Villa Torlonia in Rome is a grand 19th-century villa that was once the home of Benito Mussolini. And as any dark tourist will admit, visiting the residences of former dictators is definitely intriguing. Lucky for us, it is now open … Read More
Eyam, located in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England, is a place with a dark history. And it all stems from a moment of innocence. Back in 1665, a local tailor ordered some materials from London so that he could make … Read More
Whether you believe in ghosts or not, the long and bloody history of Leap Castle, County Offaly, Ireland will intrigue any dark tourist. A lot has gone on between its walls over the last 8 centuries and given that the … Read More
In a remote location, hidden deep in the forests of Poland are the remains of Wolf’s Lair (Wolfsschanze). This was the secure headquarters for Adolf Hitler in World War Two and is also the location where Operation Valkyrie took place. … Read More
Chateau de Brissac is a sight to behold, it is quite possibly the most beautiful chateaux in France. Less subjectively, with 7 floors it is the tallest in the Loire Valley. Located in the village of Brissac-Quince in the département … Read More
The Alpine Wall was a large line of defense that Italy put into place in preparation for WW2. While the North of Italy enjoyed a level of natural defense via its long mountainous border, Mussolini thought that this was not … Read More
The Tomsk memorial museum is housed within a former NKVD (Stalin’s secret police and a forerunner to the KGB) headquarters and prison and is a stark and gloomy place to visit. Which is not surprising considering the unspeakable horrors that … Read More
On Christmas Day, 1989 the past violently caught up with Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife. In a small courtyard outside a building in Targoviste, Romania’s tyrannical communist dictator was executed by firing squad. The military had apprehended the couple just … Read More
To stand in the Kaya Valley region of Turkey, amongst the ruins of Kayaköy is an eerie experience. The stone buildings of this once-bustling town stand empty, after being abandoned abruptly in 1922. The citizens fell victim to the purges … Read More
The Lombroso Museum of Criminal Anthropology is a fascinating place and a highly recommended visit for any dark tourist in Turin. Once only available to academics, this museum of skulls is a product of the criminal anthropologist Cesare Lombroso. His … Read More
Eltz Castle or Burg Eltz is considered to be the most intact and traditional of all Germany’s 20,000 plus castles. Its isolated location and dramatic medieval design simply take the breath away. The fact the same family has remained in … Read More
If you’re looking for a dark tourist location in Palermo, Sicily you need to head to the Catacombs at the Capuchin Monastery. This bizarre and somewhat morbid tourist attraction contains almost 8,000 corpses, most of which are dressed as if … Read More
Poveglia Island is situated just south of Venice. It has a gruesome history and is strictly off-limits to both locals and tourists; factors that are like a red flag to a bull in the eyes of the adventurous (if a … Read More
Balaklava is a very interesting destination for those that like their dark tourism to be infused with top-level Cold War secrecy. This once unassuming fishing village based in Crimea, Ukraine became the location for a large secret Soviet submarine base … Read More
If you lived in Iceland in the 17th century, times were hard. So much so, in order to have a better chance of prosperity, you may have asked your best friend if you could flay their legs after they die … Read More
Čachtice Castle is a dark tourist destination that requires a bit of imagination. The place is a complete ruin, and as yet, the Slovakian tourist board has done little to highlight the sinister history connected to the site. This is … Read More
Leuk may be a small town but it has a long history. Situated in Switzerland’s Rhone Valley, (not far from a bunch of popular Rhone-Alpes thermal spas), the Romans liked to hang out here. In fact, the first church in … Read More
The Castle of Wewelsburg has an extremely dark past. The forbidding fortress was once SS Chief Himmler’s Nazi Camelot, where some of the darkest deeds of WW2 were plotted. Labeled as ‘Naziland’ by critics, Heinrich Himmler forged plans for Nazi … Read More
Nestled in the harsh, icy midst of Svalbard, above Norway’s arctic circle, is a remote abandoned ghost town like no other. To walk among the empty streets of Pyramiden is to step back in time. This former mining town permeates … Read More
No prizes guessing what’s on offer at this particular dark tourist site. Three hours drive from Belgrade, in the small Serbian town of Niš is a grisly historical monument that serves to remind us of the barbaric nature of empire. … Read More