Trudging up a steep staircase doesn't have to be a chore. Walkable cities, small towns, and cultural institutions around the world have used art to transform the routine act of climbing a staircase into a memorable walking experience. Here's a sampling of some of the world's most artistically enhanced staircases.
San Francisco
This tourist favorite is "painted" with tiles. It's a mosaic wonder (and a San Francisco freebie) on Moraga Street between 15th and 16th avenues in California's famed city by the bay and the result of a grassroots beautification effort. The collaboration to create a "sea to stars" design up some 163 steps in the Golden Gate Heights neighborhood was started by residents nearly 20 years ago and completed by the community.
Gombak, Malaysia
There are no bats at Batu Caves — this destination takes its name from the Malay word batu which means rock. This Hindu shrine is a hillside series of caves and temples, with a rainbow of an impressive staircase. How impressive? Travel Awaits notes it "could be the most colorful place you ever visit."
Vancouver, Canada
To brighten up the community and support local artists, the Yaletown Business Improvement Association has unveiled an art project featuring staircase murals. Unveiled earlier in the summer of 2020, the project got off to a whimsical start with a dog-themed work by Lukas Lundberg.
Related: Beyond the Museum: Spectacular Outdoor Art You Can See for Free
Salt Lake City, Utah
The reasonably priced Salt Lake City has some cultural freebies, too. The Gateway, a downtown arts district, offers an opportunity to see several colorful staircases. Among the options are "Rainbow Vortex," (a Pinterest favorite), "Mountains," and "Inspiration." In the spring of 2020, The Gateway's "Drive-Thru Art Stroll," ideal for these challenging times, included a peek at "Ombre Stairs," by the Urban Arts Gallery.
Caltagirone, Italy
This Sicilian tourist attraction, some 140-plus steps decorated with hand-decorated ceramic tiles, traces its roots to the 17th century. It's a year-round showcase of local crafts skill that twice a year turns into an even bigger art event, when the steps are festooned with potted plants and candles as part of separate festivals.
Related: Stunning Public Art, Music, and More at Airports Around the World
Hong Kong
"Hong Kong On Steps: Tales of Our City" is an ongoing public art project that turns the functional into the wildly creative. This ambitious undertaking showcases the nearly two dozen staircases of the creativity collective PMQ, "a stage for creative happenings." Mod and bold, the themes have ranged from a pinball machine to "Marshmallow Planet."
Valparaíso, Chile
This is one tourist attraction "in tune" with its surroundings (and in the same city as a cool rental home). The so-called Piano Stairs (or Staircase) can be found on Beethoven Street in this port city. The stairs reflect the city's artsy, hipster vibe, and stopping for a selfie on them is considered a must for visitors.
Seoul, South Korea
If you venture to South Korea for its abundance of jobs for expats, you'll find that murals are a popular form of street art in Seoul — and steps are the focus for the often-visited Koi Staircase. The fish-themed work was created in 2005, part of the Ihwa Mural Village, a colorful destination in itself.
Istanbul, Turkey
A little money for paint — and a lot of determination — turned a formerly workmanlike staircase into a burst of color. In 2013 a local man spruced up the neighborhood with $800 and a few days' labor to create a well-received rainbow. The city wasn't pleased, soon painting over it all in a drab gray. Luckily, community outrage led to a municipal effort to restore the rainbow (and create similar steps throughout the city).
Wuppertal, Germany
Color plus text are the statement in this effort by German artist Horst Glasker. The work, formally called "Scala, Ascension In Tribute To Humanity," covers the more than 100 steps not only with an array of hues, but with words and phrases referring to "an emotional aspect of the human condition." Translated into English, these words include rage, fear, luck, joy and love, among many others.
Los Angeles
These frequently Instagrammed steps — a climb of some 177 stairs — are visible from Sunset Boulevard in the Silver Lake area and are just one of the free sights to see in Los Angeles. Painted by artist Corinne Carrey (who's said to have worked at night on the "illegal" beautification project) as a way to brighten an area struggling with homelessness and violence.
Related: Circus World and Other Weird Museums Across America and Beyond
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Internationally acclaimed artist JR — known for his intense portraits, as celebrated in the 2017 documentary "Faces Places" — turned a violence-prone part of this Brazilian city into a destination for thoughtful art with his 2008-2009 project "Women Are Heroes." The photographic works, including a dramatic staircase, were created "to pay tribute to those who play an essential role in society but who are the primary victims of war, crime, rape, and political or religious fanaticism."
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
If you're looking for something free to do in Rio, hit the stairs. Escadaria Selarón is an artistic work created to honor the locals, a "tribute to the Brazilian people" created by Chilean-born artist Jorge Selarón. The heart of the tile, ceramic, and mirrored work are hues of blue, green, and yellow, a nod to the Brazilian flag.
Tehran, Iran
They say roses are difficult to cultivate, but that doesn't seem to be the case in Tehran. That's where a dramatic grove of roses blooms eternal in what's sometimes called the Haft Peykar Stairs.
Beirut, Lebanon
Lebanese artists joined together as a collective called Dihzahyners to add a colorful pause to the Middle Eastern city. Paint Up, an ongoing project, revitalizes historic stairways all across the city in vivid hues and geometric patterns.
Philadelphia
Though the stairs in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art are best known for being featured in the movie "Rocky," in 2005 they got a makeover. The only American venue to host the centennial retrospective devoted to Salvador Dali, the museum used the stairs for a portrait of the Spanish surrealist — and left it in place even after the exhibit left town. The painting has since been removed, but remains a memorable one.