Advertisement

7 Bizarre And Beautiful Places You Never Knew Existed

From the man-made to natural, the beautiful to the downright weird, here’s our pick of fascinating places around the globe

Not all incredible places in the world need to be holidayed in.

These awesome places are amazing for a spot of armchair travelling, or worth a visit if you're ever in the area.

1) The Boneyard, Arizona

The 'Boneyard' in Arizona (REX)
The 'Boneyard' in Arizona (REX)


Across the US, hundreds of retired commercial and military aircraft are stored in desert sites to prevent them from rusting. This aviation graveyard at Davis-Monthan  Air Force Base in Arizona holds 5,000 planes, most of which will be turned into scrap metal.

2) Socotra Archipelago, Yemen

Dragon's Blood trees (Wikipedia)
Dragon's Blood trees (Wikipedia)


An archipelago of four islands in the northwest Indian Ocean, near Yemen, this otherworldly UNESCO World Heritage site is home to a number of plant, reptile and snail species that do not exist anywhere else in the world, such as the Dragon’s Blood trees, seen here.

3) Thames Town, China

Thames Town... a little piece of Britain in, er, Shanghai (Flickr/chijs)
Thames Town... a little piece of Britain in, er, Shanghai (Flickr/chijs)


A red telephone booth, cathedral and neat rows of Victorian semi-detached: your quintessential rural English town. Only it’s not in England; it’s a replica town in the suburbs of the Songjiang District, near Shanghai, and its only inhabitants are couples who visit to have their to have their weddings photographs taken.

4) Coober Pedy, Australia

Underground living in Coober Pedy (Flickr/Benjamin Jakabek)
Underground living in Coober Pedy (Flickr/Benjamin Jakabek)


Temperatures often exceed 40 degrees Celcius in the opal mining town of Coober Pedy, forcing the area’s original miners to come up with an ingenious solution: to build underground.

Today, Coober Pedy is a community of almost 2,000 inhabitants, most of whom live a subterranean lifestyle. Beneath the surface you’ll find houses (one complete swimming pool), a church, shops and bar.

5) The Catacombs, Paris

Spooks in the Paris Catacombs (Flickr/atbaker)
Spooks in the Paris Catacombs (Flickr/atbaker)


The remains of around six million Parisians can be found in this ossuary, 20m below ground in the French capital. They were brought here between the late eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries as graveyards were being closed because of the risk they posed to public health.

6) Mount Sanqingshan National Park, Jiangxi Province, China

Sea of Clouds of Mount Sanqingshan National Park in Shangrao city, China (REX)
Sea of Clouds of Mount Sanqingshan National Park in Shangrao city, China (REX)


There’s something fantastical about this national park, rumoured to be the inspiration for Pandora in James Cameron’s Avatar. Many of the 48 granite pillars and 89 granite peaks resemble human or animal silhouettes, islands appear to float and the 1,817m high Mount Huaiyu is often surrounded by white rainbows and clouds topped with bright halos.

7) Tulip fields, Holland

 Tulip fields near Keukenhof gardens, Lisse, Netherlands (REX)
 Tulip fields near Keukenhof gardens, Lisse, Netherlands (REX)


The tulips, daffodils, narcissi and hyacinths in this natural technicolour quilt make an arresting site. Make tracks to western Holland in April or May to see them in full glory.

[When In London Abseil The Orbit]
[The Most Unique Places To Go On Holiday]