Odd squad
A city’s quirks can often beguile us more than its falling crime rate or fine trams. We list our favourite idiosyncrasies from around the world.
1.
Bogotá
Every Sunday, Colombia’s capital closes 125km of roads so that those on two wheels have the run (or the pedal) of the place.
2.
Oslo
Keen for fresh air? Try the 2,600km of cross-country ski tracks that can be reached from Oslo’s city centre.
3.
Vilnius
A quick flick on your smartphone is OK but not while crossing the road: in Lithuania’s capital, doing both could land you with a fine.
4.
Toronto
The Toronto Public Library is the world’s busiest. In 2018 it had 17.3 million visits and 70 per cent of Torontonians use it.
5.
Córdoba
Nowhere is Fernet Branca and Coca-Cola more readily quaffed than in Argentina’s second city.
6.
Madrid
Has the oldest running restaurant in the world: Sobrino de Botín hasn’t closed its doors since 1725.
7.
Helsinki
Home to 123 signed heavy-metal bands. Finns also consume the most ice cream per capita in Europe.
8.
Calgary
The greater city area has the biggest network of cycling and walking trails in North America: more than 1,000km.
9.
Putrajaya
This Malaysian city has a roundabout with a circumference of 3.5km.
10.
Cardiff
In 1894, Henry Spiller opened a record shop in the Welsh capital. After 125 years it’s still going strong.
11.
New York
Cyclists are allowed to wear headphones – as long as they listen through just one ear.
12.
Chongqing
Pedestrians have had enough of being stuck behind those walking slowly while checking their phones: pavements have a separate lane for digital dawdlers.
13.
Salt Lake City
A decree stating that those driving cattle through the town must be able to turn livestock without “resorting to profanity” means that most roads are 39.6 metres wide.
14.
Skopje
Thrifty travellers should head to North Macedonia while it still has the cheapest capital city in Europe.
15.
Paris
Has no stop signs.
16.
Shanghai
Every weekend, China’s second city holds an outdoor marriage market. Parents of single folk scout for spouses for their sons and daughters.
17.
Hamburg
To stop revellers relieving themselves in the party district of St Pauli, Hamburg has hydrophobically painted walls that ricochet urine back onto offenders’ trousers.
18.
Moscow
The Russian capital has more park space than any other major city: 54 per cent of Moscow is green.
19.
São Paulo
Has the highest number of surfers for a city that has no immediate coastline. The 150,000 surfers who live here leave town for a swell time.
20.
Lisbon
Has 2,799 hours of sunshine a year (more than double Glasgow’s 1,203).
21.
Tel Aviv
More dogs per capita than any city in the world (one for every 17 people). It has four dog-friendly beaches and one dog-friendly park per square kilometre.
22.
Montréal
Each of Montréal’s 68 (mostly) brutalist metro stations are designed by a different architect.
23.
Rome
There are 2,800 tap-less drinking fountains here called nasoni – Italian for “big nose”.
24.
Athens
Half of the city’s 65 metro stations exhibit archaeological treasures found during construction.
25.
Lucerne
The ends of one of the city’s motorway tunnels can be sealed off, turning it into a fallout shelter capable of holding 2,000 people.
