We make no secret of our love for, or fascination with staircases. And while you won’t find an Abbott-Wade staircase on this list, and we certainly would like to refurbish any of them, this is simply a self indulgent collection of open-air staircases from around the world that we love and we know you will too.
Name: The Spanish Steps
Location: Rome, Italy
Number of steps: 135
Interesting note: Not in in the country which the name suggests, the Spanish Steps in fact owe their name to the Palazzo di Spagna, seat of the Embassy of Spain.
Name: Canyon Staircase
Location: Ecuador
Interesting note:
You’ll need to be prepared to get we to the spectacular views and great force of plunging water. This magnificent waterfall is formed by the crystalline Río Verde.
Name: Baha’í Gardens
Location: Haifa, Israel
Number of steps: 1700 (&19 terraces)
Interesting note:
Also known as the Hanging Gardens of Haifa, work started on the design of these stairs and garden terraces in 1987.
Name: Schlossberg Stairs
Location: Graz, Austria
Number of steps: 260
Interesting Notes:
I know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry – there’s also a lift!
Name: Chand Baori
Location: Rajasthan, India
Number of steps: 3500
Interesting Notes:
One of the deepest step wells in India, Chand Baori was built between AD800-AD900 by King Chanda.
Name: Stairs Above The Sea
Location: Gaztelugatxe in Spain
Number of steps: 229-237 depending on sources
Interesting notes:
People who have climbed these huge rocky stairs have said that they felt like they were walking above the sea.
Name:Moses Bridge Stairs
Location:Netherlands
Name: El Peñol Stone
Location: Antioquia, Columbia
Number of steps: 740
Source: In the 1940s, the Colombian government declared it a “National Monument”.
Name:Universe Cascade
Location:Dumfries, Scotland
Interesting note:
You’ll be lucky to see this one, it only opens to the public for five hours each year.
Name: San Francisco Tiled Steps
Location: San Francisco, USA
Number of steps: 163
Interesting note:
The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps project has been a neighborhood effort to create a beautiful mosaic running up the risers of the 163 steps located at 16th and Moraga in San Francisco.
Name: Umschreibung
Location: Munich, Germany
Interesting Notes:
Erected in 2004 by Olafur Eliasson, this 9 m tall steel sculpture in the entrance of the accounting firm KPMG is a masterpiece.
Name: The Potemkin Stairs
Location: Odessa, Ukraine
Number of steps: 192
Interesting note: The top step is 12.5 meters wide, and the lowest step is 21.7 meters wide. The staircase extends for 142 meters, but it gives the illusion of greater length.
Name: Tiger & Turtle – Magic Mountain
Location: Duisburg, Germany
Number of steps: 249
Interesting note: You won’t travel across the full 2million euro staircase as the looks are inaccessible…unless you’re Spiderman.
Name: The Rock of Guatapé
Location: Antioquia, Colombia
Number of steps: 649
Source: This masonry staircase, that appears like a giant stitch holding the 10,000,000 ton split rock together.
Name: Taihang Mountains
Location: Henan, China.
Interesting Note: If you want to climb this staircase to heaven, you’ll have to confirm that you’re under 60 years of age do not have heart or lung problems.
If you think there’s anything missing off this list, tweet us @StairRenovation.
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