The world is home to some truly weird tourist attractions, with these particularly strange oddities attracting the attention of millions of visitors across the globe. This video will explore some of the strangest tourist hotspots, which have captured the public interest through their bizarre offerings. Make sure you stick around to the end to learn about some of the oddest places to visit, as you don’t want to miss hearing about some of the globe’s most unique experiences.
Portmeirion
Located in Gwynedd in North Wales, Portmeirion is one of the UK’s most unusual attractions. This tourist hotspot was designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis between 1925 and 1975, and was made to represent an Italian village. In particular, Sir Clough expressed his desire to capture the atmosphere of the Mediterranean, which borders Italy’s west coast.
With its bright colorful houses and majestic architecture, Portmerion created a truly exotic vibe in the middle of the otherwise cold and chilly Welsh countryside. The village strives to recreate the Italian experience, with the tourist location offering authentic Italian pizzas and gelatos. Meanwhile, the Y Gwyllt Woodlands delivers a variety of odd locations within the village, including a dog cemetery, ghost garden and a Chinese lake. Portmerion’s rather unique creation has been featured in various films and television series, including the cult British TV Series The Prisoner and the 1976 Doctor Who serial The Masque Of Mandragora, ensuring its continued popularity among visitors.
Cockroach Hall Of Fame
Nicknamed the “Queen Of Quirky,” the Cockroach Hall Of Fame was originally opened in Texas, before it was relocated in 2012 to Phoenix in Arizona. This rather unusual attraction is run by pest control specialist Michael Bodhan, and has proven so popular that it has featured on various hit U.S. talk shows, such as The Tonight Show and The View.
Featuring both dead and live hissing cockroaches, the Cockroach Hall Of Fame is easily one of the world’s weirdest attractions. Michael Bodhan dresses these cockroaches up as various celebrities and historical figures, including David Letterman and Marilyn Monroe, to offer a unique spin on the insect world. Alongside these truly novel displays, the museum also features an exhibit based on Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, entitled “The Combates Motel”, providing plenty of laughs for visiting tourists.
The Marble Arch Mound
Opening to the public on the 26th July 2021, the Marble Arch Mound is one of London’s strangest tourist attractions. The artificial hill was designed by the architectural firm MVRDV, who hoped to create a feel of the British countryside in the UK capital. The project cost a whopping six million pounds to construct, even after its initial plans to cover the Marble Arch with its greenery were rejected.
The Marble Arch Mound is located in London’s Hyde Park, and is covered with a varied collection of plants and fauna. A viewing platform at the top of the hill allows tourists to gain an impressive view over the capital city, whilst walkways dotted across the mound give viewers the chance to take a closer look at the vegetation which surrounds the artificial hillside. While access to the hill’s platform and walkways was closed on the 9th January, the mound can still be viewed in Hyde Park until May 2022, meaning there is still time to see this rather strange oddity.
Restroom Cultural Park
Situated in Suwon in South Korea, the Restroom Cultural Park first opened its doors in 2012 and claims to be “the world’s first toilet theme park”. The amusement attraction is the brainchild of Suwon’s former mayor Sim Jae-Duck, who it is claimed was born in his grandmother’s bathroom. Sim-Jae Duck is the founder of the World Toilet Association, and was also the face of a campaign in the 1980s to improve South Korea’s public sanitation.
Star attractions at the unusual theme park include a toilet-themed art gallery and a collection of waste collection signs from across the world. Meanwhile, visitors can also find a series of statues depicting individuals squatting at the toilet, and a home shaped like a water closet, dubbed the ‘Mr Toilet House’. The iconic attraction is also home to the Golden Poop art festival, which celebrates artistic pieces from around the globe depicting trips to the lavatory. This bonkers amusement park is undoubtedly one of the weirdest around.
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Swarovski Kristallwelten
Created by Austrian artist Franz Andre Heller, the Swarovski Kristallwelten is located in the town of Wattens in Austria, and has been up and running since 1995. The magnificent crystal museum was conceived as a means to celebrate the Swarovski crystal company’s 100th year anniversary, and also contains a park, shop and restaurant. The Swarovski Kristallwelten has received three further expansions since its initial opening, adding new features such as a “Crystal Cloud” comprised of 800,000 crystals, a playtower and a restaurant dubbed the “Daniels Kristallwelten”.
Visitors enter through the giant’s head, where they are greeted by various Chambers Of Wonder, including the Crystal Dome, the Ice Passage, Into Lattice Sun, and Eden. These exhibition spaces are filled with various quirky crystal sculptures, including a zebra wearing high heels and a gigantic accordion. Meanwhile, guests can also experience the mystical wonders of the mirror pool, which are designed to create the illusion of shining stars in the night sky, even in broad daylight.
Rumah Terbalik Upside Down House
Located in Tuaran in Malaysia, Rumah Terbalik first opened its doors in 2012 and has proven a hit with international travelers. The building is one of only three upside down infrastructures in the entire world, and has even been recognised in the Malaysia Book Of Records for this incredible feat. Its builder Alexander Yee is said to have been inspired by the ongoing climate crisis, with Yee having reportedly informed journalists his belief that “the world will end up upside down if we keep exploiting natural resources.”
This wacky tourist attraction grants visitors the ability to walk on the ceiling, as household items such as washing machines and television sets hover below them. The home comes complete with a garage, where tourists witness an actual car hanging upside down. To add further to the weirdness, the Rumah Terbalik house comes complete with its own fictionalized back story, as the attraction’s tour guides recall to visitors how the home was thrown upside down by a pair of mischievous kids.
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (Pronounced Llan-vire-pooll-guin-gill-go-ger-u-queern-drob-ooll-llandus-ilio-gogo-goch)
EDITORS NOTE TO TIM: I would recommend using a euphenism for the name of this place. You could say ‘This difficult to pronounce locale’ or something of that nature.
North Wales is home to a particularly unusual train station, which can be found in the town of Anglesey. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerchwyrndrobwillllantysiliogogogoch holds the world record for the longest station name in the world. The famous Welsh poet Sir John Morris-Jones claimed that the name was conceived by a local tailor, and refused to give up the name of this mysterious fashion designer before his death in 1929. Translated from its Welsh origins, the name means ‘The church of Saint Mary of the pool of the white hazels near the fierce whirlpool and the church of Saint Tysilio of the red cave.’
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogoerchwyrndrobwillllantysiliogogogoch has become an extremely popular tourist attraction over the years, with many visiting from far away places to take a picture in front of the iconic station sign. Guests can often be heard attempting to pronounce its difficult name, with its excessively long wording proving a challenge for many tourists. The site also contains a gift shop, where customers can buy souvenirs bearing the Welsh name and observe the shop’s signature global signpost, indicating the number of miles the station is from iconic international cities, such as Los Angeles and Perth.
Island Of The Dolls
The island of Isla de las Munecas, located to the south of Mexico City, is home to some very odd occupants. Originally the hideout of the fugitive Don Julian Santana, who was banished from the mainland after developing a serious alcohol problem, the island is populated entirely by a collection of considerably unnerving wooden dolls. Local legends claim that Julian filled the island with these spooky figures after he failed to save a young girl from drowning in a nearby canal, believing that her spirit had returned to haunt him for his mistake. His reasoning was that the dolls helped to keep her spirit at bay, ensuring his safety from the deceased young girl.
Tourists can access the island by boat, where they can find numerous dolls hanging from trees, as well as a museum dedicated to newspaper clippings about the island. Visitors are also invited to check out Julian’s bedroom, which contains the very first doll he acquired, as well as his favorite wooden figure named Agustinita. Tourists have been known to leave offerings around these eerie dolls, in the belief that doing so would bring them miracles and blessings, whilst others have demonstrated a religious attitude regarding these figures, as they change their clothing as a means of worship towards the island’s wooden inhabitants.
Carhenge
Based on the iconic Stonehenge in Salisbury, Carhenge is an especially unique attraction. This novel creation can be found in the city of Alliance in Nebraska, and was designed by the American artist Jim Reinders in 1987, as a tribute to his father. Reinders’ creation was inspired by his time studying in England, where he became fascinated by Stonehenge’s unique structure. Carhenge is comprised of 39 vehicles, arranged in a circular formation. Meanwhile, a sign states that three cars were buried underneath the ambitious creation, claiming that these beloved automobiles “served our purpose while Detroit slept.”
Alongside Reinders’ impressive build, Carhenge also features numerous pieces of art created from different car models, referred to as the “Car Art Reserve.” This unusual collection of artwork contains automobile structures made to represent a variety of topics, such as aquatic animals and dinosaurs, which have been submitted by artists from across North and South America.
That about wraps up our video on weird tourist attractions. Which of these strange places of interest would you most like to visit: Portmerion or the Swarovski Kristallwelten? Let us know in the comments