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Plants hanging from Babylonian-looking windows
Brasília, Brazil

Superquadra 205/206

The most unusual block in Brasília.
A wild South American coati in Ubatuba, on Brazil's central coast, where the animals are still common.
science

Why a Wayward Coati’s Selfie on a Brazilian Airbase Surprised Scientists

The adorable appearance highlights an unexpected ally in conservation.
Gemma Tarlach May 10, 2022
urban planning

Podcast: The Last Tenement

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team April 27, 2022
panoramas

Podcast: Panorama of the City of New York

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team February 15, 2022
The Nissan Tsuru has long been Mexico's de facto taxi—despite being one of the most dangerous cars ever designed.
cars

Taxi Drivers in Xalapa Are on the Job in One of the Most Dangerous Cars Ever Made

The notorious Nissan Tsuru has long been the city's de facto taxi. Now, change is coming for the vehicles, and for the people who drive them.
Dylan Taylor-Lehman February 9, 2022
For more than a decade, opera singer Daria Spada (center) and punk guitarist Maksim Cristan (far left) have performed free weekly concerts on their apartment balcony in Turin, Italy.
music

How an Apartment Balcony Became One of Italy's Best-Known Stages

Nothing—not city fines, a pandemic, or home renovations—can stop the music.
Simone Lai January 20, 2022
ruins

Podcast: Great Zimbabwe

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team January 19, 2022
A honeycomb moray eel, stranded by the receding tide at Mahalaxmi, was later released into a nearby intertidal pool. The rocky shoreline has since been developed into part of a coastal road.
photography

Discovering the Unexpected Wonder of Mumbai's Coastal Wildlife

Photographer Sarang Naik is reintroducing his hometown to its rich biodiversity, from glowing corals to dazzling sea slugs.
Gemma Tarlach January 10, 2022
Rock and line from afar
Brooklyn, New York

Brooklyn-Flatbush Border Line

One of the remaining markers of an era when Brooklyn and Flatbush were separate cities.
“La Fresque des Lyonnais,” one of the 150 murals that now decorate the city, pictures famous residents such as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of <em>The Little Prince</em>, and the Lumière brothers, pioneers of cinematography.
paintings

Look What Happened When Lyon Got a Fresh Coat of Paint

Scores of enormous murals rehabilitated the French city's image and started a mesmerizing street-art trend.
Anna Richards November 11, 2021
Western Deffufa
Kerma Albeled, Sudan

Western Deffufa of Kerma

The best-preserved example of a unique structure in Nubian architecture.
Customers return to Maktaba al-Sham in Mosul's Old City. Shopping for books on Najafi Street is a tradition that dates back more than a century.
bookstores

The Only Bookstore on Najafi Street

Four years after the Iraqi city of Mosul was liberated from ISIS, Daud Salim is the first—and the only—bookseller to return to the storied street.
Pesha Magid August 26, 2021
The San Francisco garter snake has been on the federal endangered species list for more than half a century.
snakes

A San Francisco Airport Site Is Crawling With Snakes—And That's a Good Thing

An endangered species is thriving at a once-blighted lot, but climate change and other challenges threaten its future.
Ashley Stimpson July 27, 2021
The banner saying "Park now" expresses the ongoing battle for the protection of the lake and the surrounding area.
birds

Rome’s Accidental Lake Is an Urban Refuge and Catalyst for Activism

The body of water, which shouldn’t even exist, has a long history as a source of both controversy and comfort.
Lidija Pisker July 16, 2021
roads

Podcast: La Paz Cebritas

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team June 16, 2021
Dholavira archaeological site
Dholavira, India

Dholavira

This archaeological site was once a grand city of the Indus Valley Civilization with a sophisticated system for conserving water.
San José del Torreón, Mexico

El Cóporo

Built 1,500 years ago, this abandoned Mesoamerican city is surrounded by a natural wall made of outstanding rock formations.
Xian Shi, China

Xi'an City Walls

An ancient fortification lives on in this Chinese city.