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The Atlas Obscura Guide To Massachusetts

543 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Massachusetts

Updated December 6, 2024

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Cities

Top Cities
All Cities
  1. Adams
  2. Amherst
  3. Ashland
  4. Beverly
  5. Boston
  6. Brookline
  7. Cambridge
  8. Charlemont
  9. Clinton
  10. Concord
  11. Danvers
  12. Dedham
  13. Deerfield
  14. Dennis
  15. Eastham
  16. Easton
  17. Edgartown
  18. Fairhaven
  19. Falmouth
  20. Fitchburg
  21. Framingham
  22. Franklin
  23. Gardner
  24. Gloucester
  25. Greenfield
  26. Harvard
  27. Haverhill
  28. Hingham
  29. Holyoke
  30. Hopkinton
  31. Hudson
  32. Hull
  33. Lancaster
  34. Lee
  35. Leominster
  36. Lincoln
  37. Lowell
  38. Lynn
  39. Marblehead
  40. Medford
  41. Milton
  42. Montague
  43. Nantucket
  44. New Bedford
  45. Newton
  46. North Adams
  47. Northampton
  48. Oak Bluffs
  49. Orange
  50. Petersham
  51. Pittsfield
  52. Plymouth
  53. Princeton
  54. Provincetown
  55. Quincy
  56. Salem
  57. Sandwich
  58. Scituate
  59. Sharon
  60. Sheffield
  61. Shelburne Falls
  62. Shrewsbury
  63. Somerville
  64. Springfield
  65. Stockbridge
  66. Sudbury
  67. Waltham
  68. Wareham
  69. Watertown
  70. Wellesley
  71. Westford
  72. Weston
  73. Winthrop
  74. Worcester
  75. Yarmouth

Unusual Attractions in Massachusetts

See All 543 Things To Do in Massachusetts

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Massachusetts

See all 32 Places to Eat in Massachusetts
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Atlas Obscura Itineraries

12 Places in Massachusetts Where Literature Comes to Life

Massachusetts is a lit-lover's paradise. From landscapes that have moved writers to wax poetic about beans to story-inspired sculpture parks and shops stacked with volumes new and old, the Bay State would also be aptly named the Book State. Here are 12 places to celebrate writers or the places that inspired them.

View Itinerary

Explore Massachusetts

Architecture 58
History 54
History & Culture 49
Museums 45
Statues 36
Homes 35
Architectural Oddities 33
Monuments 32

Massachusetts Leaderboard

Recent Massachusetts Activity

Stories About Massachusetts

Podcast: Boston’s Blue Hill

This iconic hill offers more than just stunning views—it offers a peek back into the history of weather reporting.
by The Podcast Team

Podcast: Gunnar Schonbeck Exhibit

More than 200 unconventional instruments are on display at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.
by The Podcast Team
On Tuckernuck Island, the American giant millipede is in danger of losing its head. Scientists don't know what is responsible for the unprecedented number of decapitations.

The Mystery of the Headless Millipedes

Every summer, hundreds of millipedes are murdered on one small Massachusetts island.
by William von Herff
Trays at the US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine’s Metabolic Kitchen are prepared for an employee taste-testing panel.

Food Innovations That Came from War

Thank Uncle Sam for Cheetos, air fryers, and other modern mainstays.
by Diana Hubbell
A Close Combat Assault Ration, which provides calorie-dense nutrition and is shelf stable for years.

Feeding Armies Throughout History

From Sparta to the Mongol Empire, soldiers needed fuel for the fight.
by Diana Hubbell
The packaging laboratory where researchers design and test ways to transport and store rations in a wide variety of environments.

The Evolution of American Military Food

What would George Washington's spruce beer-chugging troops have thought about today's cheesecake rations?
by Diana Hubbell
At the high-tech military food center colloquially known as Natick Lab, R&D achievements include a vacuum microwave-dried cheeseburger (center top) and other shelf-stable meals.

How to Feed an Army

Go behind the scenes at the Massachusetts military lab engineering the fuel of the future.
by Diana Hubbell
Digitizing gravestones from the colonial era preserves them for future study and makes them more accessible, but it also raises questions about how to study this period of American history.

Burial Hill's Historic Gravestones Are Coming to Your Screen

Digitizing markers at the Massachusetts cemetery makes them more accessible.
by Anya Gruber

Lists Featuring Massachusetts

View to Marshall Street from Creek Square.

The 11 Most Interesting Places to Visit Near Faneuil Hall

11

Including AHAC Headquarters, Faneuil Hall Weathervane, and Creek Square

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