Europe's most amazing and, at times, amusing toilets
As any experienced traveller knows, you can tell a whole lot about a place by its bathrooms.
Whatever you prefer to call them – lavatory, loo, bog, khasi, thunderbox, dunny, washroom or water closet – toilets are a window into the secret soul of a destination.
So, wherever you’re reading this, we hope you’re sitting comfortably.
UK
Sketch London,
Don’t panic! These aren’t alien eggs waiting to hatch in a futuristic world. They’re the famous toilet pods at Sketch restaurant, one of London’s swankiest eateries.
Ireland
Thatched toilet, Gougane Barra,
Gougane Barra in County Cork, Ireland, has been a refuge – a retreat from the cruel world and a spot for quiet contemplation.
UK
Tardis, Warmley,
Inside the ‘Who Loo’, you’ll find a flash, fully functional and flushable Victorian-style convenience, complete with sensor-operated flashing lights and sound effects.
Germany
‘Between the Waters’, Emscherkunst,
In true Teutonic unflinching fashion, the Between the Waters installation follows waste water from several sources – including twin toilets dramatically suspended the Emscher River.
Germany
St Peter-Ording,
The sea reigns supreme in Germany’s Northern Friesland, with several villages having been swallowed by storm tides the community began building structures on stilts – including the public toilets.
Austria
Schönbrunn Castle toilets, Vienna,
These leafy conveniences are found in the vast verdant grounds of Vienna’s 17th-century Schönbrunn Castle.
Germany
Sony Center, Berlin,
Everything is uber modern in the Helmut Jahn–designed Sony Center in Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz, including the men’s room.
UK
Pop-up urinal, London,
This hydraulic UriLift urinal can be summoned from the ground in Paddington, London, whenever it’s required, and sent back to whence it came once business has been concluded.
See more porcelain pews with fantastic views, audacious attention-seeking urban outhouses, and eco-thrones made from sticks and stones in all sorts of wild settings.
A visit to Nyungwe National Park, where it’s possible to hike through the thick forests to share time with one of our other nearest relatives, the chimpanzee.