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Two foreign tourists take pictures on the Spanish Steps, Rome, Italy. Popular tourist sites have been deserted following the nnationwide coronavirus pandemic lockdown.
Em Campos/Shutterstock

10 Eerily Beautiful Photos of Deserted Cities

SmarterTravel

As countries lock down in an attempt to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic, tourists have canceled their trips and citizens are being told to stay home. The destinations below are usually swarmed with tourists crowding for a good view, trying to get that perfect photo. Today they are largely empty. Streets are deserted, metro stations quiet, shops and cafes closed. These images of empty cities offer a different view that we don’t often, if ever, see—and despite the circumstances, they have a certain melancholy beauty.

Rome, Italy

A Police stands alone in front of the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy
Em Campos/Shutterstock

A police officer stands in front of the Spanish Steps on March 12, 2020.

New York, New York

Times square is practically empty of tourists
Droneandy/Shutterstock

Times Square stands mostly empty on March 21, 2020.

Madrid, Spain

Empty puerta del sol in Madrid Spain
Enrique Campo Bello/Shutterstock

Madrid’s Puerta del Sol is deserted on March 15, 2020.

London, England

A lone tourist in deserted London under lockdown during the Corona Virus Covid-19 outbreak.
rodwey2004/Shutterstock

A lone tourist sits in an empty Trafalgar Square on March 23, 2020.

Florence, Italy

piazza del dumo in florence, italy
Kotroz/Shutterstock

Piazza del Duomo is shuttered in Florence on March 24, 2020.

Paris, France

Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
Trial/Shutterstock

Few tourists gather around the Eiffel Tower on March 17, 2020.

Warsaw, Poland

Empty Old Town Square in Warsaw , Poland
Cinematographer/Shutterstock

Old Town Square is empty in Warsaw, Poland.

Berlin, Germany

Brandenburg gate Berlin, Germany
peter jesche/Shutterstock

Berlin’s famous Brandenburg Gate is void of tourists on March 21, 2020.

Kolkata, India

Railway platform is empty in West Bengal, India Kolkata
Soumen Tarafder/Shutterstock

A railway platform is empty for Janata Curfew in Kolkata on March 22, 2020.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

typically busy streets of Amsterdam are shown nearly empty as the Coronavirus pandemic
Capture 11 Photography/Shutterstock

The typically busy streets of Amsterdam are nearly empty on March 7, 2020.

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