According to Wikipedia there are 37 documented places with a single resident. There may of course be many more not yet listed on Wikipedia, so if you know of one, leave a comment here and I might just edit the Wikipedia page myself!

Onwards to our whirlwind tour, are you ready? Let’s go!

In Canada, there the towns of Raley and Masinasin in Alberta; and in Saskatchewan the towns of Crichton, Estuary, Loomis Ravenscrag, South Fork and Vidora

To Estonia next, and the villages of Koipsi and Rammu which are on neighbouring islands.

The Faroe Islands are next with Nesvík and Mjørkadalur.

Onwards to France and the village of Rochefourchat, with its single house and church. Moving south to New Zealand and the village of Cass. Back North to Polana in Poland and Naimakka, a weather station, in Sweden (you can read about Naimakka’s resident via Google Translate).

To England next with Hilbre Island and Steep Holm (we’re half way through, hope you can keep up!) Scotland is next on the list with Eilean Donan (once home to Connor MacLeod), Forewick Holm, Innis Chonan, Sanda and Shuna.

Finally, to the final country on our tour, the United States, where the state of Maine has Criehaven and Hibberts Gore, Minnesota has Kiel Township and the oddly named Township 157-30, New Hampshire has Dix’s Grant and Green’s Grant. Then there’s Bonanza in Utah, Hanks in North Dakota, Hobart Bay in Alaska, Holy City in California, Laurier in Washington state, Monowi in Nebraska and last, but by no means least, Oil Springs Reservation in New York state.

Most of the places we visited today have an entry in Wikipedia, where you can usually find more information about what happened to these places. Many of the towns are on the verge of becoming proper ghost towns, but for people in others there is a strange sense of pride that comes from being the only resident.

Locations: Alaska, Alberta, California, England, Estonia, Faroe Islands, France, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, New Zealand, Poland, Saskatchewan, Scotland, Sweden, Utah, Washington, Wyoming / Categories: Abandoned, Weirdness

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Top ten tallest lighthouses

The world’s tallest lighthouse is the 133m (436 ft) Jeddah Light in Saudi Arabia, which doubles as the control tower for this busy commercial port. The white tower and dome can be seen from about 40km away, and it’s a vital marker on this coastline which is dotted with dangerous coral reefs.

The second-tallest lighthouse is technically a monument rather than a true navigational aid, and is unfortunately (for us) located on an island in Lake Erie which is only covered by low-resolution satellite imagery. The 107m (351 ft) tall granite tower has the somewhat unwieldy title of “Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial”, and it commemorates a US naval victory over Britain in the War of 1812.

Just one metre shorter is the Yokohama Tower which also stretches the true definition of a lighthouse. While it is illuminated, the tower mainly serves as a tourist attraction with an observation deck and restaurant offering views of the city.

From here on we’re looking at more traditional lighthouses, built solely to serve as beacons for shipping. The fourth tallest lighthouse is found on the island of Île Vierge off the north-west coast of France. Built in the late 1800s, this lighthouse (like many around the world) has today been automated, though in this case a lighthouse keeper still lives on site. Despite the hazy image, Street View from the nearest point on the mainland gives us a good idea of how immense it is.

The Lanterna is one of the most famous landmarks in the Italian port of Genoa, and a lighthouse has stood on this spot since the 12th century.

The existing 77m (253 ft) tall structure dates to the 16th century, though it has been repaired many times following damage from lightning strikes and military action. While it’s visible from many parts of the city, it really needs to be seen from up close to be truly appreciated. There’s also a good museum at its base, though you’ll need to find your way past the busy ramps used by trucks going to and from the port.

Back to France for the sixth tallest lighthouse – the Phare de Gatteville. At 75m (246 ft), the granite tower was the tallest in the world when it was constructed in the 1830s.

The recent launch of Street View imagery in Russia gives us a good look at the seventh tallest lighthouse – the Lesnoy Mole Rear Range Light in the commercial port of St Petersburg. The distinctive red and white stripes of this 73m (240 ft) tall structure also identify it as a range light – a marker to help sea traffic approach a narrow channel.

The eighth and ninth tallest are just a few kilometres apart on Hainan island in China. The Mulantou and Baishamen lighthouses are both 72m (236 ft) tall and mark the narrow strait between the island and the mainland.

Finally, the tenth tallest lighthouse in the world is the Storozhenskiy Light on Russia’s Lake Ladoga, but sadly it isn’t visible on satellite view yet.

Tall lighthouses around the world

The tallest lighthouse in the southern hemisphere is the Recalada a Bahía Blanca Light in Argentina – a 67m (220 ft) tall iron tower allegedly built by the same company that built the Eiffel Tower.

The recently launched Street View imagery in Poland allows us to see the world’s tallest brick lighthouse – the 65m (213 ft) tall Świnoujście Lighthouse.

The tallest lighthouse in the US is the Cape Hatteras Light in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Originally built in the 1860s, the structure was moved inland several hundred metres in 1999 to protect it from shore erosion. This video shows how it was moved.

The UK’s tallest lighthouse sits on a remote rock called Skerryvore off the west coast of Scotland, and isn’t visible on Google Maps, so instead let’s travel to Africa, where the tallest lighthouse is the Nosy Alañaña Light on the tiny Île aux Prunes off Madagascar.

Locations: Argentina, China, France, Italy, Japan, Madagascar, North Carolina, Ohio, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia / Categories: Monuments, Shadows, Street Views, Structures, Towers, Watercraft

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Northernmost High-Resolution Imagery – Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada

Although the north coast of Greenland is slightly more northern than Ellesmere Island, Ellesmere Island is still plenty far north at 83.1°N, where we find this lone, random shot of ice breaking up on the Arctic coast of Canada’s northernmost island about 175 km (108 miles) northwest of Alert¹, the northernmost settlement on Earth.

Northernmost City – Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway

With a population of just 75, Alert may be the northernmost permanent settlement but it can hardly be called a city. The northernmost place with a population over 1,000 is Longyearbyen, the capital of the Norwegian territory of Svalbard. Because of both its size (just over 2,000 people) and location (78.2°N), Longyearbyen is home to numerous ‘northernmosts’ – the northernmost church, the northernmost bank machine, and even the northernmost blues festival!

Northernmost Street View – Nordkapp, Norway

At 71.1°N, European Route E69 is the northernmost road connected to continental Europe, snaking its way to the Arctic coast at Nordkapp (North Cape). The Street View images at the end of the road provide viewers with views of the Nordkapphallen tourist centre and a ceremonial cairn.

Northernmost Active Volcano – Beerenberg, Jan Mayen, Norway

The 2,277 m (7,470 ft) Beerenberg forms the backbone of the remote Norwegian Sea island of Jan Mayen at a latitude of 71°N. Beerenberg’s crater may be filled with ice, but fissures on the northeast slope have erupted with lava as recently as 1985.

Northernmost Golf Course – Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada

The isolated village of Ulukhaktok on Victoria Island may not have much in the way of grass, but it still has a nine-hole golf course at 70.7°N. It may be hard to see on the satellite imagery, but look very closely and you’ll see little dots along the roadside – these are the artificial greens and tees necessary to play the barren course.

Northernmost Ski Resort – Riksgränsen, Kiruna, Sweden

Surprisingly far south (68.4°N) is the resort of Riksgränsen on the Sweden/Norway border. Almost bereft of trees, Riksgränsen is famous for its steep powder faces and huge rock drops, making it a must-visit for freeriders, extreme skiers, and anyone who enjoys skiing after midnight in the Arctic sun.

Northernmost Banana Plantation – Agricultural University of Iceland, Hveragerði, Iceland

Yes, they actually grow bananas at 64°N! Like many Icelandic towns, Hveragerði is built atop large reserves of geothermal energy – in fact, it lies on the southern slopes of the vast Hengill volcano. The huge amount of underground heat produced by the volcano actually makes it possible to grow bananas here as long as there is a roof overhead to keep away the cool air.

Northernmost Stone Castle – Olavinlinna, Savonlinna, Finland

Dating back to 1475, this three-tower castle sits on a small island at 61.9°N in the heart of the great Saimaa, the fourth-largest lake in Europe. The castle was built by Sweden in order to help lay claim to the land that would become Finland. For the past century, the island castle has served as the stage for the annual Savonlinna Opera Festival.

Northernmost Palm Trees – Southern France

While cultivated palm trees can be grown many hundreds of kilometres north with proper care, the furthest north that palms occur in nature is 44°N in southern France. As seen here on the promenade at Nice, they aren’t exact towering at this latitude; perhaps that’s why this species (Chamaerops humilis) is commonly known as the Mediterranean dwarf palm.

Northernmost Coral Atoll – Kure Atoll, Hawaii, United States

We end our list of northernmost items almost in the tropics. Located at a balmy 28.4°N is Kure Atoll, which is not only the northernmost atoll but the westernmost Hawaiian island. The atoll has but one island, Green Island, which is home to an unmaintained airstrip and an abandoned US Coast Guard station. Kure is set aside as a wildlife sanctuary and is home to tens of thousands of birds.

Locations: Finland, France, Hawaii, Iceland, Northwest Territories, Norway, Nunavut, Sweden / Categories: Islands, Natural Landmarks, Stadiums and Sport, Street Views, Structures, Volcanoes, Weirdness

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Titanic was owned by the White Star Line shipping company and at 269m (882 ft) in length she was the world’s largest passenger liner in service at the time. She was one of three Olympic class ocean liners commissioned by the company, the other two being the HMHS Britannic (who was sunk after 11 months service during WWI) and their older sibling, RMS Olympic (who served a long career, earning the nickname “Old Reliable”).

KML file via GPSed.com

All three of the Olympic class liners were built by Harland and Wolff (who are still in business) in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The drydock where the ship was fitted out has been preserved as a museum to this day, and the 259m long space gives us a clear view of the massive ‘physical footprint of the Titanic’.

Nearby we can see Belfast’s iconic twin shipbuilding gantry cranes Samson and Goliath (who are owned by Harland & Wolff). By comparison the drydock beneath these 70m (229 ft) tall cranes is 556m (1,824 ft) long – in fact it’s the largest drydock in the world.¹

Also nearby is the SS Nomadic – a ship built by Harland and Wolff as a tender for Olympic and Titanic. Today she is the last surviving White Star Line vessel in the world. In the aerial imagery here she is not much more than a hull, but Harland and Wolff have in the past few months completed an initial phase of restoration that replaced the missing bridge and flying bridge decks, as seen in this ground level photo.

Soon after Titanic sank, proposals were made to salvage her wreck (despite the fact that her exact location was unknown). Of course even if divers had been able to somehow locate the wreck, they couldn’t get anywhere near deep enough to actually retrieve anything.

Despite repeated attempts to locate her, Titanic remained resolutely lost for the next 73 years, until she was finally found by a team led by Dr. Robert D. Ballard on 1 September 1985.

Titanic is in two main pieces 600km (370 miles) south-east of Newfoundland. The bow is located here, and the stern is here, about 600m (1,970 ft) to the south.

James “deep sea diver” Cameron and his digital effects team recently created a new animation of how they believe Titanic collided with the iceberg, sank, and reached the ocean floor².

There are various museums around the world that have items on display that have been recovered from the wreck of Titanic, including the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia; the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich; the Sea City Museum in Southampton; the Merseyside Maritime Museum in Liverpool; the Titanic Historical Society’s museum in Massachusetts; and there’s a permanent exhibition of Titanic artefacts at the Luxor in Las Vegas.

While not strictly a museum, the White Swan Hotel, Alnwick, has an “Olympic Suite” which is decorated using paneling, mirrors, stained glass windows and other furnishings removed from the RMS Olympic‘s first class lounge when she was being dismantled in 1936. The first class lounge on Olympic was identical to that of Titanic so a visit here could potentially be a great way of experiencing Titanic‘s splendour.

Meanwhile, in Inverness, Scotland, this guy (the one next to Mater) has built a 100 ft Titantic replica out of a couple of old caravans and a shed. Sadly it seems that he was refused planning permission for the model, which now faces an uncertain future. I believe the model has been built on the other side of his house, so it isn’t visible on Street View, but could that be it in the satellite imagery?

Meanwhile, the wreck of Titanic continues to decay at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean, losing an estimated 100 kilos of hull per day to iron-eating bacteria, and within time she will disappear into the seabed completely.

Locations: England, New York, Northern Ireland / Categories: Monuments, Movie Locations, Street Views, Structures, Towers, Watercraft

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…but why write about things like that when we can show you a giant Einstein head made out of Lego bricks!

Yes, the symbol of scientific intellectual rebellion is just as familiar these days as an icon of advertising. From giant posters on Broadway chiding passers-by to assert themselves, to giant adverts for real estate developers painted on the sides of inner-city tattoo parlours, Albert Einstein is indeed everywhere – and he’s here to sell!¹

For example, check out this fairly detailed mural of Einstein on a windswept beach on the side of this Sao Paulo surfboard shop. His Hawaiian shirt even gets painted different colours based on the season.

Quite strangely, Einstein is the mascot for a barber shop in Taipei, because if there’s one hairstyle anyone wants to emulate, it’s Albert Einstein’s. ‘Yeah, I’ll have the “just inserted my finger in an electrical outlet”, thank you.’

Then, of course, there are the businesses which have aped the man’s name entirely. In particular, Einstein seems to be popular with restaurants. A university cafe like this one at the University of Toronto? Makes sense. A pizzeria in Prague? Not so much.

The most unlikely Einstein-related business, however, may be this dance club in Muro del Alcoy, Valencia, which prominently features a mural of Einstein next to a DJ in the middle of a set. One can only wonder which side old Albie would have taken in the UK funky/two-step revival debate.

This Einstein Day, don’t get sucked in by all of this crass commercialism. When your family is gathered around the wormhole in the sitting room tonight to sing relativity carols and watch Yahoo Serious movies, remember the real reason for the season.

Locations: Alberta, Australia, Brazil, Czech Republic, New Jersey, New York, Ontario, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan / Categories: Monuments, Street Views, Weirdness

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Street View has caught the aftermath of some merry mirthmakers’ acts of defamation: the classic prank known to the sages as ‘TPing’. In the US Mountain West, we’ve found at least two instances of houses engulfed in bathroom towelling (although the folks who did the deed in the second picture could really take a cue from the job done in the first picture, which was far more thorough).

Of course, if you really wanted to get someone good, perhaps you should just use something like this: a giant toilet paper roll the size of a small building. In actuality, it is a small building, namely the public toilet facilities at the Design Museum Gent in Ghent. Clever ones, those Belgians.

You never know when you’ll stumble upon a random toilet lying in the road. Plenty of North American households have mailboxes at the foot of their driveways, but how many have a toilet¹? Over in Paris, this toilet sits by itself at the foot of a tree. Let’s hope it’s being installed at the public toilet next door, because if it isn’t, then the city government has a rather poor sanitation strategy.

Then again, even when provided with the proper facilities, some people would rather just chance it, evidently. Dude, LOOK BEHIND YOU.

While not as outright weird as doing your business in a giant toilet paper roll, this public toilet building in Washington is rather unique, for it is built in the shape of a volcano. Perhaps due to the ‘eruptions’ going on inside.

If you’re not a fan of uniquely-shaped facilities, how about ones that are just plain big? We’re fairly certain that it was not the intention of the International Train & Trolley Museum outside of Orlando, Florida to be housed in a building that looks like it could be the world’s largest toilet, but that is indeed exactly how it appears.

A parting word of advice for when you do manage to find a public toilet nearby: for heaven’s sake, close the bloody door.

Locations: Belgium, Florida, France, Idaho, Ontario, Utah, Washington / Categories: Buildings, Rudeness, Street Views, Structures, Weirdness

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10. While not quite as lofty as its mountainous namesake, diners at Everest enjoy stellar views from the 40th floor of the Stock Exchange building.

An average price of $546 will get you a selection of Chef Joho’s specialties such as “Magret of Mulard Duck, Wild Pine Honey, Marinated Turnips à la Colmarienne” – one of a number of menu items which the menu identifies as “dishes upon which Everest has built its reputation”. Everest has a single Michelin star.

9. It costs just one dollar more for a meal at chef Daniel Boulud’s three-Michelin-starred eponymous restaurant² in Manhattan, shown on Street View undergoing a bit of door repair.

A highlight of the menu appears to be the “Duo of Four Story Hill Farm Poularde Demi-Deuil – Poached Breast with Savoy Cabbage Black Truffle Stuffed Leg, Chestnut, Albufera Sauce”, which is not your average chicken dinner.

8. Back to Chicago³ where Les Nomades ($558 but zero stars) is one of the few on this list that actually deigns to have an exterior sign.

The dessert menu caught my eye, particularly the “Warm chocolate tart with raspberries, white coffee bean ice cream, vanilla froth, chocolate sauce” … though I hope vanilla froth is more appetizing than it sounds.

7. Just two blocks to the north, the same amount of cash gets you a meal at Tru, where the single-star dining is discreetly hidden behind white curtains.

Again I felt compelled to turn to the dessert menu, where I would imagine the $15 “s’more (graham, chocolate, marshmallow)” is somewhat more extravagant than the standard campfire treat that would usually set you back a few cents.

6. Now to California, where Melisse in Los Angeles has an average bill of $576 but no stars. The slightly drab exterior is offset by a luxurious interior with purple walls, crisp white linens and roaring fireplaces.

The wine list runs to 67 pages and is topped off by a Chateau Latour priced at $7,750.

5. To Chicago again where we’ll assume that guests at chef Charlie Trotter’s two-starred eponymous showcase usually don’t arrive in a car with a dirty t-shirt covering the window!

Being vegetarian myself, I’m happy to see a Vegetable Menu on offer, which includes “A Study in Legumes with Collard Greens, Rutabaga & Anise”. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen any food, let alone greens and rutabaga, described as “a study” before. Should we be concerned that the average bill here is $666?

4. Less than a mile to the south is our final Chicago stop, and the only three-Michelin-starred restaurant in the city. Alinea’s imposing and cryptic grey exterior is matched by its imposing and cryptic grey website.

Here the average prices start to get truly astronomical. $736 can get you a 20 course meal featuring a hot potato with a cold potato, a black truffle explosion and a “Squab inspired by Miró“.⁴

3. Another eponymous restaurant is that of chef Michael Mina in San Francisco where the average bill is $844.

I couldn’t help noticing that the most expensive item on the menu is remarkably similar to the standard English Sunday lunch of roast beef, mashed potatoes and vegetables. $98 gets you “hay baked côte du boeuf for two, la ratte potato purée, crispy brussels sprouts”. But it’s the drinks menu where the real money is required, with a $250 Remy Martin Louis XIII cognac, or a $25,499 Chateau Lafleur 1945.

Mina has a Michelin star for both this restaurant and the other that carries his name in Las Vegas. He has 16 restaurants across the US.

The king of expensive restaurants is chef Thomas Keller, who operates our top two, on opposite sides of the country. Both have held three Michelin stars since the mid 2000s.

2. In New York, Per Se is located on the fourth floor of the Time Warner building at the south-west corner of Central Park.

With an average bill of $883, the menus change daily, and often include the names of farms and other suppliers of the luxury ingredients. On the day of writing highlights included “Tsar Imperial Osetra Caviar with Applewood Smoked Bacon, Scallop “Blini”, Creamed Spinach, Frisée and Nasturtium Caper Emulsion” and “Blackmore Ranch Australian Wagyu with Crispy Bone Marrow, Potato “Mille-Feuille”, Glazed Heirloom Carrots Watercress Salad and Sauce Bordelaise”. Respectively these cost $75 and $150 on top of the standard $295 prix fixe menu.

If nothing on the 88-page wine menu meets your taste, they will kindly allow you to bring your own wine … for a $90 corkage fee. The most expensive wine appears to be a magnum of Pétrus, which costs $30,250.

There is, of course a private dining room, and should you wish to provide your guests with a gift, there are several options including a collection of salts (French, English, Japanese and Hawaiian), truffle popcorn, or one of Keller’s cookbooks.

1. The most expensive restaurant in the US is tucked away in the tiny Napa Valley town of Yountville. Keller’s The French Laundry occupies a century-old building which was, in the 1920s, actually a steam laundry.

Operating in the same way as Per Se, with unique daily 9-course tasting menus, the average bill at The French Laundry is an astronomical $957. Sample dishes include “Herb-Roasted Salsify with Quail Egg, Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Piedmont Hazelnuts and Garden Mâche” and “Alpaco “Mousse au Chocolat” with Spice Pudding, “Panna Cotta”, Gros Michel Banana and Marcona Almond Glacée”.

While the wine menu is more extensive here (at 111 pages), it has only a handful of wines in the five-figure range. The Pétrus is again the most expensive, at $13,000 for a standard bottle.

If you have the financial resources to enjoy these restaurants you would probably also enjoy our Top 10 Most Expensive Hotel Rooms post from last year.

Locations: California, Illinois, New York / Categories: Buildings, Street Views

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Likely no death in music history shocked the world as did the murder of John Lennon on the steps of The Dakota apartment building in New York on 8 December 1980. Each year on that anniversary, a memorial procession is held in front of the building led by Yoko Ono that ends across the street at the appropriately named Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park. The Dakota itself is a rather stately building from the 1880s and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

The hazards of constant touring and travel mean that some of our musical heroes meet their demise on tour – such as Buddy Holly. And then there are those who simply run into misfortune on the way home from a night out, as did T. Rex’s Marc Bolan in 1977 when low tire pressure in the vehicle in which he was a passenger resulted in a crash with a tree in Queen’s Ride, Barnes. Fans quickly turned the site into an impromptu shrine, and tributes continue to arrive to this day.

Others who saw their time on Earth end in the midst of touring include Metallica’s Cliff Burton (who was killed in 1986 when he was thrown through the window of an overturning tour bus on this stretch of rural Swedish roadway), and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines – who all perished when their chartered plane crashed in this forest near the Mississippi-Louisiana border.

Perhaps the most infamous residence in rock history was the flat at 9 Curzon Square, Mayfair, London owned by Harry Nilsson. The cursed house was often lent by Nilsson to other musician friends while he was on tour, two of whom died while staying there: ‘Mama’ Cass Elliot in 1974 (and no, she didn’t choke to death on a ham sandwich) and Who drummer Keith Moon in 1978¹. Further to the north in London we find the Camden Square home of Amy Winehouse where she died in 2011.

Sadly, while we in the midst of compiling this post, another music legend, Whitney Houston, passed away in her suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on 11 February 2012 at the age of 48.

When famous musicians pass on, places like these can become rather busy memorial sites, often seeing thousands of visitors each year making pilgrimages in honour of their fallen heroes. The area surrounding the tomb of Jim Morrison at Paris’ Père Lachaise Cemetery, for example, became a haven for large crowds, vandalism, drunken parties, and even occult rituals over the years; at one point the grave had to be covered in stone in order to prevent attempts at digging up Morrison’s body.

Also in Paris sits this wall outside the longtime home of legendary French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. In the two-plus decades since Gainsbourg’s death, the wall has been consistently covered in graffiti, including poems, lyrics, and images of Gainsbourg.

There are also impromptu memorial sites that only last for a few days or weeks. Street View just happened to be travelling through Detroit in July 2009 shortly after Michael Jackson died, and captured Hitsville USA² – the former headquarters of Motown Records where the Jackson family got their start in the record business (now a museum) – which was temporarily swathed in an array of tributes and offerings.

Have you found other infamous music haunts such as these on Google Maps? Feel free to share them with us in the comments below.

Locations: California, England, France, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Sweden / Categories: Buildings, Monuments, Street Views, Weirdness

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Beauvais Airport, Paris

Paris-Beauvais is an interesting airport because it’s really not one of Paris’s main airports. Unlike the relative proximity Charles de Gaulle and Orly have to the centre of Paris, Beauvais is located 85 km outside the city. Smaller, low-cost airlines use Beauvais as a way to get passengers near(ish) Paris without having to deal with the prices of flying directly into the city. The frommers.com article calls Beauvais’s terminal “the pits”, and likens it to a “general half-tent, half-warehouse atmosphere.” Sounds great. And you’ve still got an hour to go before you get to the city!

Charles de Gaulle Airport, Terminal 3, Paris

It may be Paris’s best known airport, but Charles de Gaulle Airport didn’t make it away unscathed. Their terminal 3 made the list ranked as the 4th worst terminal in the world. Like Beauvais, it has also been compared to sleeping in a warehouse, a fact that could be attested to by the large homeless population that lives here.

Sheremetyevo Airport Terminal B & C, Moscow

Moscow’s largest airport made the list at number 3 with terminals B and C. Some of the reviews over at sleepinginairports.com said that “the atmosphere in the terminal building is awful”, it’s “dark like a cave”, and just plain dirty. One commenter says “If Putin really wants to clean up his country, this is where he should start”.

All three major airports, New York City

Not good news for passengers flying through New York – all three of New York City’s major airports made the list of world’s worst airport terminals. Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport clocked in at number 7, mainly because of the location of security checkpoints before each pier. If you want to get food, your choices are limited unless you liked to get frisked.

New York LaGuardia Airport‘s US Airways Terminal drops in at number 6 on the list, and frommers.com calls it “dull and sad” with limited options for food and services. Not what you would expect at one of America’s top national airports.

New York JFK Airport‘s Terminal 3 made the number 1 spot on the list of world’s worst terminals. Why? Frommers says: “Terminal 3 is the worst single airport terminal in America, and probably in the Western world. Even Delta acknowledges this: they’re tearing it down and replacing it with a giant glass structure connected to the nearby Terminal 4. It’s unsalvageable.” Ouch.

In stark contrast, New York JFK Airport Terminal 5 was rated number 5 on the list of best airport terminals in the world. Flyers can thank the airline JetBlue for providing new, modern services and really doing a good job offering a comfortable layover opportunity. It’s also been said that terminal 5 has the best airport food court in New York City.

What are your worst (or best) airport terminals to fly to?

Read more about these terminals see the full list at frommer.com.

Locations: France, New York, Russia / Categories: Aircraft, Buildings, Structures

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So in celebration, we’re posting Woodstock, Illinois, the location where most of the scenes from the excellent Bill Murray comedy of the same name were filmed (although it was actually set in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania). And yes, in our thumbnail of the town square you can actually see “Gobbler’s Knob”…

For fans of the movie, the official Woodstock website has a PDF map which identifies all the locations used.

Previously on Google Sightseeing: Groundhog Day, Groundhog Day, Groundhog Day, Groundhog Day.

Locations: Illinois, Pennsylvania / Categories: Movie Locations

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