This is part 10 of a 10 part series that focuses on 100 unusual and fascinating tourist attractions from around the globe.
Some we have been lucky enough to visit, yet some we yearn to set foot. From the weird and wacky, freaky to wondrous… Take a stroll through the series.
Jumbo Hostel, Sweden
At the entrance to the Stockholm-Arlanda Airport is a strange sight: a Boeing 747-200 jumbo jet that isn’t going anywhere. The airplane, which belonged to Transjet until the carrier went under in 2002, was built for Singapore Airlines and later flew under legacy carrier Pan Am. But then founder Oscar Dios had an idea to convert the plane into Jumbo Hostel, which is listed prominently at the airport’s website for those seeking a room for the night.
World’s largest hotel suite, Lebanon
The world’s biggest hotel suite is part of the Grand Hills Hotel and Spa in the mountain village of Broumana between the ocean and downtown Beirut (about a half-hour away) in Lebanon. The hotel has 115 rooms in a resort setting shared with furnished apartments, restaurants, bars and nightclubs.
The Royal Residence has six floors and private swimming pools. Guiness World Records declared it — at just under 44,500 square feet — the largest hotel suite in the world. It was finished last year.
Angola Prison Rodeo, La.
The Angola Prison Rodeo is a chance to see serious felons testing their mettle against serious livestock. It’s a glimpse into an infamous lockup, bordered on three sides by the Mississippi River, where blues musician Leadbelly once did time. It’s an introduction, amid plenty of homegrown food and music, to the peculiarly tangled history of public incarceration and private enterprise in the Tunica Hills of rural Louisiana.
The Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, once labeled the bloodiest prison in America, holds about 5,200 inmates and sprawls across 18,000 acres in West Feliciana Parish, 137 miles northwest of New Orleans and about 20 miles northwest of St. Francisville, La.
World’s Largest Train Set: Germany
Don’t be fooled by what looks like a wide-angle view of a city street. This shot actually shows a small section of what is the world’s largest train set in Hamburg, Germany. But given how many “world’s largest” attractions there are in the U.S. (such as the world’s largest ball of twine in South Dakota or the biggest yo-yo in California), why travel all the way to Germany to see the largest train set? Called “Miniatur Wunderland,” the nearly 12,500-square-foot train set will contain sections inspired by different geographic regions around the world. There will be a section for Germany, Australia, Switzerland and even the U.S. for anyone who’s feeling homesick (including a scale model of Mount Rushmore for anyone stuck with the all-too-common conundrum of choosing between South Dakota and Germany). If you can’t see the train set this year, don’t worry: The project won’t be complete until 2014, when it is expected to cover nearly 19,500 square feet.
Chernobyl, Ukraine
Twenty-five years ago the Chernobyl Power Plant was the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster. Now in 2011, the site has become a tourist hot spot (literally and figuratively). Areas within the 30-mile exclusion zone, where tours are conducted, are still radioactive. But the good news is that the dose of radiation is no more than what you’d get on the flight there. Once there, you’ll get to see local wildlife, such as elk and owls that still live on the radioactive site, and tour what now is the ghost town of Pripyat, which was once home to 50,000 residents.
Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia
At 640km long and 80km wide Lake Baikal is the biggest and deepest freshwater lake in the world, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Humberstone, Chilie
This now desolate place was once a booming mining town in the 1920s. Also famous for processing nitrate (saltpetre) it hit its decline when synthetic saltpetre was invented and its unemployed residents gradually left. No, I’m not sure what it is either but it certainly caused problems in the town of Humberstone. The contents of the buildings have long since been coated in desert sand blowing through the streets like a scene from a Western. Despite this, Humberstone has now been named a World Heritage Site and will probably be preserved as a historical monument – and tourist attraction. I bet you can’t wait!
Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong
When the Japanese occupation of China ended after World War Two, Kowloon was abandoned by both the British and the Chinese. Rife with brothels, casinos, opium dens and cocaine parlours, the city was quite literally left to rot. Eventually there was so much filth that fluorescent lights were erected to illuminate the darkest areas. Was that a good idea, really? In 1993, both Britain and the Chinese agreed to tear this once thriving city down. Two years’ later Kowloon Walled City Park was opened, housing some of the artefacts from the once infamous town. Today you can take a sedate stroll around this now pristine place and admire the pretty flowers.
Oradour-Sur-Glane, France
Not one to include in your options for family holidays and not one for the faint-hearted. On 10th June 1944, 642 residents of the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane were massacred by German soldiers intending to punish the French Resistance. They’d originally targeted the neighbouring village of Oradour-sur-Vayes and got it wrong. The ruins of this poignant site remain as a memorial to all those who died.
Hobbiton, New Zealand
When Frodo first left the Shire, he bravely journeyed into the land of Mordor on his quest to create one of the most successful film franchises in cinema history. And now, you can be a part of that history. See where Peter Jackson and crew filmed “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy throughout Middle Earth — or rather, New Zealand. Situated on a private farm near Matamata on the North Island, Hobbiton, the setting for the Shire, is a great place to start your adventure. And don’t forget to try the lamb burgers. We hear they’re magic.
