10 Surprising Sites in the World’s Most Popular Cities

You may think you’ve heard of all Paris, London, Tokyo, or any of the world’s major cities have to offer. But behind the famous landmarks and crowded shops hide some surprising points of interest, right in the heart of some of the most touristy destinations. From a mysterious severed hand to an instrument played by the sea, these sites amaze, delight, and baffle passersby. Below are just a few of our favorite odd spots to seek out in dark alleyways, secret caves, or even hidden in plain sight in the world’s most popular cities.

Sculptures de Décure, Paris, France

Struck in miniature with surprising and exquisite detail, these carvings provide a sudden and eye-opening understanding of the people who worked below ground, toiling every day to chip out the rock that gave a face to the beloved city above. Before the Catacombs were the resting place for some 7,000 Parisians, the subterranean tunnels were a stone quarry used to build the city above. Quarry worker Décure, a former soldier in the army of King Louis XV, found a hidden room in the underground network. Between 1777 and 1782, he came here in secrecy to carve three sculptures recounting his memories from the war.

Mushizuka at Kan’ei-ji Temple, Tokyo, Japan

Close to Tokyo’s Ueno Park, the Kan’ei-ji temple is a quiet pagoda far removed from the hustle and bustle of the park’s touristy zoo and museums. Few visitors stop by, and most of those who do come for its historical significance: It was here in 1869 that supporters of the emperor attacked the forces of the last Tokugawa shogun. It’s said there are still bullet holes in the temple’s wooden walls. But look closer, and you’ll find another claim to fame. The temple is home to a simple engraved stone—a memorial to the souls of insects that died in the name of science.

Byward Tower Hand, London, England

After passing through security and before picking up headphones, the first building visitors encounter at the Tower of London is known as Byward Tower. King Henry III had this protective structure built in the 1200s. The name is derived from the quote, “By the Warders who use this building as their Head Quarters.” One of the tower’s most interesting and mysterious features is hidden in plain view. Behind a foggy piece of glass brick rests the form of a human hand. No one is sure how or why it’s there. Even the Yeomen Warders, who are tasked with guarding the stronghold, aren’t sure of its origin or purpose.

La Isla de las Muñecas (Island of the Dolls), Mexico City, Mexico

Over 50 years ago, Don Julian Santana left his wife and child and moved onto an island on Teshuilo Lake in the Xochimilco canals. According to some, a young girl drowned in the lake, though many others (including his relatives) say Santana merely imagined the drowned girl. Regardless, Santana devoted his life to honoring this lost soul in a unique, fascinating, and—for some—unnerving way: He collected and hung up dolls by the hundreds. Eventually, Santana transformed the entire island into a kind of bizarre, potentially horrifying, doll-infested wonderland.

Brooklyn Grange Farms and Apiary, New York City, United States

Since 2010, Brooklyn Grange has been supplying New York City with produce grown several stories above ground. Despite its name, the flagship location is actually in Queens where it occupies a single acre on the roof of the Standard Motor Products building. The second, slightly larger farm sits atop Building Number Three of the historic Brooklyn Navy Yard. Together, these two farms comprise a total of 108,000 square feet—a little more than two acres. It’s not much space by farm standards, but it’s enough room to grow around 40,000 pounds of produce each year, support the largest apiary in the city, and make the operations the largest rooftop soil farm in the world, at home in the middle of the bustling city.

Ottoman Bird Palaces, Istanbul, Turkey

Look up while roaming the streets of Istanbul, and you may see little palaces carved into the sides of its mosques and schools. The city’s birds have been calling these ornamented miniature mansions home for centuries. People had been building birdhouses before the dawn of the Ottoman Empire, but they weren’t as ornate. Creating the little bird palaces went beyond pure aesthetic appeal. It was said that building the houses and showing such kindness for the city’s feathered residents was a way to curry favor with God. The structures also kept birds from nesting inside buildings.

Beco do Batman, São Paulo, Brazil

In a city full of graffiti and street art, no place is more impressive than São Paulo’s Beco do Batman (Batman Alley), an open-air gallery of street art that started with a simple picture of the titular vigilante. Beco do Batman is an area near Vila Madalena where three alleys meet. Every inch of wall at the dense urban crossroads is covered with paint, and the pieces even extend down onto the sidewalks. Well-known street artists from not only Brazil but throughout the world are attracted by this sanctuary of graffiti and come to make their marks, however transient they may be.

The Wave Organ, San Francisco, United States

In 1986, a magical, musical sea instrument was built on a jetty in the San Francisco Bay. In collaboration with the Exploratorium, artist Peter Richards built an acoustic sculpture that amplifies the sounds of the waves in the bay. The instrument comprises more than 20 PVC and concrete pipes that extend down into the water at various elevations. When the waves roll in, the pipes resound with liquid music—low, gurgling notes that ebb and flow with the restless movement of the ocean and the changing of the tides.

The Aquarium Grotto Garden, Cairo, Egypt

Tucked within a gorgeous garden on the island Zamalek in the Nile River lies a cool, shady hideaway for young lovers. The garden is home to beautiful caves that once contained several aquariums with fish swimming in the clear blue water. For what was most likely economic reasons, people stopped maintaining the aquariums. All that’s left is the green park with caves, trees, vials of preserved fish, and old tanks with taxidermied fish. Today, the park is mostly used as a quiet meeting place for young couples, away from noisy Cairo and nosy parents.

Giant Swing, Bangkok, Thailand

At 88 feet tall, Bangkok’s Giant Swing dwarfs nearby Wat Suthat and other surrounding buildings. The swing was originally built in 1784, under the direction of King Rama I. For centuries, the Giant Swing played a central role in annual swing ceremonies that symbolically reenacted elements of Hindu origin stories. In Hindu mythology, Brahma tested the stability of the newly created world by ordering Shiva to stand on a mountain while giant snakes tried to shake him to the ground. The swing ceremony had teams of Thai men in elaborate headdresses competing to launch themselves into the air, where they would use their teeth to catch a sack of coins tied to the top of a pole more than 80 feet above the ground. The stability of the swing and presumed success of the swingers represented the unshakable Shiva of Hindu legend.