15 Places With a Dark History You Can Still Visit
These 15 places are open to visitors, but each carries a dark and difficult past that still lingers in their atmosphere.
- Sophia Zapanta
- 5 min read
Some tourist sites look ordinary on the surface but hold stories of tragedy, injustice, or violence. These places are reminders of what people have done to each other and what history has left behind. Visiting them can be heavy, but also important for learning and reflection.
1. Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland
Ingo Mehling on Wikimedia Commons
Auschwitz was the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp during World War II. Over one million people, most of them Jews, were murdered here. Today, it stands as a memorial and museum, preserving the buildings and artifacts. Visitors come to learn about the Holocaust and honor the victims.
2. Chernobyl, Ukraine
IAEA Imagebank on Wikimedia Commons
In 1986, Reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, causing one of the worst nuclear disasters in history. The nearby town of Pripyat was evacuated and remains abandoned. Guided tours now allow people to see the ghost city and learn about the disaster’s impact. Radiation levels are monitored, and only certain areas are accessible.
3. Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, Cambodia
Marcin Konsek on Wikimedia Commons
This former high school was turned into a prison and torture center by the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s. Around 17,000 people were held here before being sent to execution sites. The museum now displays photographs, prisoner records, and torture devices. It stands as a painful but necessary place to remember Cambodia’s genocide.
4. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Japan
TimMilesWright on Wikimedia Commons
Hiroshima was the first city to be hit by an atomic bomb in 1945. The explosion destroyed much of the city and killed over 100,000 people. The park includes the preserved remains of the A-Bomb Dome and memorials for the victims. It serves as a symbol of peace and a reminder of nuclear destruction.
5. Alcatraz Island, USA
Dietmar Rabich on Wikimedia Commons
Alcatraz was once a high-security federal prison located on an island near San Francisco. It held some of America’s most well-known criminals, including Al Capone. The prison closed in 1963 and is now a museum open to the public. Visitors can tour the cells and learn about life on the island.
6. Robben Island, South Africa
Moheen Reeyad on Wikimedia Commons
This island prison held political prisoners during apartheid, including Nelson Mandela. Conditions were harsh, and many were imprisoned for speaking against the government. Robben Island is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Former prisoners sometimes guide the tours themselves, sharing personal stories.
7. Ground Zero, New York City, USA
Chief Photographer’s Mate Eric J. Tilford on Wikimedia Commons
The site of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks now holds a memorial and museum. Nearly 3,000 people died when two planes hit the World Trade Center towers. The memorial includes two large reflecting pools with the names of victims engraved around them. It is a quiet space in a busy city, made for remembrance.
8. Oradour-sur-Glane, France
TwoWings on Wikimedia Commons
In 1944, Nazi troops destroyed this village and killed 642 of its residents. The ruins were left untouched after the war. Today, visitors can walk through the burned-out buildings and see the remains of daily life. It stands exactly as it was left, a preserved memory of wartime atrocity.
9. The Killing Fields, Cambodia
Dr. Hubertus Knabe on Wikimedia Commons
Outside Phnom Penh, these mass grave sites show the scale of the Khmer Rouge’s brutality. Thousands of people were executed here between 1975 and 1979. A memorial stupa filled with skulls marks the main site of Choeung Ek. Visitors can learn about the regime’s actions and the people who suffered under it.
10. Pompeii, Italy
Jebulon on Wikimedia Commons
In 79 AD, the city of Pompeii was buried under volcanic ash after Mount Vesuvius erupted. The ash preserved buildings, streets, and even the bodies of people who died during the disaster. Today, the site gives a detailed look at Roman life and sudden death. Walking through it feels like stepping into a frozen moment in time.
11. Dachau Concentration Camp, Germany
Diego Delso on Wikimedia Commons
Dachau was the first concentration camp opened by the Nazis in 1933. It became a model for others that followed and was used to imprison political opponents, Jews, and other targeted groups. The camp was liberated in 1945 and is now a memorial site. Exhibits show how it operated and what prisoners endured.
12. Wounded Knee, South Dakota, USA
Durova on Wikimedia Commons
In 1890, U.S. soldiers killed around 300 Lakota men, women, and children at Wounded Knee Creek. The event is considered a massacre and marked the end of Native American armed resistance in the U.S. The site includes a small memorial and cemetery. It remains a symbol of broken treaties and violence against Indigenous people.
13. Sarajevo Tunnel Museum, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bernard Gagnon on Wikimedia Commons
During the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s, residents built a tunnel under the airport to bring in food and supplies. The city was cut off and constantly attacked, but the tunnel helped thousands survive. Part of it is now open to visitors as a museum.
14. Anne Frank House, Netherlands
Lệ Xuân on Wikimedia Commons
This house in Amsterdam is where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis for over two years. She wrote her diary here before being discovered and sent to a concentration camp. The hidden rooms and museum tell her story and that of others who lived in fear. It is one of the most visited historical sites in Europe.
15. Island of Hashima (Gunkanjima), Japan
Jakub Hałun on Wikimedia Commons
This small island once held a coal mine and a tightly packed community of workers. It was later abandoned and left to decay. Hashima is now known for its crumbling buildings and eerie silence. It is also remembered for the forced labor of Korean and Chinese workers during wartime.