Since we’ve got nowhere to go but up, I thought I’d look for unusual and beautiful public staircases from around the world. My search turned up some real beauties! Although many of these examples are found in some of the world’s most dangerous places, in locations where violence is a regular occurrence and war is never far away, still the human spirit triumphs, at least in this small way.

I am forever in awe of people’s creativity and artistry and vision. Their remarkable ability to make beautiful something as utilitarian as a simple staircase, a way to get from here to there, never fails to amaze me. This is one of the reasons I just love the internet. Where else could we have gotten (in such short order) such a wonderfully diverse selection of lovely things?

Enjoy! (I have included locations and photo credits beneath each picture wherever I could.)