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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 CommunityAll Places
Nancy, France
Grand Nancy Métropole Meurthe-et-Moselle
Built in 1908 by refugees from German-annexed Alsace, Nancy's Chamber of Commerce married art with industry as cultural resistance.
From the Community
Nancy, France
Musée de l’École de Nancy
Nancy's Art Nouveau movement was born from displacement—refugees fleeing German annexation created 'art for all.'
From the Community
Skopje, North Macedonia
Matka Exhibition Center
Handle 80-year-old dials in a control room frozen in time when the new plant opened next door.
From the Community
Budapest, Hungary
St. Stephens Hall
Destroyed in WWII, Budapest's St. Stephen's Hall lay dormant for 76 years before its 600-piece Zsolnay fireplace rose again.
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
Plains, Montana, United States
Old Camas Prairie School Gymnasium
A tiny Prairie-style gymnasium lit by Delco generators until 1951, now a pink relic along Highway 28.
From the Community
Kerry, Ireland
Dan Foley’s Pub
The most-photographed pub in Kerry was run by a member of the Magic Circle- and yes, "it's an illusion."
From the Community
Paris, France
Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre
Sacré-Cœur's travertine stone self-cleans with every rainstorm, releasing calcite that recoats the basilica white.
From the Community
Newquay, United Kingdom
SeaSpace
Newquay's newest hotel sits between Britain's surf heritage and its humpback whale comeback- swim, spot whales, repeat.
From the Community
Kathmandu, Nepal
Durbar Square
Three rival Malla kings turned sibling rivalry into an architectural competition that lasted 300 years and produced 150+ temples.
From the Community
Leknes, Norway
Haukland Beach Cafe
A beachside café in the Arctic Circle where the first 20 minutes of parking are free- just enough time to test the 9°C water.
From the Community
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The AWA Bulletin: A quick & curated bi-weekly break
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Playa Grande
When Argentine aristocrats tired of crowds, they founded their own beach in 1912. With better waves.
From the Community
Norman, Oklahoma, United States
Bizzell Memorial Library
Library stacks holding books but also important history.
From the Community
Paris, France
Eiffel Tower
The con man who sold the Eiffel Tower twice... because the first buyer was too embarrassed to call the cops.
Karkala, India
St. Lawrence Minor Basilica
A basilica in Karnataka that looks like a Disney castle, built on the spot where a wooden statue of St. Lawrence refused to be carried further.
From the Community
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Rio Grande Depot
The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad spent $750,000 in 1910 to outshine a competitor, then sold the depot for a dollar in 1977.
From the Community
Naryn, Kyrgyzstan
Song Kol Lake
Song Kol sits under snow for 200 days each year. Families arrive in June, hang laundry from vans, graze herds, then vanish by October.
From the Community
Aalborg, Denmark
Aalborg Old City Hall
For 150 years, nine people ran this city hall with a jail in the basement - now it only governs vows and wedding ceremonies.
From the Community
Colfosco, Italy
Colfosco
The world's largest ski area exists because one man in 1973 was annoyed about stopping to pay for lift tickets at every mountain.
From the Community
Lugano, Switzerland
Swiss Customs Museum
A museum with no roads and a submarine built to smuggle salami across Lake Lugano—one succeeded, the other never left shore.
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Palm Springs, California, United States
Lincoln Continental Mark IV Convertible
Palm Springs: 354 days of sunshine, eight miles per gallon, and the belief that physics is optional if you refuse to acknowledge it.
From the Community
Courchevel, France
Courchevel Cable Car
The word "altiport" was invented in 1961 for this runway—where landings have no second chances and arrival is a declaration.
From the Community
Creemore, Ontario, Canada
Creemore Springs Brewery
Mauled by a tiger during the Depression, sold a brewery for $25 million at 74.
From the Community
Rheinfelden, Switzerland
Feldschlösschen Brewery
A warm winter nearly destroyed Switzerland's largest brewery before it began.
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
Albert Hall
A town hall turned museum housing an Egyptian mummy, because Jaipur doesn't do anything halfway.
Jaipur, India
Dera Mandawa
Built in 1885 as a courtly crash pad, this eleven-suite haveli now runs on biogas made from the family's own cows.
AWA visted here
Jaipur, India
Abode Hotel
A design-forward haveli beyond Jaipur's bazaars where handcrafted tiles and rooftop breezes replace palace-scale grandeur.
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
Jaipur, India
The Johri
Five suites inside a Johari Bazaar haveli where gem traders operate outside and rooftop dinners overlook Jaipur's chaotic rooftops.
AWA visted here
Jaipur, India
Monkey Temple
This temple honors the elephant god but houses hundreds of monkeys who commute to Jaipur daily to steal and pickpocket.
AWA visted here
Jaipur, India
Anokhi Museum
Faith Singh rescued Rajasthan's dying block-print tradition in 1970, then opened a museum in a 16th-century haveli to preserve it.
AWA visted here