Toilet tourism will probably never rival the popularity of, say, spa tourism, but it is an actual thing. At least, Lonely Planet thinks so. It’s just published (April 2016) Toilets: A Spotter’s Guide, a picture book featuring more than a hundred of the most remarkable potty stops around the globe.
The photography is outstanding which, given the subject matter, is both a compliment and a necessity. There are examples from Anchorage to Zambia, each given with its exact longitude and latitude, down to the second. That’s the only way you’re liable to find the restroom on the rubbly flank of Norway’s Jonsknuten (N 59º 40’ 15.1644” W 9º 31’ 18.6060”), looking up at the peak of the 904-metre mountain. “You have to leave the door open to enjoy the view,” the book advises.
Loos with a view make up the largest segment of the book. Canada and New Zealand, not surprisingly, are both well-represented. Haida Gwaii and the Milford Track each have two gloriously sited entries. Among the other scenically situated pit stops are the long-drop outhouses of Barafu Camp, 4,600 metres up the flank of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and an alfresco ablution station in the middle of the Icelandic outback, near Krafla Geothermal Power Station. “No one seems to know who installed it or why,” say the book, but it shows up in a lot of Instagrams.
For the history buff, the book includes two ancient lavatories, both communal multi-seaters: one is in Carthage, Tunisia and dates to before the Romans sacked it in 146 B.C.; the other is a marble 36-holer from the first century A.D. at the Scholastica Baths in Ephesus, Turkey.
And then there are:
• The bathroom built to look like the Tardis from Doctor Who in Warmley, United Kingdom.
• The Toylet in Joyopolis, in Tokyo, where Sega has created urinals that let you test your accuracy or stream strength against fellow users.
• The public conveniences at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. They look like they could launch themselves into space and are from the hand of architect I.M. Pei, perhaps better known for having designed the Louvre’s Pyramid.
• The theme park devoted to toilets in South Korea (the Toilet House, which looks like a toilet seat, in Suwon).
• The restrooms at the fotofoto Gallery in Huntington, New York where the curated images continue on from the halls and into the stalls.
• The stately and elegant Adolf Loos public toilets in Vienna, an Art Nouveau wonderland of dark wood, brass fittings and magnificent mirrors.
So: le tour des salles de bains. Probably not how you’d thought of arranging your next trip, but after sitting down and flipping through Toilets you may want to go.
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