30 of the World's Most Spectacular Spirals

Swirls and curls and whorls—with an enchanting twist.

30 Places

Some of the planet’s most captivating coils are more than just design eye candy. The Treetop Tower of Rüge, for instance, lets you explore a forest canopy. The puquios of Peru, on the other hand, were once part of a sophisticated, ancient hydraulic system. Still others, such as the Great Salt Lake’s Spiral Jetty, well, that’s eye candy for those dedicated enough to get to it. From the symbols carved into a Neolithic tomb in Ireland to a dazzling staircase in a lavish 16th-century mansion, here are 30 wondrous whorls sure to set your head spinning.

The Spiral Jetty

An earthwork sculpture built by Robert Smithson in the Great Salt Lake only reemerges during drought.

Added by tvstay

Caprarola, Italy

Villa Farnese

A lavish 16th-century mansion filled with spectacular spiral staircases.

LatiumMirabile

Added by LatiumMirabile

Onomichi, Japan

Ribbon Chapel

This high-design church is made up of two dizzying spirals meant to evoke the weaving together of marriage.

EricGrundhauser

Added by EricGrundhauser

Treetop Tower of Rügen

A long spiraling walkway winds through the woods, and around a copper beech tree at the center.

Tony Dunnell

Added by Tony Dunnell

Isle of Skye, Scotland

Fairy Glen

This dramatic, hidden landscape, including a striking stone spiral, looks like a magical realm.

Kerry Wolfe

Added by Kerry Wolfe

Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville Interchange Spiral

Must form and function forever remain at odds? Not if the Florida Department of Transportation has its way.

Josh

Krásno, Czechia

Spiral Tower of Krásno

A spiral staircase twists to the top of this unusual Czech lookout tower.

Christine Williamson

Added by Christine Williamson

Newgrange

The ancient tomb, decorated with spiral motifs, acts as a calendar.

Thanks-Giving Square

A serene temple, with stunning stained glass in its spiral ceiling, hides in downtown Dallas.

OutsideSuburbia

Added by OutsideSuburbia

Greensburg, Kansas

The Big Well

The United States's largest hand-dug well is topped with a state-of-the-art museum and reached via a giant spiral staircase.

Dylan

Scala Contarini del Bovolo

This palatial spiral staircase was so unusual the name "snail" was given to the noble family who built it.

matthiasheinrich

Added by matthiasheinrich

Naucalpan, Mexico

Nautilus House

A fantastical house inspired by the spirals found in the sea.

Rachel

Added by Rachel

Leixlip, Ireland

The Wonderful Barn

A corkscrew-shaped barn in Ireland.

Added by NathanRisinger

Rottweil, Germany

ThyssenKrupp Test Tower

Built to test magnetically levitated elevators, the twisting tower also boasts Germany's highest visitor platform.

jfrank

Added by jfrank

Saint-Étienne, France

Maison sans Escalier (The House Without Stairs)

An architectural oddity of six stories, accessed by graceful, spiraling ramps.

Chesterfield, England

Chesterfield Snail

This enormous spiral sculpture looks strangely out of place on the edge of a housing development.

Dr Alan P Newman

Added by Dr Alan P Newman

Copenhagen, Denmark

Rundetårn

The old observatory in Copenhagen has a spiral corridor used as a racetrack.

stanestane

Added by stanestane

Qesm Hurghada, Egypt

Desert Breath

A massive work of modern art that appears to be a crop circle—composed of interlocking spirals—in the middle of the desert.

Josh

Independence, Missouri

Independence Temple

This otherworldly church spire reaches up toward the heavens.

Hermit

Added by Hermit

Bușteni, Romania

The Mountain Sphinx

Conspiracy theories and occult legends surround this mysterious natural rock formation, and its manmade stone spirals.

poppyoana

Added by poppyoana

Sintra, Portugal

Quinta da Regaleira

This eccentrically decorated palace has underground towers lined with spiral stairs.

Added by geokate

Kawazu Nanadaru Loop Bridge

An ingenious solution to a tricky engineering problem, this spiraling bridge takes drivers for a dizzying spin.

Added by cookiecookie

Bern, Switzerland

Méret Oppenheim Fountain

The Swiss artist's bulbous, overgrown, shape-shifting, spiral sculpture controversially graces the center of Bern.

Vololona

Added by Vololona

Puquios

The spiral remains of the sophisticated hydraulic system of the Nazca civilization.

Tony Dunnell

Added by Tony Dunnell

Glasgow, Scotland

The Lighthouse

Climb this overlooked gem's spiral staircase and you'll be rewarded with spectacular views of Glasgow.

ssm67alba

Added by ssm67alba

Crestone, Colorado

Crestone Ziggurat

This spiritual spiral rewards climbers with expansive views.

schultjh

Added by schultjh

Des Moines, New Mexico

Capulin Volcano

This volcano rises like a giant anthill from the plains below, with a road spiraling up to the rim.

Tony Dunnell

Added by Tony Dunnell

The Stairs of Reconciliation

Double spiral staircases are not unheard of, but they are very rare.

AdamTKincaid

Added by AdamTKincaid

Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Playtower

A whimsical tower with a spiral staircase, inspired by the Space Age and the Möbius strip.

Allison

Added by Allison

Copenhagen, Denmark

Church of Our Saviour

Climb to the top of this heavenly spiral to take in Copenhagen.

Luis Morato

Added by Luis Morato

Map