You know how it is. You wait ages for one interesting bus stop to show up, then 20 of them come along at once. Should you ever find yourself standing around at one of these incredible spots, forget about staring down the empty road while impatiently tapping your watch. There’s a good chance you’ll be so taken by the shelter you’re waiting in that you'll let your ride go by and decide to ‘catch the next one’.
Scroll on to see how we’ve (subjectively) ranked the world’s most wonderful bus stops…
With North Korea being so shut off to the outside world, even a photo of a humble bus stop feels more significant than it would be elsewhere. In July 2025, the country announced that its newly opened seaside resort – part of plans to boost tourism – would not be receiving international visitors.
Contrary to popular belief, this bus stop was not and has never been a member of The Beatles. You’ll find this thatched effort in Edderton, a small village on the east coast of Scotland.
With plenty of tastings on offer at the nearby Balblair and Glenmorangie whisky distilleries, getting public transport might not be a bad shout.
Presumably drawn up by a prankster in Gurye County’s urban planning department, this unique bus stop rips up the rulebook of bus stop design by being shaped like, well, a train.
Made almost entirely from wood, and featuring decorative wheels and flower-shaped steam puffs, this creative piece of architecture stands in front of a scenic mountain backdrop.
It is physically impossible to look at this bus stop in South Africa without imagining the animals as weary commuters, taking themselves off for another spin on the nine-to-five carousel.
Or perhaps the goats and donkeys are, instead, simply hitching a lift to avoid the big cats that roam this corner of the country.
Until this bus stop in Athens, Georgia, looks like absolutely anything else, kids in this corner of the Peach State are able to use the excuse ‘Sorry I’m late. I got on the wrong school bus’.
It was made by sculptor Christopher Fennell, and is actually composed of three iconic yellow buses dating from 1962, 1972 and 1977.
Wait around at this bus stop in Gurye County, South Korea, for long enough and you’ll feel like you’re intruding on the final scene of an otter-centred rom-com. Come for the sculptures, stay for the beautiful mosaic tiles and landscape mural.
Every year, millions of people from around the world travel to Thailand for a mixture of recreation and relaxation. And while it might not be the top reason to visit a country that's home to breathtaking beaches, majestic temples, wild nightlife and some of the tastiest cuisine on Earth, we think this monkey-themed stop in the town of Ao Nang is worth a look.
Resembling an idyllic Airbnb property more than a bus shelter, this small stone structure stands in the village of Farmington, Gloucestershire. It was built to celebrate the 1951 Festival of Britain. If this photo's anything to go by, it's particularly beautiful in spring.
Remote Unst, the Shetland Islands’ most northerly isle, is home to one of the UK’s quirkiest tourist attractions. Named after local boy Bobby McCauley, who requested it be built after growing tired of getting rained on while waiting for his ride to school, Bobby’s Bus Shelter has developed a quirky and unique aura over the years.
Past annual themes here have included the Queen’s Jubilee, the cosmos, women's suffrage and the colour yellow.
With summer temperatures in Dubai soaring to the mid-40s°C (104°F+), airconditioned bus stops feel like a sensible move. Made of stainless steel, and rocking an unusual curved design, this cooling shelter looks like it's been beamed in from a 1960s sci-fi movie.
Be sure to keep an eye out the next time you’re watching original episodes of Star Trek, that's all we're saying.
If a bus stop can put a smile on your face, it’s doing a good job. Decorated by the outback artist John Murray, a man with his own museum in New South Wales, this colourful creation will brighten even the drabbest of days.
At the very least, it might just inspire you to pick up a paintbrush and get silly like our ostrich friend here.
Someone, somewhere, has had the roof of their house stolen. And we think we might just know where they can find it. A simple A-frame design, yet one that’s also oddly charming, we’ve got a lot of time for the Slavic folk motif and the way the red and green colouring here matches up with the national flag of Belarus.
You’d have to have a heart made of stone not to be a little enamoured with this beautiful bus stop in North Africa, where decorative ceramic tiles have transformed a purely functional structure into something truly stunning.
Of course, grander buildings like mosques and palaces better showcase the rich tiling traditions of Islamic countries, but when it comes to bus shelters, this one’s hard to beat.
Krumbach, Vorarlberg, is maybe the planet’s ultimate destination for bus stop enthusiasts. Home to roughly 1,000 residents, and with a long history of quality craftsmanship in the area, the village – with the help of seven different architects from around the world – has turned simple bus shelters into unique pieces of art.
This one pictured here is Unterkrumbach Nord, designed by Antón García-Abril and Débora Mesa of Ensamble Studio.
If there’s one place on Earth that can give Krumbach, Austria, a run for its money in the ‘best place to admire bus stops’ stakes, though, it’s the Konagai area of Isahaya City. Just an hour’s train ride away from Nagasaki, nestled against the tranquil Ariake Sea, you’ll find a whole bunch of fabulous fruit-themed shelters popped up on the roadside.
Known as the Tokimeki Fruit-shaped Bus Stop Avenue, it’s where you’ll discover this giant tomato.
With some of the world’s most magnificent mountain terrain on their doorstep, the residents of Krumbach, Austria, could be forgiven for occasionally forgetting to look up and take in the view.
The Glatzegg bus stop, by Wang Shu and Lu Wenya of Amateur Architecture Studio, gently counters this tendency by funnelling the eyelines of those waiting there towards the postcard-perfect scenery beyond.
When is a bus stop more than just a bus stop? When it’s shaped like a traditional Kyrgyz felt hat called a kalpak, of course. Found on the road to Lake Issyk Kul, and decorated inside with a mural of mountainous terrain, it’s a fine example of a public-service structure that promotes local culture rather than relying on a boring, standardised design.
OK, we’ll admit it. We couldn’t stay away from Japan, and National Route 207 between Konagai and Isahaya city centre. Set up after the Nagasaki Travel Expo in 1990, the giant fruit bus stops bring us out in a state of childhood glee whenever we see a picture of them.
This cantaloupe, also known as a rock melon, is a particular favourite.
Where does the line between bus stop end and work of art begin? That's the question posed by this beautifully designed structure from Sou Fujimoto. Another one found in Krumbach, Austria, the stairs of this spindly creation have been closed to prevent possible accidents but it still looks magnificent.
Residents of Yuelai, Liangjiang New Area, are used to bus shelters that, quite frankly, look nothing like any bus shelter you've seen in your life (there are giant chairs with trees growing through them, to cite one example). Even by the area's wacky standards, though, this giant baby sculpture situated at North Binjiang Road Station and labelled ‘Childishness’ is something else, and feels particularly worthy of our top spot.
Now see how we've ranked Europe's most beautiful train stations