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Vienna, Austria
Wiener Riesenrad
129 years later, the wheel that survived fire, war, and bankruptcy still turns to this day.
AWA visted hereRed
Is it warm in here? Red, often associated with love, passion, and all things hot, you might need to cool off after exploring this collection.
Dublin, Ireland
Ambassador Cinema
Every ticket sold at this cinema helped deliver babies for nearly two centuries.
From the Community
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Larry’s Beans
A Raleigh roaster funds $500 teacher grants and runs a telephone booth library because caffeinating communities goes beyond beans.
From the Community
Christchurch, United Kingdom
The Regent
Bingo saved this 1931 Art Deco cinema from demolition, then 100+ volunteers brought it back as a theatre in 1983.
From the Community
Galveston, Texas, United States
Ashbel Smith Building
Texas's first medical school opened in 1891 with 23 students and almost no equipment, but survived America's deadliest hurricane.
From the Community
Dublin, Ireland
Polaris Building, Dublin City University
DCU's Polaris Building corralled 3,000 students from four scattered buildings into one €80 million facility during a pandemic.
From the Community
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Parkside Avenue Subway Station
This Brooklyn station is literally split: two-thirds tunnel through buildings, one-third open to sky: a subway chimera.
From the Community
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Parque Minhocão
Named after a quasi-fictitious earthworm-like creature that burrows through São Paulo.
From the Community
Kingston SE, South Australia, Australia
The Big Lobster
Modeled on a real stuffed lobster, Larry was voted Australia's #1 Big Thing in 2021 beating over 1,000 competitors.
From the Community
West Coast Region, New Zealand
Brewster Hut
At 1,460 metres in New Zealand's Southern Alps, this hut has no heating and a water tank that runs dry when you need it most.
From the Community
Cabo Pulmo, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Cabo Pulmo EcoAdventures
This fishing village gave up fishing in 1995. Now it has the largest fish biomass recovery ever recorded in a marine reserve.
From the Community
London, United Kingdom
Royal College of Music
The future King Edward VII opened a music college in 1883 where talent mattered more than birthright.
From the Community
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London, United Kingdom
Chelsea Embankment
How a river too putrid for Queen Victoria became one of London's most pristine waterfronts.
From the Community
Guadalajara, Mexico
Biblioteca Iberoamericana Octavio Paz
A 16th-century Jesuit college turned an identity crisis into a storybook future.
From the Community
Struer, Denmark
Grisetå Odde Fyr
This Danish lighthouse guides ships through treacherous straits and graces cheese packages in German grocery stores.
From the Community
Matakana, New Zealand
Matakana Post Centre
A post centre for 570 people, dressed in herringbone tiles as if expecting royalty—or at least a second glance.
From the Community
Freeport, Maine, United States
Desert of Maine
A dinner-plate-sized patch of sand grew to swallow forty acres, buildings, and all.
From the Community
Jaipur, India
Polo Palladio
An Italian restaurant inside a polo club where the most famous player died mid-match, because legends never retire.
AWA visted here
Jaipur, India
Raj Mandir
Opened in 1976, this Art Deco cinema sold out every single day for 25 years and seats 1,300 in gem-named categories.
AWA visted here
Jaipur, India
Gem Cinema
Closed in 2005, this cinema sat dark for 15 years until its original projectionist returned to restart the projectors for a 2019 festival.
AWA visted here
Agra, India
Ganeshi Lall Emporium
Founded in 1845, this Agra emporium houses a jeweled carpet that took one craftsman 9.5 years to finish.
AWA visted here
Geneva, Switzerland
Bijouterie CD I Love You
A jewelry store in Geneva’s neighborhood where love is the local specialty.
From the Community
Sydney, Australia
Hornby Lighthouse
Built in 1858 after two devastating shipwrecks, Hornby Lighthouse still stands at the edge of South Head..
From the Community
London, United Kingdom
Piccadilly Circus Station
Piccadilly Circus Station, built in 1906 and reshaped underground by Charles Holden, remains the true heart of the square—moving millions quietly beneath the neon above.
From the Community
Beograd, Serbia
Boem Bar Brasserie
Skadarlija, a historic street in Belgrade, is the epitome of bohemian charm.
From the Community
Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard
Northernmost
Ny-Ålesund, populated by a few dozen people, is the world’s northernmost permanent settlement.
Svalbard, Svalbard
Where Polar Bears Apply
Polar bears are collectively referred to as an “aurora” or as a “celebration”—until you find yourself face-to-face with one.
Sisimiut and Ilulissat, Greenland
Greenland Airports
Flights to Greenland are rarely taken on a whim, so visitors are likely aware that they’ve signed up to arrive at the edge of the world.
From the Community
Ha’apiti, French Polynesia
Église de la Sainte Famille
Before diving in to play Marco Polo with treacherous friends-with-fins, it’s not a bad idea to visit the Église and offer up a prayer.
Seoul, South Korea
Bongeunsa Temple
Entering feels like a gentle escape into an oasis with lanterns.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Hotel Uzbekistan
As a Uzbek proverb says, “Respect for bread, respect for nation.
From the Community
New Braunfels, Texas, United States
Camp Fimfo – Texas Hill Country
What's more fun that inside? Outside.
AWA visted here
Presented with
Waco, Texas, United States
Dr Pepper Museum
The oldest major soft drink in the US of A.
AWA visted here
Presented with
