

Netflix's hit series  Dark Tourist opened viewers' eyes to a niche that's been a part of travel in one way or another for centuries. Humans are naturally drawn to the macabre. It stirs something inside to witness places associated with darkness, a somewhat unexplainable thirst to understand things that seem unbelievable.

Though dark tourism has come under criticism for being exploitative, visiting sites with dark histories is an indispensable way to learn about how things happened, why they did, and how they can be prevented in the future. These destinations around the world are perfect for travelers interested in learning about the world in a way that's often missing from formal education.

*Note: As always, it's essential to be respectful of one's surroundings when traveling. Due to the nature of these places and their sensitive history, it's vital to be especially respectful when visiting. 

Updated by Lauren Feather, February 18, 2022: The world overflows with just as much horrific history as that which is glorious. Many of the planet's most devastating events still echo suffering of past where they once happened, and it's possible to visit such places in order to learn all about them. With dark tourism popularity on the rise, much of the world's most discerning travelers with an interest in natural disasters and volatile history choose to enrich their learning by actually visiting the areas where such events took place. As such, some of the most popular places were darkness once occurred have been added to this fascinating yet macabre list of dark tourism destinations. And as always, please tour these places respectfully and with an open mind and heart.

11 Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland

The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull volcano put Iceland on the global map in April 2010. Most people had never even heard of it, until the massive ash cloud it spewed out grounded flights for over two weeks. The ordeal cost the European economy about five billion dollars, however tourism in Iceland has since accelerated, and consequently, helped to compensate the loss.

Before the volcano let rip, most travelers wouldn't even think of visiting the Land of Fire and Ice , but thanks to the fame it achieved (for somber reasons albeit) tourists from all corners of the world have added the cold northerly country to their bucket lists. From glaciers, icy lagoons, and the legendary Northern Lights to the midnight sun and the volcano that caused all the chaos, travelers have so much to do and see in this chilly country of spectacular icy scenery.

Related:  10 Things To Do In Iceland (That Aren't The Blue Lagoon)

10 Pompeii, Italy

Pompeii is perhaps one of the first dark tourism sites to gain popularity, attracting international travelers for over 250 years. The fallen city is one of the best-preserved places to see Ancient Roman architecture, due significantly to the violent eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Volcanic ash blanketed the city, somewhat ironically protecting the structures from the elements. The residents trapped in Pompeii perished, their bodies transformed into plaster statues. Mount Vesuvius remains active, and scientists say the volcano is overdue for an eruption.

Related:  Pompeii Was Destroyed 1,924 Years Ago, But Many People Still Don't Know These Things About The City

9 Catacombs - France

Tourists flock to Paris' Catacombs to witness a massive, real-life underground graveyard that's inspired literature and film over the years. During the 18th-century, Paris' population expanded faster than its cemeteries could, and overcrowding meant burials posed a threat to human health.

Officials decreed to use the city's underground quarries as makeshift cemeteries, at first simply tossing the deceased into the tunnels. Eventually, the remains were stacked in an orderly fashion, with skulls lining the walls like a macabre interior design choice. Upon entrance, visitors are greeted with an exhibition room to learn about the history of the Catacombs, and two kilometers of tunnels are open for observation.

Related:  The Paris Catacombs Are The Final Resting Places Of Six Million People, And You Can Visit Them

8 Auschwitz - Poland

The atrocities that occurred during the Holocaust are among the worst in human history. It's unfathomable to consider how human beings were held against their will, forced to labor, starved, abused, experimented on, and exterminated. There is no nice way to put it, and it serves no purpose to surround the tragedy with euphemisms.

Visiting the notorious concentration camps of Auschwitz allows people to feel the weight of the atrocities in a way that learning about them through the pages of a book never could. It's a sobering experience that forces people to confront the harsh realities of impenetrable darkness and learn about the events that led to such a deep stain in the fabric of human history.

7 Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Cambodia is home to the stupefying Angkor Wat, which is one of the world's largest and most impressive religious monuments that's a UNESCO listed temple. Despite its intrigue and beauty, it doesn't overshadow its horrific past and the people who are still recovering from the suffering they endured under the Khmer Rouge regime only a few decades ago - during which an estimated one million people were brutally murdered.

Travelers with a discerning eye can get a feel for the dark times and misery when they visit the Tuol Svay Prey High School and the killing fields of Choeung Ek, which, in spite of the scars that are still present, are ever important grounds in Cambodia's volatile history that played a crucial role in the country becoming what it is in the modern day.

Related:  A Travel Guide To Cambodia: Tourists Should Plan Their Trip Around These 10 Things

6 Hiroshima - Japan

Since its invention, nuclear weaponry has gripped humans in fear. Drills during the Cold War sent children beneath their desks in preparation for an attack. In recent years, the possibility of nuclear war regularly echoes from the nightly news. Several countries currently possess bombs powerful enough to wipe out entire nations, a sad fact considering the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.

The A-bomb destroyed the city and took the lives of thousands of innocent people. The residents of Hiroshima are fiercely dedicated to promoting peace on a grand scale. To visit Hiroshima is to witness the strength of humanity to rebuild. UNESCO designated the A-bomb Dome a World Heritage site, the building preserved as a reminder of the horrors of nuclear warfare.

5 Port Arthur - Tasmania

Located on the Tasman Peninsula is one of several convict sites steeped in dark history. Convicts at Port Arthur were subject to brutal floggings, hard labor, and long stints in solitary confinement, a practice that's frequently called into question for its cruelty. Many men lived and died within the walls, their hard work responsible for large chunks of architecture in Tasmania. Guided tours and interactive exhibits educate guests about Port Arthur's history, leaving none of the dark bits out of the stories.

Related:  Here’s Everything You Can Do In Tasmania During Your First Time There

4 The 9/11 Memorial & Museum - United States

Two decades have gone by since the attack on the World Trade Center, and people can still vividly remember exactly where they were when it happened. Thousands of people lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and the New York City skyline changed forever. In the aftermath, the country put all its differences aside and united to rebuild.

People slowly cleared the rubble, dust, and debris. Life resumed as it has and will continue to in the wake of tragedy. Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial and Museum are among the top-visited dark tourist destinations worldwide. It is difficult to imagine what the city looked like 20 years ago on that fateful day. It's amazing to think about how human beings can come together to tend to the emotional wounds left behind by such events.

3 Berlin Wall - Germany

A majority of the Berlin Wall was dismantled after the Cold War, but fragments throughout Berlin serve as a reminder of the negative impacts division has on society. The large concrete barrier separated East and West Berlin for nearly 30 years. An area known as the "death strip" contained guard towers, beds of nails, barbed wire, and more, the defenses intended to keep people from crossing.

In 1989, the world watched on as the Berlin Wall fell, symbolically reuniting Germany and marking the fall of Communism in Europe. The remnants of The Berlin Wall are scattered throughout the world, but the largest portions can be found in Berlin. Stunning graffiti from past and present add pops of color to the city, a reminder of art's transformative and healing power.

2 Chernobyl, Ukraine

There's not a soul in the world that doesn't know about the devastating event that took place in Chernobyl in 1986, where a nuclear power plant explosion set off an apocalyptic chain of events that saw the place become a dangerous, desolate wasteland. The bravest of travelers can take guided tours of the uninhabitable, decaying city of Pripyat to see a real-life post-apocalypse that still continues today , where empty schools, abandoned residences, rusted structures overgrown with greenery, and derelict buildings stand as a reminder of the horrors that once occurred.

At the time, local communities were told they were only evacuating their homes for three days, however, what they didn't know was that they were never going to return ever again. Countless power plant staff, rescue services, and civilians died as a result of the tragedy - some right in the aftermath, whilst others suffered for many years, eventually passing of terminal diseases like cancer - caused by exposure to the dangerous radiation emitted by the power plant's explosion.

Related:  Chernobyl: Over 35 Years On, Is It Actually Safe To Visit?

1 Darvaza Gas Fire Crater, Turkmenistan

A large crater has been burning in Darvaza, Turkmenistan for 50 years now, attracting tourists to witness the site commonly referred to as the "Gates of Hell." The natural gas field in the middle of the desert collapsed in the 1960s. It was set ablaze in 1971, though there are no solidified records of who did it or why. The dark tourist destination in the desert is a popular spot for wild camping, and thousands of travelers head to Turkmenistan to observe a piece of the earth on fire.

Next:  Dark Tourism: What It Is And How To Do It Respectfully

Top 10 dark tourism destinations (including WUHAN!)

Disclaimer: Some posts on Tourism Teacher may contain affiliate links. If you appreciate this content, you can show your support by making a purchase through these links or by buying me a coffee . Thank you for your support!

The top dark tourism destinations in the world are macabre and sorrowful. Yet, this attract millions of tourists each year.

What?! Hang on a minute, I thought holidays were supposed to be fun ? Well, it turns out that as our needs and desires change as tourists , we are seeking more unusual, authentic, cultural and educational experiences as part of our overall tourist experience. No, the vast majority of people are not laughing and joking as they walk around cemeteries or former death sites. Instead, they are gaining and insightful and valuable experience.

But what is dark tourism all about? And what are the top dark tourism destinations? Read on to find out…

What is dark tourism?

#1 wuhan, china, #2 chernobyl, ukraine, #3 fukushima, japan, #4 auschwitz concentration camps, poland, #5 sedlec ossuary, czechia, #6 oradour-sur-glane, france, #7 aokigahara suicide forest, japan, #8 volcano creeks in pompeii, italy, #9 killing fields, cambodia, #10 robben island, south africa, dark tourism destinations: further reading.

Dark tourism , also known as black tourism, thanatourism or grief tourism, is tourism that is associated with death or tragedy. It is a type of niche tourism .

The act of dark tourism is somewhat controversial, with some viewing it as an act of respect and others as unethical practice. At the same time, many have argued that the best way to understand history is to see it for yourself- and dark tourism attractions do just this.

Dark tourism attractions can be world-famous, such as Auschwitz, Chernobyl and Ground Zero. Dark tourism can also occur in places that are less well known, such as small cemeteries, zombie-themed events or historical museums.

Dark tourism attractions allow us to able to emotionally absorb ourselves in a place of tragedy. This is an excellent facilitator of educational tourism and cultural tourism . By visiting dark tourism sites, we are able to give ourselves time to reflect on history.

Dark tourism takes many different shapes and forms. Some types of dark tourism are extreme and serious (e.g. visiting a concentration camp), whilst others are of a more light-hearted nature (e.g. a zombie-themed running race). To learn more about the dark tourism spectrum and the different types of dark tourism, head on over to my article dark tourism explained .

The top 10 dark tourism destinations in the world

OK, so now we understand what dark tourism is, lets take a look at the top dark tourism destinations in the world…

When it comes to new dark tourism destinations, Wuhan is set to top the list.

If you haven’t heard of this somewhat uninspiring Chinese city, then you must have spent 2020 living under a rock! Wuhan was the birthplace of the Coronavirus outbreak…. and apparently it holds plenty of fascination for travellers from across the globe….

Motivated by curiosity and a desire to visit a city that was unwillingly thrust into a global spotlight, tourists and avid travellers have been quick to express their Wuhan desires on social media. People are keen to see for themselves the impact that Covid has had on the city.

Quoted in Vice , Beijing resident Niu Chen said of her September 2020 trip to Wuhan: “I wanted to know more about what was going on and to see it firsthand […] To get a sense of how things were and how people are living their lives now, as well as to look back on what happened.”

Many people see a trip to Wuhan as a way to learn about the pandemic and the way it has changed the world as we know it. Whilst this fascination is yet to be put into practice in large numbers, I foresee an influx of tourists in the coming years.

Personally, I find this one a little scary still, but evidently not everyone shares my apprehension. The Chernobyl disaster site welcomes thousands of tourists each year, despite ongoing radiation concerns.

So what happened at Chernobyl?

The Chernobyl disaster of April 1986 was one that rocked the entire world, and still impacts local residents to this day. It is considered the worst nuclear disaster in history.

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is located near the city of Pripyat in the north of what was then the Ukrainian SSR. This area is now a ghost town, but one that attracts curious tourists every single year.

Being that it is one of the most well-known disasters to have ever happened, people are keen to see where the events unfolded….

Read more: Chernobyl – 2019 Sky Atlantic Drama [DVD]

Visitors must apply for a day pass at least 10 days in advance, and these are only available through certain established tour operators ; you’ll need to show your passport and this permit at various checkpoints at Chernobyl.

Tour operators have professional monitoring equipment with them throughout the tour, meaning they can gauge how much radiation guests are being exposed to; it is safe to visit Chernobyl, but it is recommended that you wear throwaway overalls. 

A trip to Chernobyl feels dystopian. It’s like getting a glimpse into the apocalypse, and this is a huge draw for a lot of people.

Regardless, the Chernobyl disaster is fascinating to most people – and the 2019 HBO dramatisation has definitely piqued a lot of peoples’ interest in one of the world’s most popular dark tourism destinations.

The only other nuclear disaster to be labelled as a level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale was the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

Similarly to its Ukrainian counterpart, the location of this nuclear accident is one of the world’s leading dark tourism destinations. Caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, this nuclear disaster caused 18 injuries and one indirect death. 

A visit to Fukushima can again only be arranged with a tour company. Real Fukushima offer an unbiased look at the disaster and the recovery efforts. This is thanks to permission from the Fukushima Prefectural Government. You can enter the red zone, and see the impact of the disaster. From abandoned cars to bags of contaminated soil, there is plenty to see here.

You can also visit the abandoned town centre of Okuma. It once had a population of 11,000 and now lies empty and semi-destroyed: shops with stock still hanging from rails, a street frozen in time. The tour shows visitors how the earthquake and subsequent nuclear disaster affected the area, and how the local people are trying to rebuild their community.

Poland, and Krakow in particular, has shot up the rankings in terms of popular tourist destinations . And many people visit Krakow because it is a gateway to Auschwitz, the most famous World War II concentration camp – and probably the most visited of the world’s dark tourism destinations. Visiting a concentration camp is an incredibly sombre experience. It is also very educational, and helps tourists understand the sheer scale of the holocaust.

Now a museum, Auschwitz can be visited independently or as part of a tour . There is a wealth of information here explaining each part of the camp, and you can see various artefacts here. There are toys belonging to children who were killed, hair shaved from the victims’ heads, suitcases that were packed when the owners believed they were heading somewhere safe.

Read more: The Twins of Auschwitz: The inspiring true story of a young girl surviving Mengele’s hell

World War II is a topic that fascinates many people, and is a topic taught in educational settings too; therefore it is no wonder that visiting concentration camps is something many people aim to do.

Sedlec Ossuary is one of the lesser-known dark tourism destinations, but still one that is worth visiting. I certainly found it fascinating!

Not far from Prague, Sedlec Ossuary is a church decorated entirely with human bones. It is located in Kutna Hora, which is a short train ride from the Czech capital. The church itself is around 10 minutes from the station on foot, and you can buy a ticket that grants you access to the ossuary itself as well as Saint Barbara’s Cathedral. The money goes towards the upkeep of the churches.

The Sedlec Ossuary is breathtaking – there are bones everywhere. They form chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and they make words on the walls.

You’re face to face with death and morbidity inside this chapel in the middle of Bohemia. It really is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and somewhere you should definitely consider visiting if you’re already in Prague. Death is a huge part of dark tourism, which is why the Sedlec Ossuary is the perfect example. It is pretty much the only guarantee when it comes to human existence, so it’s no wonder that it is a subject which fascinates so many of us.

Another disaster site linked to World War II, the village of Oradour-our-Glane was massacred just days after D Day. Nobody is quite sure why, but it doesn’t matter – the impact is still felt today as you walk the ruined streets.

You can enter the church where the women and children were rounded up and killed, and see the residential streets where the 642 victims lived.

From rusted bicycles to abandoned sewing machines, evidence of daily life remains here. President Charles de Gaulle ordered that the village remain as a permanent memorial, and there is a museum on site where tourists can learn about this massacre.

It is again one of the less popular dark tourism sites, but still one that captures the curiosity and imagination of visitors. If you are travelling through France, this fascinating tourist attraction should definitely be on your itinerary.

Aokigahara Suicide Forest is one of the most intriguing and eery dark tourism destinations in the world. This stunning forest in Japan, located on the north-west flank of Mount Fuji, has become warped over the years. It is a location where thousands of people have tried to take their own lives, and many have succeeded.

The forest is littered with shoes, photographs, bottles, letters and more – evidence of those who entered the depths of Aokigahara with one clear motive…

Suicide is fascinating to many. People who have no first hand experience of feeling suicidal are often curious about the subject – and for those affected by suicide in terms of having lost someone in this way, a trip to the Suicide Forest might help them feel closer to understanding why.

At any rate, it is certainly one of the more well-known dark tourism destinations. It was boosted by controversial YouTuber Logan Paul’s visit , where he filmed himself discovering the body of one of the forest’s victims.

A visit to Pompeii is a must for any history lover. However, it does also form one of Europe’s most popular dark tourism destinations!

The city was completely frozen in time when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. causing most of the inhabitants to flee. Some were not so lucky, however. When the city was rediscovered 1700 years later, bodies were found that had almost been turned into statues by the layers of ash and pumice that fell upon Pompeii. You can visit the city on tours from Rome and Naples.

And you can also visit the volcano itself, Mt. Vesuvius, and see for yourself the impact that nature can have. Tourists can get close to the crater rim. This serves as a reminder that the destruction of Pompeii is something that could happen again, here or elsewhere. This seems to be why it is popular in terms of dark tourism.

The killing fields at Phnom Penh are chilling. They will shock and horrify you, providing vital education about the genocide that occurred under the Khmer Rouge regime.

Across four years in the late 1970s, around 1 in 5 Cambodian citizens were killed under dictator Pol Pot. There are actually around 300 killing fields across Cambodia, but the Choeung Ek Killing Fields are one of the world’s most visited dark tourism destinations.

On the surface, the fields are beautiful. But any tour guide or historian will be able to tell you about the horrors that unfolded here. You can see the remnants for yourself: mass graves, holding rooms, trees where soldiers would hang speakers to drown out the cries of those being savagely beaten to death.

There is a pagoda, closed in with glass walls, where you’ll find a tower made from bones and skulls. It climbs higher and higher, a stark reminder of just how many people were killed at this one site alone. It really is a harrowing experience, but again one that does serve to educate visitors.

Located just outside Cape Town , Robben Island is a prison island.

This is where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned alongside many others, and subject to some of the harshest conditions. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and tourists can visit on tours led by ex-prisoners .

The island was once also a leper colony, and later an asylum. But it was its use as a prison during the Apartheid years that has led to its notoriety.

This is why it is one of the top 10 dark tourism destinations in the world. Crime and punishment is a topic that so many of us are eager to learn about. A tour of this prison island is sure to educate you as well as leave you with some burning questions…

Dark tourism is a fascinating subject and is extremely educational. I personally find that reading a book with personal accounts and stories helps me to really understand the dark tourism sights that I visit. Here are some of my recommendations:

• Chernobyl – 2019 Sky Atlantic Drama [DVD]
• Hell Hole, Robben Island: Reminiscences of a Political Prisoner
• The Last Road to Cambodia
• By Loung Ung First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (New Ed)
• Apocalypse Pompeii
• The Twins of Auschwitz: The inspiring true story of a young girl surviving Mengele’s hell

Liked this article? Click to share!

• The Magazine
• Stay Curious
• The Sciences
• Environment
• Planet Earth

Dark Tourism: Why People Travel to Sites of Death and Tragedy

Droves of tourists frequent concentration camps, sites of famous battles or even places where mass atrocities occurred. what draws us to this dark tourism.

If you've ever traveled somewhere new, there's a good chance you've planned your itinerary around popular destinations to make the most of your trip. That’s why famous museums, parks, restaurants and beaches are commonly filled with people trying to experience what makes a particular location so great. But some of us have a penchant for places that are historically associated with death and tragedy. All around the world, these tourists visit concentration camps, historical grounds of famous battles or even places related to mass atrocities.  

Today, this practice — fittingly called "dark tourism" — is a multi-billion dollar industry. But it's also far from a new phenomenon. Some people have always been drawn to death, and two of the earliest examples are the displays of public executions and the Roman gladiatorial games. The Colosseum in Rome may very well be one of the first dark tourism attractions. But what is it about these locations that make them so engaging? According to experts, there are plenty of factors that help draw us to these lurid locales. 

The Appeal of Death and Tragedy

The motivations of tourists in visiting dark tourist locations often come down to four common themes, according to a 2021 study published in International Hospitality Review . Curiosity appears to be the biggest factor, but personal connection also matters. Many tourists take part because they feel connected — or want to feel a connection — to the events that transpired at a particular location, says Heather Lewis, assistant professor at Troy University who was involved in the 2021 study.  

Others visit for educational purposes, while some just happen to be in the same place and decide to participate after seeing something that might be of interest, she adds. For some people, visiting the graves of celebrities they like is a way to celebrate their lives, and it’s not about focusing on the difficulty of their life, or the tragic circumstances behind their death.

“Dark tourism does not need 'dark' tourists — only people who are socially engaged in the cultural and political fabric of their own life world,” says Philip Stone, executive director of the Institute for Dark Tourism Research. “[It] is the commodification of places of pain and shame and, consequently, shines a mirror on contemporary society of how we memorialize, and who we remember.”  

The concept of dark tourism is culturally nuanced and means different things to different people. It can mediate our sense of mortality through the fatality of others where the dead act as warnings from the history of our own fights, follies, and misfortunes, says Stone. In short, a fascination with death in itself might not be the primary motive for visiting dark tourism sites; it likely has more to do with an individual's interest in cultural heritage and education. 

A Complex Legacy

Still, despite that nuance, dark tourism is often frowned upon. For tourists and travelers, it can seem like a minefield mired in “ moral ambiguities and managerial dilemmas,” says Stone. In many ways, the industry is all about managing our collective memory and providing a memorialized afterlife to those who died tragically or untimely. At the same time, it allows contemporary visitors to consume narratives of death that have been streamlined for their consumption. In other words, the practice can be considered a "touristification" of the places and people steeped in death and tragedy.

“Remembrance is a political process that is selective of what, who, and where is memorialized — and, perhaps more importantly, forgotten,” he adds. “As such, dark tourism showcases our significant dead as spectacular in a society of spectacle where commercialism ensures everything is 'packaged up' and sold, even tragic or calamitous death.” At its core, there is an element of dark tourism that knowingly exploits our fascination with the macabre, stirring up complicated ethical and moral issues about our own behavior.  

For Lewis, dark tourism isn’t necessarily a bad thing as long as it’s properly managed. The increase in tourism can be used to restore or maintain facilities in dark tourism locations, but it should not destroy or diminish the integrity of the location over time. For instance, there are Hurricane Katrina tours that will not visit certain parts of the city out of respect for the individuals living there, she adds.  

People must always be respectful of those who have experienced loss and hardship at dark tourism locations. Traveling responsibly and minimizing its impact on residents remain highly important because old suffering may be reopened, intensified, and prolonged by tourists. 

“The overall concern that we should have with dark tourism is making sure that we are being ethically and morally upright in the marketing and use of these locations as a dark tourism destinations,” says Lewis. “We should never seek economic gain by exploiting others’ suffering and loss.” 

• behavior & society

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

Keep reading for as low as $1.99!

Sign up for our weekly science updates.

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

12 Best Dark Tourism Sites In The USA: Macabre, Strange & Interesting!

T he United States has always been somewhat of an enigma to the rest of the world. However, with so many intriguing and sometimes downright strange events going on, it’s no surprise the USA is a must-see tourist destination for wanderlust folk. After all, sometimes the idea of a trip to Costco in itself can feel like an experience in the land of freedom.

But we started to think, with the abundance of tourist traps in the USA ranging from architectural feats and national parks to Disney and Hollywood , what kind of secrets is this country hiding?

Well as it turns out, there are countless unique, terrifying, and downright bizarre Dark Tourism destinations in the USA that are ready to be explored. Even in just one city like San Francisco, you can find many creepy tourist sites – as we’ve written about before.

To help you find the strangest and creepiest places throughout the USA, here’s some of the best Dark Tourism destinations that we think you should check out. From ghosts and witchcraft to urban legends that seem too real to be fake….

The Macabre, Strange and Interesting Dark Tourism Destinations of The USA

1. badlands national park.

The Badlands National Park is known for its remote and seemingly hostile environment. However, the strange, almost alien environment has been an alluring attraction to people who enjoy the stranger side of life.

The geological shapes make it seem like a scene from Star Wars more than an earthly place. Canyons, rock formations, and an abundance of fossils show the rich and diverse natural history of the Badlands.

But it didn’t end there; when settlers came to the Americas, it became a site of conflict between Native Americans and Colonizers seeking to take control of the land.

The land saw its fair share of bloodshed and brutal history, and a few patches of cursed land were rumored to be hidden amongst the canyons and old hunting grounds.

Tourists are often urged to take tours with knowledgeable guides; like many of America’s National Parks, there have been disappearances and incidents of hikers getting lost.

But if you’re up for the adventure and want to visit somewhere entirely out of this world, you won’t be disappointed with Badlands National Park.

Location: South Dakota

Tags: Dark History; Strange Tourism

2. Saint Elmo: Ghost Town

While the term Ghost Town might garner some excitement from the likes of the Winchester Brothers from Supernatural, we’d like to restate the rumors.

St Elmo’s is not an undead stronghold and, surprisingly, has very little rumor of paranormal activity.

So what makes it so interesting? Well, Saint Elmo is the most well-preserved Ghost Town in the United States. Once a flourishing town founded in 1880, this was a booming part of the Silver Mining Industry. Unfortunately, this was short-lived, and the town was abandoned entirely in the early 20th century.

It now offers a unique perspective on life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as allows our imagination to take us back to the Wild West, where cowboys and shootouts are the order of the day.

There are guided tours, but for the most part, the town and its surroundings (which are stunning, by the way) are open for exploration!

Location: Chaffee County, Colorado

Tags: Dark History

3. The Shanghai Tunnels

Underneath the city streets of Portland sits a vast network of tunnels dating back decades.

They were not a part of the city’s original plans and were, in fact, created as an escape and transport network for criminal activities—namely Shanghaiing.

Unsuspecting men would be forcibly kidnapped and transported through these tunnels to awaiting ships to work as slave crew. Not to mention that when the Prohibition Era hit, they were a pretty good way to sneak contraband liquor around the city for Gatsby-esque soirees.

These tunnels form a dark part of Portland’s heritage but are still part of its history as far as tourism is concerned. The tunnels are only accessible through a few points and with guides.

And we wouldn’t recommend you try to enter any other way. Why? Aside from their history of illicit activity, they have also earned the nasty title of one of Portland’s most haunted destinations.

So it’s best to travel in groups and let the tour guide keep you safe from the things that creep around the tunnels because we promise you rats are the least of your worries.

Location: Portland, Oregon

Tags: Paranormal; Supernatural; Dark History

4. Waverly Hills Sanatorium

We don’t need American Horror Story to help us realize that abandoned hospitals in any way, shape or form are some of the creepiest things to exist.

Waverly Hills Sanatorium is no exception to the rule. Once a treatment facility for Tuberculosis, y’know, before we discovered a cure, the sanatorium was the final resting place for hundreds of patients who succumbed to the contagious disease.

This leaves quite an invisible scar on the building.

And after a cure was discovered and the hospital became insignificant, everyone abandoned it except former (deceased) patients, doctors, and nurses whose spirits still roam the halls.

It’s become a popular destination for ghost hunters, paranormal enthusiasts, and tourists. But, if you’re brave enough, you can take a tour and explore the creepy old building for yourself.

Whether you believe Casper and crew are waiting behind the doors, the building is still eerie enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine.

Location: Louisville, Kentucky

Tags: Paranormal; Supernatural; Dark History; Disaster Tourism

5. Stull Cemetery

You might want to hold onto your hats for this one. Kansas is supposedly home to one of the Seven Gates to Hell.

Stull Cemetery, in Stull, is noted to be amongst the most haunted cemeteries in America and comes with enough warnings and local lore to turn brave men pale with fright.

But perhaps the most famous (or infamous) local legend is that Stull Cemetery is a gateway to Hell. And if you’re unlucky enough to be around on Halloween, you might come face-to-face with the Devil himself.

Of course, because the cemetery has attracted quite a cult following, local law enforcement has put rules in place. After all, it is a place that demands respect, regardless of our insatiable need to have our own Scooby Doo episode.

But when it comes to dark tourism destinations in the USA, you can’t get much more creepy than a literal gateway to the seven circles.

Location: Stull, Kansas

6. Pine Barrens

Outdoor adventurers will love the diverse ecosystem presented by the Pine Barrens in New Jersey. Towering pine trees, cranberry bogs, and beautiful streams and rivers, it’s a paradise for hikers and nature enthusiasts.

But, as every outdoors person knows, you’re never alone in the forest, and the Pine Barrens has a reputation for strange behavior.

It’s infamous for its legends and folklore, and aside from avid hikers taking to the trails, you might find a few wild cryptozoologists on the hunt for the Jersey Devil.

The creature is a fable that strikes fear into the hearts of locals. A beast with a horse-like head, leathery wings, and the body of a goat, it is rumored to be responsible for plenty of strange occurrences and disappearances in the area.

The origins of the Jersey Devil legend are uncertain, but it is believed to have been part of New Jersey folklore for hundreds of years.

Over the years, numerous sightings of the Jersey Devil have been reported, and the legend has grown to become one of the most well-known and enduring legends of the Pine Barrens.

So when it comes to dark tourism in the USA, you can’t find a more unique example than this.

Location: New Jersey

Tags: Paranormal; Supernatural; Cryptozoology

Area 51 is a mysterious and highly secure military base in the Nevada desert. Yet despite its reputation as one of the most secretive and secure places on earth, Area 51 has long been the subject of speculation and local lore.

As a result, it has become a popular destination for those interested in the strange and unusual.

The legends and rumors surrounding Area 51 vary, ranging from stories of aliens and flying saucers to tales of government experiments and secret technology. For those fascinated by the mysterious and the unknown, visiting Area 51 is a must-see dark tourism experience.

In fact, some overzealous Redditors previously decided to storm the base in an attempt to discover its hidden secrets, which simply resulted in a few strangers becoming friends over weird obsessions.

Regardless, you might not be able to get into the military base itself, but you can catch glimpses of it and explore some of the surrounding areas, where tour guides can explain more of the unique and exciting lore.

Location: Nevada Desert

Tags: Supernatural; Dark History

8. The Winchester Mystery House

The name Winchester isn’t just synonymous with the demon-hunting heartthrobs of Supernatural. In fact, Winchester is associated with another deadly force, the Winchester rifle.

Well, the creator of this rifle succumbed to TB in 1881, leaving behind his grieving widow in a large mansion all by herself. Or so she thought. Soon after her husband’s passing, she began to experience hauntings, and not by him.

She claimed that the victims of Winchester rifles had begun to haunt her. But instead of doing the logical thing, and moving house, she decided to build a labyrinth.

The Winchester Mystery House has been transformed into a maze of rooms, doors, staircases, and more. In fact, the internal workings are so disorientating that you can only enter with a trained guide.

She built such an elaborate and confusing space, hoping it would disorientate the ghosts, but there is also a rumor that she added rooms to house the victims.

Either way, the Winchester Mystery House is an absolute must-visit destination, if anything, to simply be humbled by the widow’s stubbornness to leave or hire an exorcist.

Location: San Jose, California

9. The Cecil Hotel

The Cecil Hotel is a fascinating and intriguing destination for anyone interested in dark tourism within the USA.

It has a long and storied history, with many strange and mysterious events having taken place within its walls. From serial killers to supernatural sightings, the Cecil Hotel is steeped in legends and rumors of the macabre.

Visitors can tour the hotel, learning about its fascinating history and exploring its dark and creepy corners. And for those who are feeling brave, you can even book a room hoping to see some of the resident ghosts.

But be warned, this hotel is synonymous with mystery and the macabre, having once housed the notorious Night Stalker, Richard Ramirez, and being the subject of the Elisa Lam cold case.

Nobody quite understands why this hotel has grown into a hotspot for strange occurrences; frankly, we don’t want to know. All we can say is, if you’re a fan of creepy buildings, the Cecil Hotel is not one to miss.

Location: Los Angeles, California

Tags: Paranormal; Supernatural; Dark History; Macabre Tourism; Murder Tourism

10. The Stanley Hotel

Most people have heard of Stephen King, the master of horror writing, and his famous work of art, The Shining. But did you know that the Overlook Hotel is based on a real place?

The Stanley Hotel in Colorado has a reputation for being one of the most haunted hotels in the country and is steeped in brutal history and shady happenings. Yet, despite the paranormal encounters, the hotel is still fully operational and accepting guests.

So if you’re feeling brave enough, you can grab a key card and be prepared for a night of spooky encounters. Of course, we can’t guarantee Jack Nicholson busting down your door, screaming, “HERE’S JOHNNY!”

But you might be able to have a drink prepared by the ghost of one of the former bartenders. Having worked hospitality ourselves, we’d just call that mad dedication.

There are plenty of infamous spirits haunting the hallways, including a small girl, a housekeeper, and the wife of the Stanley Hotel’s founder. 

Location: Estes Park, Colorado

Tags: Paranormal; Supernatural; Dark History; Disaster Tourism; War Tourism

11. Lafayette Cemetery No. 1

New Orleans has always been a wealth of dark tourism destinations – as we’ve written about before – but one of the most famous of these is Lafayette Cemetery No. 1.

This breathtaking cemetery is a gorgeous tourist spot to visit during the day, with rows of carved tombstones, crypts, and more giving us insight into the lives lost decades prior.

Nearly 7000 people are buried there, with the bodies of the Mayfair Witches, Lafayette himself, and legendary voodoo priestess Marie Laveau being amongst the most famous.

Occasionally, night tours are offered, with helpful and informative guides providing incredible insight into the cemetery’s history and the people buried there. Plus, if you’re lucky, you might have an up-close and personal encounter with one of the many resident specters.

Having visited this cemetery ourselves, in daylight, we can’t begin to describe the atmosphere. It’s a place for remembrance and immaculately well looked after; one might even say it’s hauntingly beautiful.

But this is still one of the best dark tourism destinations in the USA and a truly unforgettable experience, with or without ghosts.

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana

12. Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park has quite a fanbase; but amongst the nature enthusiasts who can’t get enough of the breathtaking natural beauty are a following of paranormal researchers, xenoarchaelogists , or just people hoping to have an encounter of the fourth kind.

The park has a reputation for being a hotspot for paranormal activity. And we’re not talking about ghosts. We’re talking about out-of-this-world visitors.

People claim to see strange lights in the sky and UFOs flying overhead, and a few have even claimed to have come face to face with the infamous gray men! All we know is these rumors have attracted quite a fanbase.

It’s become one of the most infamous hotspots for alien activity in the USA, and nobody can really explain the phenomenon. But, of course, everyone has their theory, and among the most popular is that Joshua Tree once housed an ancient alien civilization.

People can’t help but notice the alien-like quality of the landscape and rock formations; it’s an isolated area and offers clear skies at night to stargaze and hopes to spot a glimpse of the mothership.

If you’re into that, of course; personally, despite finding E.T. to be as cute as a French bulldog, we can’t say we’d be keen to have an encounter with any of his friends.

Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California

Tags: Supernatural; Macabre Tourism

The Best Dark Tourism Destinations In The USA: Final Thoughts

So whether you’re giving in to morbid curiosity, or you seriously just grew tired of normal tourism, you can rest easy knowing there’s a whole bizarre world of Dark Tourism destinations in the USA waiting to be explored.

And you can start by visiting one of our favorites above!

Related Posts

10 Macabre, Strange & Interesting Dark Tourism Destinations In Rome!

10 macabre, strange & interesting dark tourism destinations of paris, dark tourism in mexico: 10 sad, strange & macabre destinations.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit sed.

Follow us on

National Geographic content straight to your inbox—sign up for our popular newsletters here

Dark tourism: when tragedy meets tourism

The likes of Auschwitz, Ground Zero and Chernobyl are seeing increasing numbers of visitors, sparking the term 'dark tourism'. But is it voyeuristic or educational?

Days after 71 people died in a London tower block fire last June, something strange started to happen in the streets around it. Posters, hastily drawn by members of the grieving community of Grenfell Tower, appeared on fences and lamp posts in view of the building's blackened husk.

'Grenfell: A Tragedy Not A Tourist Attraction,' one read, adding — sarcastically — a hashtag and the word 'selfies'. As families still searched for missing inhabitants of the 24-storey block, and the political shock waves were being felt through the capital, people had started to arrive in North Kensington to take photos. Some were posing in selfie mode.

"It's not the Eiffel Tower," one resident told the BBC after the posters attracted the attention of the press. "You don't take a picture." Weeks later, local people were dismayed when a coachload of Chinese tourists pulled up nearby so that its occupants could get out and take photos.

Grenfell Tower, which still dominates the surrounding skyline (it's due to be demolished in late 2018), had become a site for 'dark tourism', a loose label for any sort of tourism that involves visiting places that owe their notoriety to death, disaster, an atrocity or what can also loosely be termed 'difficult heritage'.

It's a phenomenon that's on the rise as established sites such as Auschwitz and the September 11 museum in Manhattan enjoy record visitor numbers. Meanwhile, demand is rising among those more intrepid dark tourists who want to venture to the fallout zones of Chernobyl and Fukushima, as well as North Korea and Rwanda. In Sulawesi, Indonesia, Western tourists wielding GoPros pay to watch elaborate funeral ceremonies in the Toraja region, swapping notes afterwards on TripAdvisor.

Along the increasingly crowded dark-tourist trail, academics, tour operators and the residents of many destinations are asking searching questions about the ethics of modern tourism in an age of the selfie and the Instagram hashtag. When Pompeii, a dark tourist site long before the phrase existed, found itself on the Grand Tour of young European nobility in the 18th century, dozens of visitors scratched their names into its excavated walls. Now we leave our mark in different ways, but where should we draw the boundaries?

Questions like these have become the life's work of Dr Philip Stone , perhaps the world's leading academic expert on dark tourism. He has a background in business and marketing, and once managed a holiday camp in Scotland. But a fascination with societal attitudes to mortality led to a PhD in thanatology, the study of death, and a focus on tourism.

"I'm not even a person who enjoys going to these places," Stone says from the University of Central Lancashire, where he runs the Institute for Dark Tourism Research. "But what I am interested in is the way people face their own mortality by looking at other deaths of significance. Because we've become quite divorced from death yet we have this kind of packaging up of mortality in the visit economy which combines business, sociology, psychology under the banner of dark tourism. It's really fascinating to shine a light on that."

Historical roots

The term 'dark tourism' is far newer than the practice, which long predates Pompeii's emergence as a morbid attraction. Stone considers the Roman Colosseum to be one of the first dark tourist sites, where people travelled long distances to watch death as sport. Later, until the late 18th century, the appeal was starker still in central London, where people paid money to sit in grandstands to watch mass executions. Hawkers would sell pies at the site, which was roughly where Marble Arch   stands today.

It was only in 1996 that 'dark tourism' entered the scholarly lexicon when two academics in Glasgow applied it while looking at sites associated with the assassination of JFK. Those who study dark tourism identify plenty of reasons for the growing phenomenon, including raised awareness of it as an identifiable thing. Access to sites has also improved with the advent of cheap air travel. It's hard to imagine that the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial and museum would now welcome more than two million visitors a year (an average of almost 5,500 a day, more than two-thirds of whom travel to the Polish site from other countries in Europe) were it not for its proximity to Krakow's international airport.

Peter Hohenhaus, a widely travelled dark tourist based in Vienna, also points to the broader rise in off-the-beaten track tourism, beyond the territory of popular guidebooks and TripAdvisor rankings. "A lot of people don't want mainstream tourism and that often means engaging with places that have a more recent history than, say, a Roman ruin," he says. "You go to Sarajevo and most people remember the war being in the news so it feels closer to one's own biography."

Hohenhaus is also a fan of 'beauty in decay', the contemporary cultural movement in which urban ruins have become subject matter for expensive coffee-table books and a thousand Instagram accounts. The crossover with death is clear. "I've always been drawn to derelict things," the 54-year-old says. As a child in Hamburg, he would wonder at the destruction of war still visible around the city's harbour.

That childhood interest has developed into an obsession; Hohenhaus has visited 650 dark tourist sites in 90 countries, logging them all and more besides on his website . He has plans to put together the first dark tourism guidebook. His favourite holiday destination today is Chernobyl and its 'photogenic' ghost town. "You get to time travel back into the Soviet era but also into an apocalyptic future," he says. He also enjoys being emotionally challenged by these places. "I went to Treblinka in 2008 and heard the story of a teacher at an orphanage in Warsaw who was offered a chance to escape but refused and went with his children to the gas chambers. Stories like that are not everyday, you mull over them. Would you have done that?"

But while, like any tourism, dark tourism at its best is thought-provoking and educational, the example of Grenfell Tower hints at the unease felt at some sites about what can look like macabre voyeurism. "I remember the Lonely Planet Bluelist book had a chapter about dark tourism a while ago and one of the rules was 'don't go back too early'," Hohenhaus says. "But that's easier said than calculated. You have to be very aware of reactions and be discreet when you're not in a place with an entrance fee and a booklet." Hohenhaus said he had already thought about Grenfell Tower and admits he would be interested to see it up close. "It's big, it's dramatic, it's black and it's a story you've followed in the news," he says. "I can see the attraction. But I would not stand in the street taking a selfie."

A mirror to mortality

An urge to see and feel a place that has been reduced to disaster shorthand by months of media coverage is perhaps understandable, but Stone is most interested in the draw — conscious or otherwise — of destinations that hold up a mirror to our own mortality. "When we touch the memory of people who've gone what we're looking at is ourselves," he says. "That could have been us in that bombing or atrocity. We make relevant our own mortality." That process looks different across cultures — and generations — and Stone says we should take this into account before despairing of selfie takers at Grenfell Tower or Auschwitz.

"I've heard residents at Grenfell welcoming visitors because it keeps the disaster in the public realm, but they didn't like people taking photos because it's a visual reminder that you're a tourist and therefore somehow defunct of morality," he explains. "We're starting to look at selfies now. Are they selfish?" Stone argues that the language of social media means we no longer say "I was here", but "I am here — see me". He adds: "We live in a secular society where morality guidelines are increasingly blurred. It's easy for us to say that's right or wrong, but for many people it's not as simple as that."

"Travel itself is innately voyeuristic," argues Simon Cockerel, the general manager of Koryo Tours , a North Korea specialist based in Beijing. Cockerel, who has lived in China for 17 years and joined Koryo in 2002, says demand has grown dramatically for trips to Pyongyang and beyond, from 200 people a year in the mid 1990s, when the company started, to more than 5,000 more recently. He has visited the country more than 165 times and says some clients join his tours simply to bag another country, and some for bragging rights. But the majority have a genuine interest in discovering a country — and a people — beyond the headlines.

"I've found everyone who goes there to be sensitive and aware of the issues," he says. "The restrictions do create a framework for it to be a bit like a theme park visit but we work hard to blur those boundaries. More than 25 million people live in North Korea, and 24.99 million of them have nothing to do with what we read in the news and deserve to be seen as people not as zoo animals or lazy caricatures."

More challenging recently has been the US ban on its citizens going to North Korea, imposed last summer after the mysterious death of Otto Warmbier. The American student had been arrested in Pyongyang after being accused of trying to steal a propaganda poster. Americans made up about 20% of Koryo's business, but Cockerel argues the greater loss is to mutual perception in the countries. "The North Korean government represent Americans as literal wolves with sharpened nails," he says. "At least a few hundred Americans going there was a kind of bridgehead against that. Now that's gone."

At Grenfell Tower, responsible tourism may yet serve to keep alive the memory of the disaster, just as it does, after a dignified moratorium, at Auschwitz and the former Ground Zero. Hohenhaus says he will resist the urge to go until some sort of memorial is placed at the site of the tower. At around the time of a commemorative service at St Paul's Cathedral six months after the fire, there were calls for the site eventually to be turned into a memorial garden. The extent to which Hohenhaus and other dark tourists are welcomed will be decided by the people still living there.

Five of the world's dark tourism sites

1. North Korea Opened to visitors in the late 1980s, North Korea now attracts thousands of tourists each year for a peek behind the headlines.

2. Auschwitz-Birkenau The former Nazi death camp became a memorial in 1947 and a museum in 1955. It's grown since and in 2016 attracted a record two million visitors.

3. 9/11 Memorial and Museum Built in the crater left by the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the museum, opened in 2014, has won plaudits for its portrayal of a disaster and its impact.

4. Rwanda Visitor numbers to genocide memorials have grown in Cambodia and Bosnia as well as in Rwanda, where there are several sites dedicated to the 1994 massacre of up to a million people. The skulls of victims are displayed.

5. Chernobyl & Pripyat, Ukraine Several tour companies exist to send visitors to the exclusion zone and ghost town left otherwise empty after the nuclear accident in 1986. All are scanned for radiation as they leave.

Published in the March 2018 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK)

Find us on social media

Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Related Topics

• EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL
• CULTURAL TOURISM
• HISTORY AND CIVILIZATION

You May Also Like

They inspire us and teach us about the world: Meet our 2024 Travelers of the Year

An insider's guide to Denver, Colorado's wildly creative capital

Free bonus issue.

10 reasons to visit the East Coast in 2024

An architectural tour of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi

7 of the UK's best gallery cafes

A long weekend in Orkney

How to plan a walking tour of Glasgow in the footsteps of Charles Rennie Mackintosh

• Perpetual Planet
• Environment
• History & Culture
• Paid Content

History & Culture

• Photography
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Your US State Privacy Rights
• Children's Online Privacy Policy
• Interest-Based Ads
• About Nielsen Measurement
• Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
• Nat Geo Home
• Attend a Live Event
• Book a Trip
• Inspire Your Kids
• Shop Nat Geo
• Visit the D.C. Museum
• Learn About Our Impact
• Support Our Mission
• Advertise With Us
• Customer Service
• Renew Subscription
• Manage Your Subscription
• Work at Nat Geo
• Sign Up for Our Newsletters
• Contribute to Protect the Planet

Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society Copyright © 2015-2024 National Geographic Partners, LLC. All rights reserved

• Loire Valley
• South of France
• France Off the Beaten Path
• Non-Touristy Paris
• Arles & The Camargue
• Haute-Marne
• Loire: The Department
• Nancy Art Nouveau
• 9 Sensational Road Trips
• How to Plan Your Route
• 10 Days: South of France
• 7 Days: Basque Country
• 5 Days: Lake Geneva & Alps
• France's Regions
• France's Departments
• France's Cities
• Best Seasons
• Official Holidays
• Essential Planning Tips
• Paris Hotels with Spa
• Paris Hotels with Balconies
• Cool Paris Hotels
• Driving in France
• Taking the Train
• Renting a Car in France
• How to Shop in France
• Le Petit Shop
• Christmas Gifts
• Things to Do in Lyon
• What Is Lyon Famous for?
• The Food Capital of the World
• The Lyon Murals
• Public Transportation in Lyon
• All of the Lyon stories
• Best of France Know-How
• Most Beautiful Villages of France
• Flavigny-sur-Ozerain
• Best Landmarks
• Best Flea Markets
• Best Books About France
• Best Christmas Markets
• France's Favorite Foods
• A Typical French Breakfast
• Apero Time!
• Weird French Foods
• Let Them Eat Baguette
• French Pastry Desserts
• The Bouillons of Paris
• La Vache Qui Rit
• French Christmas Meals
• Did You Say Escargot?
• French Revolution Tours
• Ghost Tours
• Paris Food Tours
• Stereotypes and Myths
• Facts about Ze French
• La Loire: What's in a Name?
• France's Backstory
• France's Roman Ruins
• Chenonceau Castle
• La Belle Epoque
• Most Haunted Places in Paris
• Dark Tourism in Paris
• France's Abandoned Places
• Paris Catacombs
• They Built a Wall
• Legends of the Luberon
• Lyon's Secret Passages
• Small & Odd
• Burgundian Life, Dijon
• Counterfeit Museum, Paris
• France's List of Lists
• Food & Wine Brotherhoods
• Vercingetorix, King of Gauls
• The Salacious Count Bussy-Rabutin
• Napoleon Bonaparte
• General Charles de Gaulle
• Breakfast in French?
• Bathroom in French?
• Most Popular Posts
• Beyond the Baguette Newsletter

Unsure about your French table manners? Click Here to download > >  How to avoid these 10 food etiquette mistakes !

Follow me on

• Destinations

dark tourism in paris: 6 Sites That May Unnerve You

Published 28 November 2023 by  Leyla Alyanak  — Parisian by birth, Lyonnaise by adoption, historian by passion

Paris, the "City of Light", is an old city and has a darker side, not surprising given the millions who have died here since it was founded more than 2000 years ago. But where I expected these 6 sites to be macabre, I found history, and plenty of reasons to return.

The burial places of Paris and its many sites linked to death or darkness are major tourist attractions: fascination with death nothing new.

It has existed as long as we have, with documented burial practices dating back at least 100,000 years (some put that figure at 200,000*).

In Roman times, crowds gathered to watch gladiators die, and in medieval times, hangings and beheadings were major entertainment events. In the Victorian era, visiting morgues was a "thing".

Today, the city's top three burial grounds – Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Montmartre Cemetery and Montparnasse Cemetery – receive four million visitors a year, and we won't even count all the other graveyards in Paris. 

To confirm our appetite for this type of dark tourism, just take a look at the lines that snake outside the  Paris Catacombs  every day, packed with people waiting to take special tours  that guarantee you won't miss a thing. Or the popularity of the  most haunted places in Paris  and the proliferation of increasingly trendy  Paris ghost tours .  

We'll take a brief look at 6 intriguing  dark tourism sites  I recently visited in Paris: the Saint-Denis Basilica, the Pantheon, Les Invalides, Père-Lachaise Cemetery, the Catacombs, and the Congiergerie, along with the history behind them.

NOTE: Pages on this site may contain affiliate links, which bring in a small commission at no cost to you.

6 famous dark tourism sites in Paris

1. Basilique Saint-Denis

2. Paris Pantheon

3. Les Invalides

4. Père Lachaise Cemetery

5. the catacombs of paris, 6. the conciergerie.

What is dark tourism, exactly?

Paying a visit to Saint-Denis is tantamount to walking down a timeline of the history of France, which is why it's my first pick.

Located in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, the basilica is an odd structure with a single tower that gives it an unfinished look.

Inside, however, are the graves and crypts of 43 kings, 32 queens, 63 princes and princesses, and 10 loyal servants of the monarchy, some lesser known, others as familiar as a regular dinner guest.

Among the best known are  François I (Francis I), the Renaissance king who made French the national language, and the tombs of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, with their twin white marble sarcophagi.

OFFBEAT FACTS ABOUT SAINT DENIS BASILICA

• Saint-Denis, first bishop of Paris, had been sent by the Roman pope to Christianize Paris when he was arrested and killed - beheaded, actually. According to legend, he picked up his severed head and tucked it under his arm, walking 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) until he reached the site of today's basilica, which was built to honor him.
• The first king to be buried here was Dagobert, in 639 CE.
• This "cemetery of kings" has Europe's largest collection of funeral sculptures.
• During the Revolution, the basilica's lead roof was removed and melted for bullets, along with metal plaques and tombs.
• The basilica only has one spire – the original second one (North Tower) was weakened by a tornado in 1846 and dismantled. Politics got in the way of its rebuilding... but now, the  second spire is being reassembled .

And to think the basilica almost disappeared...

As the 16th-century Wars of Religion pitted Catholics against Huguenots (Protestants), tombs were pillaged, but the worst plunder and vandalism would take place during  the tumultuous years of the French Revolution, when not only tombs but statuary and even the basilica's roof and stained glass windows were severely damaged.

Parts of the basilica are still being restored today, with unattended tombs scattered in corners, or simple plaques denoting a burial place. What has been restored is superb, however, and I spent several hours in the company of France's departed royal souls. 

• Getting to Saint-Denis: Metro Line 13, Basilique de Saint-Denis
• Official website:  Saint-Denis Basilica
• The  Paris Museum Pass  includes entrance to the Basilica

FRENCH ATTITUDES TOWARDS DEATH

A recent (November 2023) poll about attitudes towards death ( source ) updates us on the latest thinking:

• Nearly a third of us believe in life after death - 31%, down from 37% in 1970
• 33% didn't know whether there would be an afterlife, up from 16%
• 32% believe in reincarnation, up 10% from 2004
• half would opt for cremation, compared with 20% in 1979

A whopping 9 in 10 French visit a cemetery at least once a year, often on 1 November, the day of Toussaint, All Saints' Day: in 2022, we spent €167 million (USD 177 million) on flowers for that day.

2. Les Invalides

That  Napoleon Bonaparte  was an intellectual and strategic giant is not in dispute. Nor are his grandiosity and megalomania, so he would have undoubtedly been proud of his final resting place.

Among the grand monuments of Paris, few landmarks are as storied as Les Invalides. Built between 1671-1706 by Louis XIV, the complex originally served as a hospital and retirement home for wounded soldiers. Today it houses several of France's most important military and historical museums, and is still a functioning military hospital.

However important its various functions, most people come here to see one thing: Napoleon's tomb.

It is a substantial structure, five separate coffins (this was customary at the time) – iron, mahogany, two lead coffins, and ebony – encased in a giant sarcophagus made of red quartzite that sits on a green granite pedestal, all of it surrounded by 12 white marble victories. Whew.

You could spend an hour just observing this one tomb, located beneath the iconic domed church designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, favorite Louis XIV and architect of the Place Vendôme and of the Grand Trianon at Versailles.

Others are buried here as well, including several of Napoleon's brothers, his son (who died aged 21), a number of Marshals of France, and to me, the most illustrious of them all (or part of him, at least): Sébastien Le Prestre, marquis de Vauban, Louis XIV's military architect, a genius and humanist who built a ring of fortresses around France, protecting the country from invasion. Twelve of his fortresses are protected on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

OFFBEAT FACTS ABOUT THE INVALIDES

• Revolutionaries invaded the Invalides and gathered weapons before storming the Bastille prison .
• In 1800, Napoleon had the tomb of the Marechal de Turenne (Louis XIV's war minister) in the Invalides, turning it into a military necropolis.
• Its chapel, the Eglise du Dôme, was the highest structure in Paris until the  Eiffel Tower  was built.
• Napoleon actually never requested burial here - he merely wanted to be buried along the Seine. The Invalides being along the Seine, however...
• It took nearly 20 years after the emperor's death on the island of Saint-Helena for the French and British to agree his repatriation to France.
• For the bicentennial of his death in 2021, a strange skeleton hung over Napoleon's tomb. It was a facsimile of his favorite horse, Marengo, and caused no end of controversy. 

The Franco-Italian architect Louis Visconti was tasked with designing Napoleon's tomb, and its ingenious design allows visitors to look down upon the tomb without actually having to descent into the crypt.

Having satisfied my Napoleonic curiosity, I was nonetheless in Les Invalides for hours, far longer than I'd planned − each time I walked out a door, an arcade would lead me to yet another museum:

• the  Musée de l'Armée, or Army Museum, which tackles military history in France with a collection of weaponry right up to World War II (and is one of the world's largest military museums)
• the Musée des Plans-Reliefs, filled with scale models of fortified towns designed by Vauban, the great military engineer under Louis XIV
• the Historial Charles de Gaulle 
• the Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération, all about the Résistance
• the Musée des Épées, or swords.

The setting is as regal as it is military, a fitting eulogy for an emperor who at some point reigned over most of Europe.

• Getting to Les Invalides: Metro Lines 8 & 13, Invalides
• Official website:  Hotel des Invalides  
• Get your Invalides ticket with the  Paris Museum Pass  

3. Paris Pantheon

This marvelous neoclassical building in the heart of the Latin Quarter was supposed to be a church, designed to provide a resting place for the relics of St. Genevieve , protectress and eventually patron saint of Paris.

Built between 1764-1790, the church was commissioned by Louis XV but the French Revolution broke out just as it was completed. Goodbye religious building, hello classical temple, renamed Panthéon, like the one in Rome.

French history being what is is, the building would revert to its religious purpose under Louis-Philippe, France’s last king before a second Napoleonic empire, but that religious vocation, too, would be short-lived.

In 1885, it became a secular mausoleum once and for all when author Victor Hugo, a national hero in France, was buried here.

It is a work of art, from the incredible engineering of its huge domed interior to the giant masterworks adorning its walls to the sculptures designed to fill the spaces in-between. 

But all this art fails to reduce the sense of the infinite projected by this space – stepping inside for the first time, I felt quite small.

The architect, Jacques-Germain Soufflot, was a lover of Greco-Roman architecture, a fact you can't miss – this monumental building seems to have stepped straight out of Antiquity.

I somehow missed it at the time, but the upper floors apparently provide a panoramic view over Paris rooftops. Shame, next time I visit.

Many people come here to see Foucault’s Pendulum , which proves the Earth rotates. Another travel fail, since it was off on maintenance when I visited.

But the real draw lies below, in the crypt, the resting place of many of France's most celebrated (site in French) writers, scientists, and philosophers. They include Victor Hugo, of course, but also Voltaire, Rousseau, Émile Zola, Pierre and Marie Curie, or Louis Braille. Two major novelists, Alexandre Dumas and André Malraux are buried in the gardens outside. 

The most publicised recent Pantheon entry, if you've been following the news in France, was Josephine Baker , the first American and Black woman to be honored with a place here.

What I took away, apart from the visual impact, was a strong sense of history and of the importance of individual contributions to that history.

• Getting to the Pantheon: Metro Line 10, Maubert-Mutualité or Cardinal Lemoine
• Official website:  Pantheon
• Get your Paris Museum Pass , which includes Les Invalides

With an "intra muros", or "inside the walls" population in Paris of 2.2 million, those who die have to go somewhere. Mostly, they go to one of the city's 14 cemeteries, or to one of the 6 that lie just outside the city walls, in the Greater Paris area.

Paris has been Paris for centuries, with millions of births and deaths, all within a relatively small area. In the year 1000, about 120ha of Paris was built up. By 1850, 3370ha were inhabited and today, a whopping 10,500ha are urbanized ( source ).

I don't usually walk around cemeteries but I have always been drawn to the Père-Lachaise, whether for its famous graves or the stories behind them, but what I did not expect was the feeling of calm and serenity that pervaded its 110 acres in eastern Paris.

Established by Napoleon in 1804, this necropolis holds the remains of over one million individuals, many of them among the most illustrious names in French history. It also happens to be one of the most visited landmarks in Paris.

Walk through Père Lachaise for a who's who of celebrities, artists, and literary giants: Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Marcel Proust, Jim Morrison, Maria Callas, Gertrude Stein, Baron Haussmann, Colette, Molière, Balzac, and Chopin. The tombs of Isadora Duncan, Alice B. Toklas, Yves Montand, Eugène Delacroix, and Sarah Bernhardt can also be found here.

Being a cemetery, the Père Lachaise has its share of spooky myths and legends over the years. Many believe the grave of occultist Héléna Blavatsky is haunted; that the tomb of Victor Noir, a 19th-century French journalist, is said to bring good luck (and fertility!) to women who kiss it; that the White Lady, wealthy Baroness Stroganoff, promised her entire fortune to the first person to spend an entire year inside her mausoleum, next to her body; and of course, that Jim Morrison of The Doors still lives and manifests as a ghost...

The cemetery saw violence during the Paris Commune when 147 Communards were lined up and shot on the grounds in 1871. Their fallen bodies were later cremated on site and buried in a mass grave that still stands today as a memorial, as do memorials to other groups of soldiers, from Canadians to Poles.

Napoleon would have been surprised at the cemetery's contemporary popularity. When it opened, it wasn't much liked for burials due to its distance from the city center, not until a clever marketing campaign transferred the remains of famous individuals like Molière and La Fontaine here. That quickly changed public opinion.

• Getting to Père-Lachaise: Metro Line 2 Alexandre Dumas or Lines 2 or 3 Père Lachaise
• Official website:  Père-Lachaise

Unlike many other Paris graveyards and crypts, we don't actually know most of the people buried in the Catacombs , one of the city's most haunted places. How could it not be, with its dark, dingy tunnels lined with the bones of over six million Parisians?

By the late 18th century, the traditional cemeteries of Paris were overflowing and causing health hazards, so it was decided to rehouse their human remains in the city's abandoned, Roman-era limestone quarries under the city, turning them into a vast ossuary. 

You can only visit the tiniest portion of the Catacombs' 200 miles or so of tunnels, but even that is worth climbing down the twisty stairs into the tunnels.

Here you'll find all manner of bones – a few are stacked haphazardly along the walls, but most are well organized, whether with plaques or signs, or styled into unexpected sculptures. Most of them belong to ordinary Parisians, but there are also plenty of notables buried here, including victims of the guillotine.

At first you may think all this macabre, but after a while curiosity may take over and you'll be wanting to discover what is around the next bend.

And of course, there be ghosts. Like that of Philibert Aspairt, a hospital concierge who wandered down in 1793 but was only found 11 years later, near an exit. Remember this should you be tempted to wander down unguided (these days this is increasingly difficult as authorities close off entrances as soon as they find them).

This is probably the most eerie sight involving dark tourism in Paris...

• Getting to the Catacombs: Metro Lines 4 & 6 Denfert-Rochereau
•  Best tours of the Paris Catacombs

The Conciergerie has such a long history and is connected to major events of French history, especially during the French Revolution.

Originally a Gallo-Roman fortress and home of Frankish kings, it was expanded in the 13th century, becoming a prison in the 14th.

Marie-Antoinette may have been the Conciergerie's most famous "guest", having spent her final days here before being taken to the guillotine.

But she was by no means the only noteworthy one. Others included:

• Olympe de Gouges, a political activist and author of the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, in which she argued all persons were born equal
• Jean-Paul Marat, a revolutionary journalist, and Charlotte Corday, Marat's assassin
• Madame du Barry, patron of the arts, friend of Voltaire, and official mistress of Louis XV
• and a slew of famous revolutionary figures, both for and against.

You'll find many of their names in the  Salle des Noms, or Room of Names, which lists more than 4000 men and women who were held at the Conciergerie before being heard by the Revolutionary Tribunal, a special court which  sat between 1793-1795 to judge those accused of anti-revolutionary or anti-state actions.

The names that cover the walls are divided into the three "estates": the nobility, the clergy, and everyone else. Surprisingly, ordinary citizens made up the vast majority of those tried.

The small name plates are color-coded: red for those who were executed, and black for those who were acquitted, deported or imprisoned.

The plates' thickness denoted their station in life: the thicker ones were of noble birth, the medium ones belonged to the clergy, and the flat bands denoted everyday citizens. Reading their professions brings home their humanity, the everydayness of the "enemies of the Revolution", whose crimes were often having been born in the wrong family.

• Getting to the Conciergerie: Metro Line 4 Cité
• Official website:  Conciergerie
• The  Paris Museum Pass  includes entrance to the Conciergerie

More Paris dark tourism sites

Clearly, Paris isn't lacking a dark side, very much the contrary. If it's chills you want, the city delivers, not only the more 

In addition to the more famous sites I described above, there are countless more, like these...

• Musee Fragonard d'Alfort (not the perfume museum, the other one, the veterinary museum)
• Chapelle Expiatoire , in memory of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette 
• Tomb of the Unknown Soldier , Arc de Triomphe 
• Musée des Moulages – Museum of Casts (website in French)
• Musée de la Préfecture de Police – Police Museum (website in French)
• Museum of the History of Medicine (website in French)
• not to mention the many cemeteries, taxidermy shops, underground bunkers... Paris is a real dark tourism treasure trove! 

WHAT IS DARK TOURISM, EXACTLY?

There are many definitions and terms. It also goes by the name of grief tourism, or thanatourism (from the word thanatos, the Ancient Greek personification of death), ghost tourism, crime tourism, trauma tourism...

Bottom line, it is tourism in some way related to death, however distantly, or to violence.

Why is dark tourism so popular?

So many reasons compel us: sheer thrills, education and learning, history (and trying not to repeat it), a desire to understand the past, closure or reassurance, empathy, curiosity – and a few darker motives that I trust no one here is partial to!

And for those of you who want numbers to back things up, here are some interesting statistics .

Before you go...

Next on my list to visit is Montparnasse Cemetery, filled with an artistic who's who of Paris – Man Ray, Chagall, Modigliani,  Charles Baudelaire, Guy de Maupassant, Samuel Beckett, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Serge Gainsbourg are all buried here.

If you're keen to visit more eerie venues, here are some additional  haunted sites of Paris .

And if you'd like a few sights that are a bit less lugubrious, have a look at these off-the-beaten-path sites in Paris .

(* Source )

Did you enjoy this article? I'd love if you shared it!

Bonjour! I’m Leyla - I was born in Paris and now live in the bucolic mountain foothills of Eastern France between Lyon and Annecy. My days are spent exploring my country. 

I'm rediscovering my own back yard after years of living abroad as a journalist and diplomat - and I'm loving every minute.

Passionate about history and culture, I’ve created Offbeat France to seek out my country’s mysteries and legends, less-traveled destinations, along with plenty of food stops and many castles – I am French, after all!

What's New!

The Best Giverny Day Trip From Paris (+ Orsay)

Apr 17, 24 05:32 AM

11 Masterpieces Of The Cluny Museum (Including Lady And The Unicorn)

Apr 15, 24 10:46 AM

12 Things To Do In Rouen, Normandy, That Will Enrich Your Culture

Apr 06, 24 04:47 AM

7 Thematic Ways to Explore Rouen Cathedral, A Gothic Masterpiece

Apr 06, 24 04:46 AM

Rouen, Capital of Impressionism? Light, Shadow, and the River Seine

Apr 06, 24 04:45 AM

© Copyright 2024  OffbeatFrance.com    |  All Rights Reserved   |   Privacy Policy & Disclaimer    |   Contact Me   |  ABOUT

As an Amazon Associate offbeatfrance.com earns from qualifying purchases

• Book a Flight
• Manage Reservations
• Explore Destinations
• Flight Schedules
• Track Checked Bags
• International Travel
• Flight Offers
• Low Fare Calendar
• Upgrade My Flight
• Add EarlyBird Check-In
• Check Travel Funds
• Buy Carbon Offsets
• Flying with Southwest
• Book a Hotel
• Redeem Points for Hotels
• More Than Hotels
• Hotel Offers
• Best Rate Guarantee
• Rapid Rewards Partners
• Book a Vacation Package
• Manage My Vacation
• Vacation Package Offers
• Vacation Destinations
• Why Book With Us?
• FLIGHT STATUS
• CHANGE FLIGHT

Enter code SAVE25NOW in the Promo Code box when booking. Offer is valid only for continental U.S. flights. The 25 percent promotion code savings are valid for one-way or round trip Wanna Get Away® and Wanna Get Away Plus® fares booked with Rapid Rewards points during the Booking Period, flown during the Travel Period, and are applied before taxes and fees. Seats and days are limited. Savings are reflected in the price when entering the multiuse code SAVE25NOW in the Promo Code box on Southwest.com and swabiz.com. This discount is only available through Southwest.com and swabiz.com. Discount is valid on new reservations only. Discount will apply only for flights booked during the Booking Period and flown on the dates within the Travel Period. If one segment of the trip is outside the Travel Period and one is within the Travel Period, only the portion of travel falling within the Travel Period will be discounted. Changes made to the itinerary after purchase will eliminate qualification for this promotion. The discount is only valid with the provided promotion code and is not combinable with other promotion codes or fares. All reward travel is subject to taxes, fees, and other government or airport-imposed charges of at least $5.60 per one-way trip. Applicable taxes, fees, and other government or airport-imposed charges can vary significantly based on your arrival and departure destination. The payment of any taxes, fees, and other government or airport-imposed charges is the responsibility of the Passenger and must be paid at the time reward travel is booked with a credit card, flight credit, or Southwest gift card. When traveling on reward travel, you will receive all fare product features except for earning Rapid Rewards points. Any change in itinerary may result in an increase in points used. Points bookings are subject to change until ticketed. If you cancel your reservation at least ten (10) minutes prior to the scheduled departure of your flight, any remaining unused points will be returned to your Rapid Rewards account. All Rapid Rewards rules and regulations apply and can be found at Southwest.com/rrterms . Offer is not redeemable for cash, and may not be used in conjunction with other special offers, or toward the purchase of a gift card or previously booked flight, or changed to a previously booked flight. Discount is not valid on group travel, Southwest Vacations®, and government fares.

Help Center

• Terms & Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell/Share My Info

© 2024 Southwest Airlines Co. All Rights Reserved.