There are many places to explore in the world and at first glance, the world seems like it is open and free to explore anywhere you want. However, there are some places in the world that are simply off-limits to many people. This is due to security reasons most of the time, but other times the reasons are a bit more mysterious. There are a lot of secrets out in the world and some that people want to keep silent. There are, of course, the people who want to uncover these secrets and find out more about these off-limits places out of pure curiosity or another motive. Many of the places on this list are thought to be off limits due to their dark history and the fact that they may be haunted. This strikes the interest of many groups of people from urban explorers to ghost hunters.

While these places aren't available to enter for the typical tourist, you can get into these places if you are lucky enough or if you know the right people. The off-limits places on this list are places that elected people and experts can enter if they have the right permits. Getting these permits can be a hard and strenuous process so it is best if we just view these places from afar or through pictures.

20 Disney Club 33, the United States

Disney World is perhaps one of the most famous tourist destinations in the world. It is known as the happiest place on Earth and sees millions of guests every year. That being said, it is a bit strange for Disney to be on a list about places tourists can't go, isn't it? That is because there is an exclusive place at Disney World that not everyone who buys a ticket can get into. The Disney Club 33 is an exclusive club that can only be entered if you are invited by someone already in the club, or if you shell out over 30 thousand dollars according to Eater.com. Considering many people already spent a fortune getting into the front gates of Disney World it isn't likely that any normal tourist will get into the club.

19 Snake Island, Brazil

The Snake Island is exactly what it sounds like. The island itself is located around a hundred miles off of Sao Paulo's coast located in Brazil. The crowning achievement of the island, besides its large number of snakes, is the residence of the Golden Lancehead Viper according to BusinessInsider.com. This is one of the deadliest and most venomous snakes on Earth. Not to mention the number we mentioned before reaches up to 4,000 poisonous snakes that regularly slither around the island. Not only for the fact that the island is very dangerous but considering many of the snakes are endangered on the island you won't be able to visit this island if you were crazy enough to in the first place.

18 Heard Island, Australia

Heard Island is off the coast of Australia and is quite hard to get to even if you were able to visit it. The island has a very exclusive quality to it as the island has never been inhabited by humans, according to the official website. If you are really curious as to what is on the island you can apply under certain circumstances to visit the island, but you have to have a good reason and you have to be able to pay a good amount. The animals that live on the island are mostly exclusive to the island. The island has been made illegal to visit under the law of Australia if you could even make it to the island.

17 Poveglia Island, Italy

Poveglia Island was in its prime in the 18th century and hosted an array of plague victims. The island was used to quarantine these people when the plague was at its peak. The island was also used as a weapons cache for Napoleon, according to the Travel Channel website.  The island has seen its fair share of gruel history making the spot a favorite amongst the paranormal community. The island was even featured on an episode of Ghost Adventures and was recorded as one of their best episodes. The island is very secluded and hard to get to. The best way to get to it is with permits and your own ghost hunting TV show.

16 Surtsey Island, Iceland

This fairly new island was formed in 1965 by several volcanic eruptions. The island is currently only available to scientists who are studying the island and the public isn't allowed anywhere near the island. The main reason the public isn't allowed to visit the barely 50-year-old island is that scientists fear that humans will destroy the delicate ecosystem that is still growing and being studied. Only highly trained scientists who know not to mess with the wildlife are allowed on the island to allow the island and the plants and animals on the islands grow without being disturbed.

15 North Brother Island, United States

North Brother Island is a fairly small island and has mostly only one thing to offer. That one thing is an abandoned hospital named Riverside Hospital. The state of New York bought the island back in 1885 to house patients with very dangerous and contagious diseases to quarantine them. The hospital still stands but is completely abandoned. So why is the island off-limits to people who want to explore it? The state of New York has made it illegal to visit the island and it seems to include everyone whether it be your average person or someone interested in going on a ghost hunt on the island.

14 Vatican Library Secret Archives, Vatican City

The archives located in the Vatican Library Secret Archives is so secretive that most people don't even know what they are hiding behind the library walls. The secret archive is quite large, stretching to be 50 miles long and holding over 35,000 documents and texts, according to ancient-origins.net. Anything that has been added to the secret archives is at least 75 years old and dates back hundreds of years more. There is much speculation as to what exactly is in the archives but nothing has been revealed or leaked. Some of these documents may never see the light of day again.

13 Lascaux Cave, France

This prehistoric cave was discovered in 1940 and was once open to the public but no longer is. The cave is full of old cave paintings drawn by some of the first people on Earth. The cave is rather large and has around 600 paintings and around 1,500 sketches, according to the bradshawfoundation.com. The paintings reveal interesting things about the era in which they were drawn. Some show animals such as horses drawn much larger than what we know them to be today. The caves were once opened during WWII but due to the destruction, those tourists brought, the cave was shut down to the public to maintain what little the cave had left.

12 Coca-Cola Vault, the United States

Coca-Cola is known to have the most hidden secret formula's on the planet. This is for good reason as the flavor and taste of Coca-Cola has yet to be replicated by anyone else. The secret formula is stored in a large vault located in the Coca-Cola museum located in Atlanta Georgia. Tourists can take a tour around the museum and get close to the vault but, of course, no one is allowed in the vault. The formula to Coca-Cola has been in secret for over 125 years and there are only a few people in the world who know the formula. It is likely that this secret will stay a secret until the end of time.

11 Menwith Hill Royal Air Force Station, the United Kingdom

The British War Office purchased over 500 acres of land in 1954 to lease to the United States. This was the birthplace of the Menwith Hill Royal Air Force Station. This is the most secretive place in the United Kingdom and has even been considered the Area 51 of Europe. The base was used for spying during the cold war according to economictimes.com. There has been many an outcry for making the base more transparent as only a few select government groups like the NSA is allowed on the base. Since its main use during the Cold War is over many do not see the reason for still keeping the base a secret.

10 Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Norway

This large strange looking vault is located in the middle of a large snowy tundra in Norway. The vault is used to store seeds and is known as the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. According to the official website, there are over a million seed deposits with over 6,000 different species of seeds. The whole purpose of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault is to prepare for different doomsday scenarios in which humanity would need to restart on growing different plants. It is obvious as to why tourists and normal everyday people aren't allowed in the vault because they want to keep the seeds safe.

9 Mezhgorye, Russia

Mezhgorye is known to be one of Russia's most secretive military bases in the country. No one even knows the purpose of the military base and if it wasn't for the large colorful sign out front many wouldn't know where to find the base. The original purpose of the Mezhgorye military base was to house nuclear weapons during the Cold War according to businessinsider.com. The base is built into the side of the Ural Mountains and it operates as an underground military base likely to help it remain secluded. Many have speculated that since the base is still closed to the public that it is being used as a large nuclear bunker for elected officials. Of course, these are just rumors as no one has actually been inside of Mezhgorye.

8 Tomb Of Quin Shi Huang, China

Imagine doing something as simple as digging a well and discovering a whole tomb with hundreds of clay figures staring back at you. This happened back in 1974 when a few people were digging up a well and found an army of clay soldiers guarding the tomb of a Chinese Emperor, according to National Geographic. The tomb was later revealed to be the tomb of Chinese Emperor Quin Shi Huang. If you wanted to see the hundreds and thousands of clay soldiers then you are in luck. This part of the tomb is open to the public. However, the actual tomb itself is closed to the public to keep it safe.

7 Fort Knox, United States

Fort Knox is known to be one of the most protected buildings in the world. Fort Knox is the Bullion Depository of the United States and inside the building is where one of the largest vaults in the world is. Inside the vault, there are tons and tons of precious metals and other currency. No one knows the full extent as to the security of Fort Knox but no one dare try to break into the building. According to Industry Tap, there are 4,200 cubic yards of concrete in the vault, 16,000 cubic feet of granite, and 750 tons of reinforced steel that make up the building itself.

6 Woomera Test Range, Australia

According to the Australian Government Department of Defense, the Woomera Test Range is the largest test firing range in the world, stretching to be over 47,000 miles. Why would they need that much room to test weapons? The site is used to test all sorts of things from explosives to new weapons. This is why people aren't allowed on the testing field and it is unknown why anyone would voluntarily want to visit the testing range. However, even with this logic many people still find themselves being turned away from the testing range. This is most likely due to people thinking there is something bigger going on at Wommera than simple weapons testing.

5 Metro 2, Russia

Metro 2 is supposedly a secret train system that is located under Moscow. Many people have come out and said that the train system never existed. The history behind the supposed Metro 2 dates back to the Cold War where it was rumored Stalin built the railroad to connect government buildings in Moscow: the Kremlin, the Federal Security Service, and the airport. The railroad is supposed to be only one line and it is only supposed to connect these three places. The closest thing we have to prove the existence of the railroad was a novel published in 1992 and a claim in 2004 by a government agent who confirmed the existence of Metro 2.

4 Bohemian Grove, the United States

Bohemian Grove is an exclusive club that is located deep within the Red Woods in California. The club is made of political officials and other prominent people in California. The Bohemian Grove club has been around for 150 years and holds power when it comes to industry and politics in the United States, according to the Washington Post. The meetings of Bohemian Grove are extremely secretive and is part of the reason that they meet so deep in the forest. This is why tourists of the nearby redwoods aren't allowed into the club or anywhere near it.

3 Robins Island, United States

Yet another island that is off the coast of New York that no one is allowed to visit. Except for this time the island doesn't hold mysteries, but rather is privately owned and stretches to be over 400 acres long. The island has been passed through many owners as previous owners have constantly gone bankrupt from owning the island. Today the island has been put to good use and is a nature preserve. The owner has prohibited any tourists from visiting the island as it would disturb the animals on the island. There have been talks of making the reserve open to the public in the future but as of now, it remains off limits.

2 Area 51, Nevada, United States

Area 51 is still one of the biggest mysteries in the United States and everyone around the world has heard of it. The area known as Area 51 is located far out in the middle of the Nevada desert and it acts as an American government facility. That is all most normal people know about it. The place is so synonymous with extra extraterrestrial life forms that the surrounding small towns have taken to littering their stores with alien-themed props. While many people have visited Area 51, it is highly advised not to. This is due to the high security surrounding the place given that it is a government facility.

1 Ise Grand Shrine, Japan

Isle Grand Shrine is an interesting case among many shrines that are open to the public. This is because only members of the Imperial family can come and go as they please. The shrine was built to recognize the figure Amaterasu-omikami, according to britannica.com. They also say that the shrine is rebuilt on the inside every twenty years to represent rebirth. Not a lot of people have seen the inside of the shrine but many have passed by the outside of the shrine to either pay their respects or to try and sneak a peek as to what the inside looks like.