10 World’s Strangest Smelly Destinations You’ll Never Forget

Paris Sewer Museum – France

Many people think of Paris as the smell of freshly baked croissants, perfume, or cigarette smoke. However, beneath the streets of the French capital lies a strange world – the underground sewer system that Victor Hugo once described as “foul, wild, fierce”. The Paris Sewer Museum allows you to tour and feel the characteristic smell of this underground sewer system. If you intend to visit, you should go in the cold season because the smell here is more intense in the summer.

Read more: A Wonderful Guide to Travel to Paris, France

Rotorua – New Zealand

Imagine a place where the ground farts sulfur all day long – geysers and hot springs bubbling up with that classic rotten egg stench. It’s nicknamed “Sulphur City” for a reason, but the locals swear you’ll get used to it. They even say you might miss it when you leave. Pair that with stunning geothermal landscapes, and it’s a sensory trade-off worth considering.

Venice – Italy

The city is a stunner with a sting. Those iconic canals that weave through crumbling palaces and under arched bridges can turn ripe in the summer sun, kicking up a mix of stagnant seawater, diesel fumes, and a sly hint of sewage from a city that’s never bothered with a proper sewer system. Tides are supposed to sweep it clean, but when they slack off, the whiff hits you mid-gelato, though locals just shrug it off like it’s no big deal. Still, the Rialto’s charm, St. Mark’s golden glow, and a waft of risotto pull you back into the romance. It’s a messy, smelly, gorgeous riddle you can’t help but fall for.

Seal Island – South Africa

Seal Island in South Africa’s False Bay is a wildlife stinker. Picture 60,000 Cape fur seals honking and pooping, creating a cloud of rotting fish and feces. It’s a buffet for great white sharks, and if you’re brave enough for a boat trip, you’ll see why. It isn’t exactly a perfume ad, but nature doesn’t care about your comfort zone.

Surat Thani – Thailand

The giant Rafflesia flower, one of the largest flowers in the world, can grow to over 1 meter in diameter. The crimson petals give off a foul, corpse-like smell, attracting carrion flies to pollinate it. Rafflesia can be found throughout Southeast Asia, but the largest species, Rafflesia Arnoldii, is the official state flower of Surat Thani Province, Thailand.

Sulphur Springs – Saint Lucia

The spring is located in the Sulphur Springs volcano area – an extinct volcano that is now only active geothermally. You can observe the steam vents and boiling lakes from a number of safe viewing areas. The spring’s temperature ranges from 63-69^oC, but some of the vents reach 171^oC. The rising steam carries hydrogen sulfide gas, which gives off a distinctive rotten egg smell.

The New York Earth Room – USA

This 3,300-square-foot room is covered with a 22-inch layer of earth. The artwork, created by Walter De Maria in 1977, has become a quiet place, separate from the hustle and bustle of New York. There are no more smells of the city, only the characteristic smell of damp earth.

Disgusting Food Museum – Sweden

Although taste and smell are two separate senses, the culinary experience still depends on both. The Disgusting Food Museum invites visitors to challenge their palates and ignore their preconceptions about scents. Each dish here is displayed with information about how it was prepared and the culture where it appeared.

For example, root beer – a favorite drink in the US and Canada – is criticized by many Europeans for smelling like toothpaste. Meanwhile, Swedish fermented herring is compared to the smell of rotten eggs. You can smell and taste the dishes themselves to see how horrifying they are.

Read more: You Dare Trying The Most 16 Smelly Foods in the World?

Wadi Dawkah Park – Oman

This area is famous for the agarwood trees that grow in the middle of the desert, secreting a precious aromatic resin – called frankincense. This resin smells like dry pine, with a slight lemon flavor, often found in Catholic churches. Wadi Dawkah was once an important stop on the ancient Frankincense Road, where merchants traded spices for thousands of years.

Marobo Hot Springs – Timor Leste

The hot springs are the ruins of a once-famous resort, now only a stone building, waterfalls, and hot mineral springs remain amid lush natural scenery. The stream flows out nearly 2,000 liters of water per minute, carrying a strong sulfur smell and high sodium and calcium content.