Toilets Worth Visiting (9 Photos)

Public Toilets People Travel to See

Most public toilets are places you leave as fast as you can. These get visitors on purpose. In a small New Zealand town, the toilet block is the main sight. In Tokyo, star architects designed park toilets, one of them with walls you can see through. The rest run from Roman ruins to a Victorian men’s room on a Scottish pier.

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☕ Café Achteck — Berlin, Germany 🇩🇪

A green, eight-sided cast-iron urinal under the trees in Berlin’s Wedding district. The first ones went up in 1879. Berliners nicknamed them Café Achteck, “Café Octagon,” because this is where you get rid of your coffee.

💡 Berlin Fact: By 1920 the city had 142 of them; only 11 of the originals still exist, and some are protected monuments.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsCafé AchteckPekinger Platz, Wedding, BerlinCast ironListed monumentPekinger Platz1It is one of the few standing urinals from the German Empire still in Berlin, and a listed monument.Berlin.de, Mitte2Of the 142 Cafés Achteck installed in Berlin by 1920, only 11 of the original structures still exist.Berlin Senate, 20251890Built around 1890 on the square · Berlin.de, Mitte201319 NovPhotographed on Nordufer · Miriam Guterland202415 SepReported as Wedding’s last one · WeddingweiserRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Miriam Guterland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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🔍 Transparent Toilets — By Shigeru Ban in Tokyo, Japan 🇯🇵

Blue and green glass walls let you look straight inside the toilet in Haru-no-Ogawa Community Park. That is the idea: you can check that it is clean and empty before you walk in. Lock the door and the glass turns opaque. The first time still takes some trust.

💡 Design Fact: Ban built two of these for The Tokyo Toilet project, and both opened on August 5, 2020. At night they light up the park like lanterns.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsTransparent ToiletsShigeru Ban · 2020 · Haru-no-Ogawa Community Park, TokyoShigeru BanColoured glass wallsTHE TOKYO TOILET1The coloured glass walls let people check from outside that the toilet is clean and empty; they turn opaque when the door is locked.THE TOKYO TOILET2In cold weather the city keeps the walls opaque all the time, from mid-October to mid-May.Shibuya City notice, 202320205 AugOpened to the public · Nippon Foundation20211 AprPhotographed in the park · Syced202214 DecWalls kept opaque in cold weather · Shibuya City20235 OctPhotographed at night · 鋸香具師202313 OctSeasonal opaque operation announced · Shibuya City20244 JanNotice: walls kept opaque until mid-May 2024 · 鋸香具師2025JunShown on an architect’s blog · Naoki KataokaRead the full file →

📷 Photo and cover crop: Syced / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

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🌈 The Hundertwasser Toilets — By Friedensreich Hundertwasser in Kawakawa, New Zealand 🇳🇿

Fat ceramic columns in red, blue and purple hold up a grass-topped roof, and a tree grows straight through the middle. Hundertwasser lived near Kawakawa from the mid-’70s and designed the town’s public toilets. Local volunteers built them with bricks from an old Bank of New Zealand building and recycled bottles.

💡 Heritage Fact: The toilets opened in 1999, and Hundertwasser died a year later. Students from the local Bay of Islands College made the ceramic tiles. In 2023 the toilets were listed as a Category 1 Historic Place.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsHundertwasser ToiletsFriedensreich Hundertwasser · 1999 · Kawakawa, New ZealandCategory 1 heritage placeRecycled bricks and bottlesLiving roof1Students from Bay of Islands College prepared the ceramic tiles for the 1999 rebuild.Heritage New Zealand2A 1:20 model, dated August 1998, was made by Richard Smart in collaboration with Hundertwasser.Hundertwasser archive1998Aug1:20 model made with Richard Smart · Hundertwasser archive1999Toilets remade to Hundertwasser’s design · Heritage New Zealand20061 MarPhotographed, exterior · Gillfoto, in the heritage record201615 OctPhotographed on the main street · Petr Kraus20195 MarPhotographed, interior · Shellie Evans, in the heritage record202326 FebPhotographed for the heritage record · Bill Edwards202329 JunEntered on the heritage list, Category 1 · Heritage New ZealandRead the full file →

📷 Photo and cover crop: Petr Kraus / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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🚽 The Victorian Toilets — Rothesay, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Dark marble urinal stalls stand around a central column on a patterned mosaic floor, in a men’s toilet built on Rothesay’s West Pier in 1899. Historic Environment Scotland lists it at Category A and calls it “an outstanding and rare surviving example of a high-quality Victorian public convenience.” Even the cisterns above the urinals have glass sides.

💡 Plumbing Fact: The fittings came from Twyfords and cost £530. A much later restoration cost almost £300,000.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsVictorian ToiletsRothesay Harbour Trustees · 1899 · Rothesay, Isle of ButeTwyfords fittingsCategory A listedIsle of Bute1Three glass-sided marble cisterns sit above the wall urinals; a central hexagonal urinal range stands in the middle.Historic Environment Scotland2By 1990 the toilets had been closed for ten years before preservation work brought them back into use.Architectural Heritage Fund1899Commissioned by Rothesay Harbour Trustees · Historic Environment Scotland19873 JunAdded to the list of buildings · Historic Environment Scotland1990Closed for ten years; first AHF award · Architectural Heritage Fund1994Reopened after restoration · Gazetteer for Scotland201121 NovListing updated; Category A · Historic Environment Scotland20167 JunPhotographed inside · DeFactoRead the full file →

📷 Photo: DeFacto / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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🌸 The Bryant Park Restroom — New York City, USA 🇺🇸

A carved stone building with “WOMEN · MEN” over the door, just off 42nd Street in Bryant Park. Inside there are two attendants at all times, fresh flowers and classical music. In Midtown Manhattan, that is close to a miracle.

💡 Restroom Fact: A 2017 makeover cost $280,000, and in 2011 the travel site VirtualTourist named it No. 1 in the world.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsBryant Park Restroom1911 · Bryant Park, New York CityBeaux-ArtsBuilt with the libraryBryant Park1The New York Times called it “a 315-square-foot Beaux-Arts gem” that draws the longest lines in the park.The New York Times (via Bryant Park)2The Times reported that its attendants, fresh flowers and seat covers would all return after the 2017 renovation.The New York Times (via Bryant Park)1911Completed with the library · Bryant Park history1990sReopened in the early 1990s · The New York Times20175 AprRenovation reported before reopening · The New York Times201728 AprReopens after the renovation · Time Out New York202328 DecPhotographed from the front · SnowFireRead the full file →

📷 Photo: SnowFire / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

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🚹 The Last Vespasienne — Paris, France 🇫🇷

A dark green metal street urinal on Boulevard Arago, in front of the high wall of La Santé prison. Paris had about 1,200 of these by 1930. This is the only one left.

💡 Name Fact: People first called them “Rambuteau columns,” after the prefect who introduced them, until he suggested naming them after Vespasian instead. That Roman emperor, according to Suetonius, taxed public toilets, then held a coin from the first payment under his son’s nose: “Yet it comes from urine.” The line “money doesn’t smell” is a later saying built on that story.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThe Last VespasienneBoulevard Arago · ParisVespasienneBoulevard AragoBeside La Santé prison1In 2012 Paris Update called it the only one left in Paris, “a double drainer on Boulevard Arago”.Paris Update, 20122According to Atlas Obscura, an attached plaque calls it “la dernière vespasienne de Paris” (the last vespasienne in Paris).Atlas Obscura2009MarPhotographed by the prison wall · LPLT201227 MarStill standing, worn · Paris Update20174 Feb“Only one has been kept” · French Moments202317 SepPhotographed beside the prison wall · Mbzt2024AugPlaque installed, says the photographer · Gaylussac8937202428 SepPhotographed · Gaylussac89372025JulCalled unusable today · Paris Zigzag202521 NovListed as still usable · Atlas ObscuraRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Mbzt / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

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🏛️ The Roman Latrines — Ephesus, Turkey 🇹🇷

A long marble bench with a row of keyhole-shaped holes, no walls between them, above a channel of running water. These public latrines in ancient Ephesus were built in the 1st century AD over a channel with a constant flow of water. The benches had 48 seats along three walls, so people sat shoulder to shoulder. Privacy was not part of the plan.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsPublic Latrines of Ephesus1st century CE · Ephesus, TürkiyeMarble benchesScholastica BathsEphesus1The marble toilets stood side by side with no partition wall between them.Menemen State Hospital2Built over a channel of running water, it was flushed with grey water from the Scholastica Baths.Turkish Archaeological News1st c.CEBuilt over a running-water channel · Turkish Archaeological News20158 AprPhotographed on site · Carole Raddato202030 JanDescribed on an Ephesus page · Menemen State Hospital202028 DecIllustrated account · Turkish Archaeological News202323 MayPhotographed on site · Warren LeMay20257 OctPhotographed on site · Giorgio GaleottiRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Carole Raddato / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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☂️ Amayadori — By Tadao Ando in Tokyo, Japan 🇯🇵

A round toilet wrapped in vertical metal louvers, under a wide circular roof in Jingu-Dori Park. Ando named it Amayadori, which means taking shelter from the rain. The space under the roof is meant as a place to rest, toilet or not.

💡 Tokyo Fact: It opened on September 7, 2020, as part of The Tokyo Toilet, a project with 17 toilets by 16 designers.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsAmayadoriTadao Ando · 2020 · Jingu-Dori Park, TokyoCircular floor planVertical metal louversTHE TOKYO TOILET1Ando chose a circular floor plan with a spanning roof and an engawa, a sheltered edge like a veranda.THE TOKYO TOILET2Daiwa House Industry handled design and construction, with layout support from TOTO.TECTURE MAG20207 SepMedia preview before public use · TECTURE MAG202014 SepCompleted toilet reported · Dezeen202015 SepCompletion report and project data · Metalocus202426 OctPhotographed in Jingu-Dori Park · sergejfRead the full file →

📷 Photo: sergejf / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

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🪖 The Roman Fort Latrines — Hadrian’s Wall, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Stone walls, water channels and two stone basins are what remain of the communal toilets at Housesteads Roman Fort in Northumberland. English Heritage calls them the best preserved Roman loos in Britain. At its height the fort held 800 men, all using this one block in northern English weather.

💡 Roman Fact: There were no cubicles and no toilet paper. Many used a sponge on a stick, washed and shared.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsRoman Fort LatrinesHousesteads Roman Fort · Hadrian’s Wall, EnglandRoman fort latrinesStone cisternsHadrian’s Wall1English Heritage calls them the best-preserved stone-built latrines, cisterns and water channels of any Roman fort in Britain.English Heritage2There were no cubicles, so the soldiers sat side by side.English Heritage1930Fort given to the National Trust · English Heritage201430 Sep“Top 10 Toilets Through Time” published · English Heritage20173 JulPhotographed at the fort · Carole Raddato202412 AugPhotographed at the fort · Michael GarlickRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Carole Raddato / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)