Where in the world is the Fountain of Youth?
The mythical fountain of immortality has beguiled explorers for thousands of years. Legends of life-giving waters sent men to the Horn of Africa, the islands of the Caribbean, the southern coast of India and modern-day Florida. With eternal youth as the immaculate prize, it’s no wonder the quest continues.
Explore the world of Fountain of Youth
Explore the world of Fountain of Youth
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When the RMS Lusitania was launched in 1906, it was the crown jewel of the sea — a floating palace of opulence and speed. In 1915, enroute from New York to Liverpool, the Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat. The celebrated ship sank 18 minutes later, taking with it over 1,000 passengers and boundless mysteries—many still unsolved.
Officially, the Lusitania was a passenger vessel. Less officially, the ship carried hundreds of tons of ammunition. Discrepancies in cargo manifests and evasive government responses have fueled decades of speculation about what else the ship was secretly carrying.
Many items from the historic shipwreck have been recovered, including the Lusitania’s telegraph, propellors, portholes and fog horn. Sunken 300 feet to the sea floor and riddled with unknown artillery, prodding its mysteries is a highly risky endeavor.
For treasure hunters, London is a golden destination—teeming with museums that house the spoils of centuries-old exploration, plundering, and miraculous discoveries. But head off the popular museum trail and you’ll find treasure of the more obscure variety. Interested in rare taxidermy or Freud’s famous couch? It’s all in London.
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Where there is treasure, there will be heists. Every year, precious London artifacts get smuggled from their stately museum homes and into black market auctions, backdoor dealings, and private collections. But the heists don’t end at museums. London’s infamous Star Tavern—where you can still have a drink today—was an infamous hangout for high-profile thieves. The Great Train Robbery (a 1963 heist that netted £2.6 million) was plotted upstairs.
Nothing feels quite as iconically London as gliding through the city on a double-decker bus—and for good reason. Double-decker transport has been a London staple since the 1800s, when wooden omnibuses were drawn by horses. Today’s glassy, engine-powered design is sleeker than their vintage forefathers, but the evolution is something to behold, which you can do at the London Transport Museum.
Libraries have always been a bastion of secrets and obscure knowledge, and Vienna has one of the most beguiling in the world. Known as the Ă–sterreichische Nationalbibliothek, or the Austrian National Library, the hallowed building is an 18th century baroque beauty that contains an undisclosed number of secret bookcase passageways.
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Once the frontier of the Roman empire, Vienna is now a treasure trove for history hunters. The city is layered with catacombs, crypts, and the ruins of a fallen Roman military camp. Fortified by a complex system of subterranean tunnels, there’s no shortage of underworld to explore.
Vienna’s royals were known for riches and jewels, encrypted correspondence, secret archives, and enigmatic imperial practices too puzzling to name. Today, you can see some of their secrets on display, like the contents of the Hapsburgs’ “chamber of wonders,” which includes carved rhinoceros’ horns and a 16th century golden salt cellar valued at around $65 million.
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest of the ancient Egyptian pyramids, standing at 450 astonishing feet. The 4,500-year-old tomb was built for the enterprising Pharaoh Khufu, and for nearly 4,000 years, it was considered the tallest human-made structure in the world.
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When a structure is 4,500 years old, there are bound to be mysteries. Herodotus wrote of a sophisticated hidden doorway system that has yet to be discovered by modern-day explorers. While no one knows for sure, the door is believed to lead to a collection of chambers untouched since they were originally sealed—around 2500 BC.
Rise before the sun to witness the Pyramids of Giza in their most magical light. Arriving at sunrise means fewer crowds and the extraordinary vision of golden rays slowly illuminating these epic structures. Approach from the southern side, and you’ll see the early light flood across all three pyramids simultaneously.
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Beneath Bangkok’s modern veneer is a world steeped in legend, myth and superstition. At the city’s Amulet Market, you’ll find men with dangerous jobs picking out talismans for protection. A feeling of the otherworldly is everywhere—from the towering Giant Swing that once flung men into the heavens, to the café where you can lay in a coffin and contemplate your own death.
Jump on a scooter and follow the mysterious energy that pumps through the city. Bangkok is home to hundreds of tucked-away temples and shrines, and at any turn, there will be a surprise. That giant Budha peeking above the temple is constructed from 5.5 tons of solid gold, and that shrine with the glass jar on the alter? Pick it up; there’s a ghost bride trapped inside.
Some wonders in Bangkok defy logic or explanation. From the perfect mathematical proportions of towering stupas to the brilliant engineering of the city’s canals—a sophisticated system that transformed the tropical delta into the “Venice of the East”—Bangkok is where the knowable and unknowable collide.
Experience the adventure
With ancient pyraminds and sunken ships as their set, see what John Krasinski calls "the best travel show... wrapped up in an action-packed movie."
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Inside the Search
Get an exclusive look with Natalie, John, Eiza and Domhnall as we go behind the scenes on the search for the Fountain of Youth.
