12 Abandoned Places Around the World You Can Visit
Rusted roller coasters frozen in time, ivy-covered hotels slowly being reclaimed by nature, and entire ghost towns left eerily silent — the world is full of eerie abandoned places. While many abandoned sites are strictly off-limits, there are still some abandoned places around the world that you can visit without trespassing.
I’ve always been fascinated by the stories behind these empty spaces. Was it war, disaster, economic collapse, or simply time that caused people to leave?
These are a few of the abandoned places around the world that you can legally visit, from ghost towns and deserted islands to forgotten resorts and other eerie places left behind.
Abandoned Places Around the World You Can Legally Visit
1. Teufelsberg, Berlin, Germany
Berlin’s Teufelsberg (German for “Devil’s Mountain”) is an artificial hill made out of rubble from the bombing of Berlin during WWII. This man-made hill houses a former listening station that was used by the US Army during the Cold War.
The golf ball-like radar domes were built on Teufelsberg in the 1960s by the American NSA to spy on Soviet and East Germany military communications.
You can explore Teufelsberg on your own to see the largest street art gallery in Germany and see its stunning 360° panoramic views, but if you want to understand what you’re actually looking at, this guided history tour takes you through the former Cold War listening station while explaining its spy history, radar towers, and graffiti-covered ruins.
Book your guided tour of Teufelsberg here.
2. Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia
Port Arthur was a penal settlement in Australia the 19th century, housing a huge penitentiary for British convicts who had reoffended after their arrival in Australia. From 1833 to 1877, prisoners here were subjected to hard manual labor, psychological torment, and other grueling punishment.
After the prison shut down, the residents of Tasmania wanted to distance themselves from the dark image of Port Arthur, and the people who bought the property began tearing down the buildings.
But the haunting stories of the prisoners and the ghost stories of the prison brought popularity to Port Arthur and the site was turned into a tourist destination.
There’s a lot more to Port Arthur than wandering through old prison buildings, so I recommend taking this guided tour if you want the stories behind the Separate Prison system, the convicts who lived here, and the ghost stories that made the site infamous.
Book your Port Arthur guided tour here.
3. Hashima Island, Nagasaki, Japan
Hashima Island off the coast of Nagasaki, Japan is known as Gunkanjima (“Battleship”) Island because of its shape. This former coal mining facility was owned by Mitsubishi between 1890 and 1974.
At its peak, it was the most densely populated place in the world with 5,000 people living on 16 acres. The community had no where to expand but up, resulting in the island’s battleship features.
The island was abandoned in 1974 when the coal reserves below the island were depleted. In 2009, a portion of the island reopened for tours, and in 2015 the island earn the designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site to bear testimony to Japan’s Industrial Revolution.
Because access to Hashima Island is restricted, taking an authorized tour is the way to get beyond simply seeing Battleship Island from the water. This guided tour of Battleship Island cruises through Nagasaki Harbor and around the island before landing for a closer look at the abandoned mining community.
Book your Hashima Island landing tour here.
4. Spinalonga, Crete, Greece
Spinalonga, off the coast of Crete in Greece, is a rocky islet that houses a 16th century Venetian fortress that once protected the Mirabello Bay. In the 1800s, the island offered a refuge for Ottoman families that feared Christian reprisals from the Cretens. Finally, from 1903 to 1957, the island was a leper colony.
The last person to leave the island was the priest in 1962; he had stayed in order to maintain the Greek Orthodox tradition of commemorating a buried person 40 days, 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years after their death.
The uninhabited island is a popular tourist destination in Crete. If you want to visit Spinalonga without figuring out the boat logistics yourself, tour boats depart for from Agios Nikolaos, Elounda, or Plaka.
This day trip to Spinalonga makes it easy to reach the island while learning the history of its Venetian fortress and former leper colony once you get there.
Book your boat tour to Spinalonga here.
5. Great Blasket Island, County Kerry, Ireland
Once home to a small village of Irish-speaking islanders, the Great Blasket Island is just a couple miles off the mainland of Ireland but becomes completely invisible when the thick mist settles over the Sound.
I got to witness this myself when I visited the The Blasket Centre on the mainland. In good weather, you can see the island from a viewing platform. But it was foggy the day I visited, and we could only begin to see the outline of the island as the fog was lifting right as we were leaving.
After being cut off from the mainland for weeks in 1947 due to bad weather, the islanders petitioned the government to relocate the remaining residents. Relocation didn’t come until 1953, when the last islanders left the Great Blasket.
The island has been uninhabited since then, but there are plenty of tour options:
- This Great Blasket Island Experience tour offers the most time on the island with a guided tour of the abandoned village
- This ferry to the island lets you explore by yourself for 1.5 hours
- This guided wildlife boat tour gives you a good look at the island from the sea
- This overnight stay in the island’s “self-catering” accommodation lets you live like an islander for a few days
How you visit Great Blasket Island really depends on how much time you want there, ranging from just viewing the island from the mainland visitor center or the water to staying overnight on the island like an official Islander.
My top pick would be the Great Blasket Island Experience tour, which you can book here.
6. Train Graveyard, Uyuni, Bolivia
The Great Train Graveyard is a haunting cemetery for locomotives in the Andean plains of southwest Bolivia. This train cemetery is home to over 100 abandoned train cars dating back to the 19th century.
The town of Uyuni is a transportation hub in South America, connecting several major cities. In the 19th century, plans were made to build an even bigger network of trains out of Uyuni, but due to technical difficulties and tension with neighboring countries, the plans were scrapped and the trains and equipment were left abandoned. The salt winds blowing across the nearby Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt plain, have corroded the metal.
There are no restrictions regarding the trains, so visitors can climb on top or go inside the trains to take pictures.
You can visit the Train Graveyard independently for free, so you don’t need to book a tour just to see it. But if you’re already planning to visit Salar de Uyuni, nearly every salt flat tour visits the Train Graveyard, making it easy to see both in one trip.
Find a Salar de Uyuni tour that includes the Train Graveyard here.
7. Al Jazeera Al Hamra, UAE
Once a thriving pearl-fishing village with a population of thousands, Al Jazeera Al Hamra is now a desolate ghost town. By 1968, the town was completely abandoned, although accounts as to why vary. Some say that as the value of the pearl was in decline, the residents left to find their fortunes in other cities. Others say that tribal conflicts caused the town’s demise.
The crumbling building, made from coral, and chilling local ghost stories are all that is left of the town today.
Al Jazeera Al Hamra is free to explore independently, but if you don’t have your own transportation — or want to combine it with more of the area — it’s also included on day trips from Ras Al Khaimah and Dubai, like on this full-day tour that’s packed with history.
Find a tour that visits Al Jazeera Al Hamra here.
8. Kennecott, Alaska, USA
Kennecott, a historic mining town in Alaska, is a ghost town left by the Kennecott Copper Corporation. Now a National Historic Landmark, the town is preserved in the middle of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, the largest national park in the United States.
The town was abruptly abandoned in 1938, and residents left behind their equipment and personal belongings, most of which has been left where it was found. The town is considered the best remaining example of early 20th century copper mining.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, as well as the Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark, are free to visit. You can explore the mill town, including the General Store and Post Office containing extensive exhibits, the North Sacking Shed containing a scale model of Bonanza Ridge and a look at the flotation plant, and the General Manager’s Office, which is the oldest building in town.
You don’t need to book a tour to explore Kennecott: the historic mining town is free to visit, and you can wander through several of its preserved buildings and exhibits independently.
However, if you want a closer look at the mill (and exclusive access inside), this Kennecott guided tour gets you inside the historic mill itself, where a guide explains how the former copper-mining operation worked.
Book your tour inside of Kennecott’s historic mill here.
9. Tyneham, Dorset, UK
Dubbed “the village that died for England”, Tyneham was a small fishing community on the Dorset coast until 1943, when the area was evacuated by the British government in order to make a training area in preparation for the D-day landings.
The village’s residents were never allowed to return to the town after the war. The remains of to village, including cottages, a church, a school, a farm, and a K1 telephone kiosk, still remain as if time has stood still since WWII.
Entry to this “lost” English village is free. The area is part of a live firing range, so you are warned to stick to the footpaths marked with yellow posts at all times.
10. Oradour-sur-Glane, France
On June 10, 1944, the village of Oradour-sur-Glane, France was destroyed and a total of 643 men, women, and children were massacred by the Nazi Waffen-SS.
Only about 80 residents of Oradour-sur-Glane managed to survive. Throughout the ruined town, you’ll find heartbreaking placards showing where men were shot on the streets and where women and children killed in the church.
A new village was rebuilt nearby, but the old village remains as a memorial and museum. The entry into the ruins is free via the Memorial Centre.
11. St. Elmo, Colorado, USA
St. Elmo is one of Colorado’s best-preserved ghost towns and an icon of the Gold Rush. The town, with its dilapidated wooden buildings neatly lined up on Main Street, is exactly like something you’d see in an old Western.
St. Elmo was founded in 1880 and was populated until 1922, when, legend says, everyone took the last train out of town and never came back.
The General Store opens in the summer for tourists, offering souvenirs and gifts. You can stop by the town any time of the year for free for a self-tour and just to look around.
If you want a unique experience, this three hour e-bike tour turns the journey into part of the experience, with a ride through Chalk Creek Canyon and the Sawatch Range before exploring St. Elmo with a guide.
Book your e-bike tour to St. Elmo Ghost Town here.
12. Craco, Italy
Craco is a stunning ghost town in southern Italy. The town sits atop a very steep hill on a cliff that overlooks the Cavone River valley. But this ancient Italian town, dating back to the 8th century BC, wasn’t built for modern infrastructure.
Evacuation of the residents began in 1963, due to a series of landslides brought on by the sewer and water systems and modern construction. In 1972, a flood worsened the situation, and the historic town centre could not be repopulated. The Irpinia earthquake of 1980 caused the city of Craco to be completely abandoned.
You can only access Craco’s abandoned historic center with a guided tour offered by the visitor center. If you’re staying in Matera, this day trip includes transportation and admission to the ghost town.
Book your guided day trip to Craco here.
Abandoned Places Map
Ready to tour these abandoned places around the world? Use the map below to plan your trip!
I hope this helps you find the perfect abandoned places tour.
Abandoned Places FAQ
What is the scariest abandoned place in the world?
A few of the scariest abandoned places in the world include the Island of the Dolls (Isla de las Muñecas) in Mexico with its hundreds of decaying dolls, the city of Pripyat near Chernobyl in Ukraine that is still teeming with radiation, and the haunted Aokigahara Forest in Japan that is associated with many suicides.
Is it illegal to visit abandoned places?
It is illegal to visit many abandoned places as most are on private property and entering without permission would be trespassing. However, there are many abandoned places that have now been turned into tourist destinations that you can explore legally.
What is the most popular abandoned place?
Popular abandoned places around the world include Pripyat near Chernobyl in Ukraine, Teufelsberg listening tower in Berlin, and Hashima Island in Japan.
Looking for more eerie places to tour?
Check out these guides to tour more abandoned and haunted places around the world:
- 10 of the World’s Most Terrifying Haunted Castles
- 13 Most Haunted Places in Atlanta, Georgia
- 13 Chillingly Haunted Spots in San Antonio, Texas
- 7 Spooky and Haunted Spots in Huntsville, Alabama
- 13 Most Haunted Places in Georgia
- 11 Creepy Haunted Places in Dahlonega, Georgia
- 13 Most Haunted Places in Savannah, Georgia
Ready to take a vacation? Plan your trip with these tips.
- Find cheap accommodation: Use my tips for finding cheap accommodation for travel every time.
- Book your flight: Find the cheapest flights using Skyscanner, my favorite flight search engine.
- Pack for your vacation: Make sure you’ve packed everything you need by checking out my packing list resources.
Cheers!
Paige
Have you taken a tour of any of these amazing abandoned places around the world? Let me know in the comments!
I go crazy for abandoned places and every time I travel I always go in search of them. Although I lived in Italy I did not know, but now that you have made me discover it, I will go to visit it very soon. Thanks for introducing me to these beautiful places!
I also love abandoned places! I’m so glad I could introduce you to a few new ones!