Discussion thread on the May 2026 theme: Staircases

If you’ve already posted your three photos in the contest thread Staircases: May 2026 Photo Contest Theme and a fourth one comes to mind, you can ease your staircase obsession here.

A few examples of staircases:



Some of the 6,600 steps on the staircase leading to the summit of Jade Emperor Peak at 1,545 meters.



Emergency staircase at the Orléans library (France).



Brussels street artist Créons incorporates the staircase into the dress design of his character.



The staircase is part of the roof of Villa Malaparte (Adalberto Libera) on the island of Capri (Italy).

Hello,

Are ladders allowed?

Good evening,

My answer to your question is—at first glance—no... but it really depends on the specifics.

This thread is for posting photos that might be on the borderline of the proposed theme.

Upload your staircase photo here and ask whether it could fit in the contest thread.

Example: this is a staircase used to reach the living floor of a "long house" in Indonesia. Royal Museum of Art and History, Cinquantenaire, Brussels.



Here’s another one that better shows its use: entrance to a Dayak long house in the village of Ekeng, Kalimantan (Indonesia).

My answer to your question is—at first glance—no...

No worries, I think I can find some decent photos of staircases.

The entire Noravank Monastery.

A staircase that Raga probably knows since it's in Brussels...

Some of the 6,600 steps on the staircase leading to the summit of Jade Emperor Peak at 1,545 m

I realize that the 654 steps to the Neptune’s Caves (Sardinia) are really nothing to write home about

Hi there,

A monumental reinforced concrete staircase leading to "my Palace" ... 🙂





...

Hi Raga,

I just read your message and now I’m wondering if my photo no. 2 (in the contest) really fits the theme or not—that is, ladder or staircase...

You’re the judge, so do your thing; I’ve got no problem removing it if needed...

hgb

Photo: Djenné, Mali. View of the neighboring courtyard

Live photo, taken this afternoon:

Sultanhani Caravanserai Mosque, Turkey



The staircase isn’t accessible…

And the entrance to the site is gorgeous, even though it’s totally off-topic 😉

Good evening!

Photo: Bamako, Falajé district, Mali: At lunchtime, at my Bambara teacher’s family home. We’re preparing the meal...



hgb

Gorgeous mosque!

More on topic, the rituals on the *ghāṭs* (steps leading down to the sacred waters) of Lake Pichola in Udaipur. Fresh photo.

To comment on photo #2 (which I posted in the contest), I would have preferred to post this one.



Unfortunately, there was something inside the lens (dust?) that created a spot on all the photos taken during this trip. I don’t know if there are tools to "erase" this kind of spot. So, too bad for this photo. To illustrate my explanation about the riser of this staircase, here’s a... riser.

Following up on my photo #2... While reviewing my photos, I wondered why I have such a great memory of this hike, even though I hate stairs—there are so many of them! But it’s absolutely stunning 😎 (São Lourenço in Madeira)

To follow up on your photo 3, the outdoor stairs at Batu Caves with that tiny statue 😛

In addition to my photo No. 2....

Hi Muriel, Unless I'm having vision problems or a bug... if photos No. 1 (Orgosolo) and No. 3 (Batu Caves) are there, I don’t see photo No. 2, which—if I followed correctly—should be São Lourenço!

Hi Jérôme Oops! I’ll double-check... it was showing up when I "previewed," but not everything was working properly on VF this morning 🤪 Thanks anyway for letting me know 😉

Actually, it’s the whole message that isn’t showing up (I thought it was just the photo) 😎 I’ll repost it...

And the other way around ;)

Agricultural staircases in the "Cinque Terre" to complement photo #3.



Above the village of Manarola, you can clearly see the terraced fields. It looks like a path climbing from the village up to a building on the ridge. Apart from a few dozen meters of flat ground on a terrace, it’s actually a staircase going "straight up the slope." As for the upkeep of this landscape, I didn’t see anything particularly convincing—just a worrying neglect (this was in 2022).

Hi there,

I’m not sure if photo 3 is off-topic—if it is, I’ll delete it.

A rule of thumb to tell a ladder from a staircase: you need your hands for one but not the other!

Sometimes you also need your hands to climb certain staircases (Angkor, Mayan temples...). Usually, a rope serves as a handrail then.

Kerlingarfjöll from another perspective.

Staircase in Ljubljana Castle:

The viewpoints in Baños, Ecuador, are worth the effort!

Still in Ecuador but in Guayaquil this time!



444 steps lead to the top of Cerro Santa Ana hill.

You’d better not be obese or claustrophobic if you take the narrow staircase up to the Duomo’s dome in Florence...

Lillehammer, Norway, staircase leading up to the ski jump take-off platform.



No need to sign up for a gym to get a cardio session in! 😊

Hi

I don’t know if this photo is off-topic

yeah 😕

You’d asked me about it on May 1st

But feel free to post it in the discussion thread

Good evening!

I can't wait to see your photos of staircases in Gujarat ;)

Preferably those on Mount Girnar (10,000 steps—way better than the Chinese ones!) or the staircases surrounding the minarets of Mahabat Maqbara in Junagadh.

In Palitana, it's not really staircases but more like large flat sections that aren’t too hard to climb.

😛Good evening

Thanks for your simple "principle" to easily tell a staircase from a ladder 😛😛

Hey everyone,

We didn’t make it to Mount Ginar.

You’ll only get photos from Palitana. 😉

I went up the other side. It was still quite a few steps.

That climb was exhausting! Not to mention the heat!

Personally, I’m waiting for the Eiffel Tower! I took the stairs up to the second floor, but that was ages ago, and I don’t have any photos!

There’s also Montmartre...

Google tells me the world’s longest staircase is in Switzerland! 11,674 steps... I’ll pass. 🤪

Another famous staircase in Brussels

Another famous staircase in Brussels

Hi there!

Tintin and Captain Haddock’s place is just a stone’s throw from the Manneken Pis, right in the city center.

The other staircase, posted in message 6 on May 3rd, is inside the Atomium—way (too) far from the city center.

In Dresden (Germany), another staircase with a trompe-l'œil effect.



In Pondicherry (Tamil Nadu, India).



And while browsing online, I found this interesting site:

https://www.curioctopus.fr/read/18896/21-escaliers-metropolitains-que-l-art-a-transformes-en-petits-chefs-d-%C5%93uvre

You might also need your hands to climb some staircases (Angkor, Mayan temples...) Usually, a rope serves as a handrail.

I don’t have a photo on hand, but I remember climbing to the top of the Coba pyramid in Yucatán—you really need your hands (and there’s a rope, too!)

You might also need your hands to climb some staircases (Angkor, Mayan temples...). Usually, a rope serves as a handrail.

I don’t have a photo on hand, but I remember climbing to the top of the Coba pyramid in Yucatán—you really need your hands (and there’s a rope, too!)

On the other hand, I do have photos of staircases at Angkor Wat ;)

Access from the back, the one few people take



The equipped climb toward one of the famous central sanctuary towers, shaped like a lotus



And the other side, with the original stone staircase

When I first went to Angkor, there were no installations at all.

We climbed up the original stone staircases and it was super steep !🤪

That hasn’t been possible for years now.

I also remember the staircases leading up to the famous temple known for its sunset views. It was in really bad shape. Nowadays, you can barely see any trace of it.

I remember climbing to the top of the Coba pyramid

Here it is ;)

From the bottom



From the top

To complement my second photo, here’s a staircase leading up to a grain attic in Medenine.

When I first went to Angkor, there were no installations at all.

We climbed up the original stone staircases and it was super steep !

That hasn’t been possible for years.

I also remember the staircases for climbing the famous temple known for its sunset views. It was in really bad shape. Nowadays, you can barely see any trace of them.

That’s Phnom Bakheng—you can’t see much of it anymore, but people still climb to the top for the sunset. (oops, I didn’t take a photo of the staircase )

Hi there 😉

famous temple for its sunset views.

famous



😕

Don’t waste your time or energy climbing to the top of this so-called "famous" hill. It’s the most basic/cheesy sunset you’ll ever see. The same goes for sunrise at the Grand Temple. Unless you’re treating it as a sociological experiment 😛

As soon as a place (becomes famous and) gains a reputation as paradise, it heads straight to hell. Paul Theroux

My little rant about Angkor is below:

voyageforum.com/...arch_page=1;#2339395

Is this photo yours? It looks like a Martin Parr photo.

When it comes to staircases, I always think of Escher 😲

Well-worn staircase at Little Petra :-)

Wet stairs in Pissac, Peru

At Machu Picchu