From toilet habits to eating insects, these tours highlight less traditional attractions
Nighttime factory tour (Japan) —
Japan's travel craze of recent years, kojo moe, or "factory infatuation," has made night tours of illuminated industrial areas, including Keihim Industrial Area, popular.
COURTESY JAPANiCAN
Green-Wood Cemetery (New York) —
You can see the graveside monument of Jim Creighton, baseball's first celebrity player, and visit the cemetery's beautiful chapel, a replica of Christopher Wren's Thomas Tower at Christ Church College in Oxford, England.
Courtesy Green-wood Historic Fund
Weird meat tour (Shanghai) —
The weird meat tour takes you on an exploration of Shanghai's food markets and back alley restaurants where you'll have the chance to look cool while feasting on dragonfly, duck tongue and bumblebee.
Courtesy UnTour Shanghai
Hidden City Tours (Barcelona) —
Some of Barcelona's 3,000 homeless people have turned tour guides. You can get their unique perspective on the city during tours.
Courtesy hidden city tours
Dearly Departed tours (Hollywood) —
This morbid tour of Hollywood goes to places connected with the Manson family murders and hotels where John Belushi, Whitney Houston and Janis Joplin died, among other locations.
Courtesy Griffith Observatory
Historic Toilet tour (York, UK) —
York's toilet tour gives an insight into the bathroom habits of Vikings and Romans, as well as a chance to try out a garderobe (medieval toilet) yourself. Just not this one.
Courtesy Yorkwalk
Idaho Barn tour (United States) —
Barns are part of Idaho's cultural heritage, so much so that the state's Idaho Heritage Barn committee has created a free, self-guided tour of more than 100 of the state's most beautiful barns.
Courtesy Idaho Tourism
Funky Chicken Coop Tour (Texas) —
Who knew chicken coops could be so not boring? Some of Austin's most spectacular chicken pens include a beautifully painted coop containing a metal giraffe and another with chandeliers.
Courtesy Austin Coop Tour
Randy Roy's Red Light Tours (Amsterdam) —
Tourists get a caffeine fix in coffee shops favored by Mike Tyson and Quentin Tarantino, and learn about the rules that protect those working here.
Courtesy Holland Marketing
Corrupt Tours (Prague, Czech Republic) —
Highlights include what guides call Prague's "monuments of corruption." These include the heavily gated homes of controversial political lobbyists such as Roman Janousek, dubbed Lord Voldemort by local media.