• From clubs exclusive to rich tycoons and
the social elite to interesting islands off-limits from tourists to prevent contamination, we
count 15 places you'd really like to visit once, but you have almost no chance to do
so 15 - Svalbard Global Seed Vault,
• This one was built out of fear that all those sci-fi scenarios about the end of the
world might actually come true • This vault, build on a secluded island
in the North Sea, is home to over 250 million crop seeds shipped from gene banks worldwide
with an estimated cost exceeding $9 million dollars
• You can't enter the vault - nobody can, but researchers, plant breeders and other
groups can request seeds from the depositing genebanks
• If you WERE to enter it, you'd see the biggest hope for agriculture in the event
of a polar ice cap melt or similar Earthly disaster
14 - Mezhgorye, • A closed military town at the foot of
Mount Yamantau, believed by the United States to be a large secret nuclear facility owned
by the Russians • When questioned, the Russians give inconsistent
answers like, it's a mining site, no, it's a treasury, no, a food storage area - and
then finally they said, yep, nuclear bunker in the event of apocalyptic war
• It's believed to house nuclear weapons, and as much as we want to visit it to inspect,
we aren't allowed - Russian newspapers claim it to be part of the Dead Hand initiative
- to automatically launch nukes if a bunch are about to strike THEM
13 - Woomera Prohibited Area, • An Australian military testing range covering
nearly 124,000 square kilometres - and although that area is restricted, the nearby town of
Woomera is open to the public • You'll want to go there for one reason,
but also want to stay away for another - it's highly prospective, significant quantities
of minable gold, iron ore, opals and uranium that the general populace can't reach
• Due to the amount of unlaunched war material lying around though, it's basically a minefield,
so even if you could get around the military presence to mine, chances are you'll get your
face blown off - not a great way to spend your weekend
12 - Jiangsu National Security Education Museum, • This is basically the real-life James
Bond exhibit - top secret documents and gadgets from the history of Chinese espionage
• It includes things like, guns disguised as lipstick, hollowed-out coins to conceal
documents and maps hidden in a deck of cards • The only people allowed to enter this
museum are Chinese nationals, entirely because they don't trust foreigners with their sensitive
spy information - which is fair enough 11 - Club 33,
• A private club located in Disneyland that costs 40 thousand dollars for membership and
$10,000 in yearly costs • The reason it costs so much? It's like a secret backdoor disneyland but
with a liquor license and 14-year waiting list, props from disney films everywhere,
animatronics and complimentary valet parking • You enter the club by buzzing an intercom
concealed in a hidden panel in the doorway, then you take the antique-style glass lift
to any of two giant dining rooms • This is a great place if you're an ultra-rich
tycoon 10 - Aldwych Tube Station,
• A subway station active during World War II, also used as an air raid shelter and hiding
place for National Gallery artworks • In 1994 the trains stopped running and
now the entire station is unused, a monument to early 1900s society with vintage tracks,
an old lobby and ancient elevators • On occasion it's open for tours, but for
99% of the time people just break in to take photos
9 - Fort Knox, • The location of a fortified vault building,
the United States Bullion Depository located in Kentucky, used to store large portions
of gold and precious items • Today it holds 4,500 metric tons of pure
gold, built inside granite walls, protected by a blast-proof door, weighing 22 tons and
21-inches tick, 30,000 soldiers patrolling with tanks, personal carriers, attack helicopters
and artillery • In order to enter you need a 10 part secret
code held by 10 different people all in different locations - there's a reason we have the saying
"as impenetrable as Fort Knox" 8 - White's Gentleman's Club,
• Established in 1693, this is a club exclusive for British men with notable members Prince
Charles, Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge and the British Prime Minister
• For hundreds of years, a famous betting book has seen notable figures gambling on
not just sport, but political developments even during the French Revolution and Napoleonic
Wars • Women who approach the club are always
denied membership, including the model for the central character in the BBC television
series and one of the best chefs during the early 1900s: Rosa Lewis
7 - Queen's Bedroom, • You'll find this in Buckingham Palace,
the British Queen's official London residence first established in 1705
• Even though the place is heavily guarded, one man managed to break in and hide in the
Queen's bedroom in 1982 • To date, he's one of the only men to see
the interior without an official Royal Family invitation or building permit - and if you're
just some random shmo like me, then there's little chance we'll see it this lifetime
6 - Lascaux Caves (las-co), • Located in France, one of the most important
archaological finds - that of cave paintings and perfectly preserved footprints from human
beings that lived tens of thousands of years ago
• Due to the fear of fungal infection from human presence, these caves have been closed
to the public for some time and on rare occasions only a small group of people escorted over
elevated ramps can visit for minutes at any given time
• You can learn more about it in the documentary "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" one of the few
pieces of photography allowed in the cave network
5 - Area 51, • And yes, I'm sure a lot of you are relatively
close by to this Nevada military site 83 miles north of Las Vegas
• Officially, it's a U.S owned military airfield whose primary purpose is to test
experimental aircraft and weapon systems • Unofficially, we know it as a super secret
Alien landing strip filled with the dead corpses of a 100,000 deceased martians that all landed
on a certain day in 1947 4 - Surtsey,
• An Icelandic island that only came into existence about 50 years ago following volcanic
eruptions in the area • Despite its young age, the island already
plays host to over 90 species of bird with new plant species evolving at a rate of 2-5
per year • Humans carefully monitor the islands progress
from a small hut, ensuring no outside seeds or unwanted visitors turn up to hurt the naturally
evolving ecosystem - they even had to dig up some potatoes a bunch of kids planted for
a laugh 3 - Air Force One,
• The official plane of the President of the United States, first designed during 1953
with many replacements ever since • It comes with an electromagnetic pulse
shield that can fly through highly irradiated zones from nuclear fallout, deploy missiles,
jam radars, and it doesn't need to land to refuel
• During the events of 9/11, then-president George Bush was flown around in Air Force
One and even detected threats from other passing airliners which later turned out to be miscommunication
2 - Poveglia, • A small island near Venice that many claim
to have had such an intense, violent history that it's now haunted
• It was once a dumping ground for the sick, dying and deceased, and when the Bubonic Plague
arrived in 1348, it became a quarantine zone with Venice exiling many ill people there
• It was immolated when the Black Death swept through, a hospital for the mentally
ill was established and shut down and currently it's now closed to both locals and tourists
1 - Room 39 • A rumoured secret government organisation
in North Korea dedicated to maintaining the foreign currency slush funds of Kim Jong - fancy
talk for money laundering • Though its activities are seen as illegal,
it holds as much as $5 billion in funds and not TECHNICALLY supported on an official level
even though it's critical to Kim Jong's seat of power
• Today, it fetches over a billion dollars each year through criminal activity and no,
they won't let you inspect their papers or affiliated locations - so don't plan a vacation
there
