The world's greatest cities have plenty of stories to tell, and many are written into the abandoned buildings tucked down their streets. From deserted subway stations to forgotten hotels, we take a virtual tour of the abandoned urban attractions around the globe. Remember, if you plan to visit any sites in real life, check for COVID-19 restrictions before you set off. Be aware, too, that some spots are only safe to view from the outside.

Floating in New York City's East River, North Brother Island is steeped in somber tales. It's best known as the home of the Riverside Hospital, which opened in the 19th century: the infirmary treated those with contagious diseases, including infamous patient Typhoid Mary. It was then used to house soldiers after the Second World War, before eventually closing in the 1960s. Today birds are the only residents of its ramshackle buildings, which are now overcome with greenery. The island is off limits to the public, but visitors can typically take in the view with a kayak ride on the river.

Germany's capital has more than its fair share of abandoned attractions, and Spreepark is one of the most haunting. The theme park began life in the 1960s and had its heyday in the communist era. However, visitor numbers plummeted in the second half of the 20th century. By the early Noughties, the site had shuttered and today all that remains is creaking rides with peeling paint, plus a scattering of creepy animal statues. Public tours are typically offered, though they're on hold due to COVID-19.

This famous abandoned prison needs little introduction. The formidable Eastern State Penitentiary was opened in 1820, and soon became known for its intimidating, castle-like building, its unique sky-lit cells and its particular form of discipline, designed to make prisoners feel penance. The musty cell blocks are usually open for day and night tours, but check the website before you go.

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Once a busy railway line, Paris's Petite Ceinture fell out of use and was abandoned in the 1930s. It hasn't been forgotten, though. The deserted railway tracks have since been transformed with walking paths, nature trails and gardens, home to a huge variety of plants and animals. Visitors can typically enjoy a peaceful walk along the tracks, taking in graffitied walls rich with greenery and keeping an eye peeled for birds and butterflies.

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Another island with a macabre past, Lazzaretto Nuovo is situated in the Venetian Lagoon, a stone's throw from Venice itself. The islet served as one of a handful of "plague islands" from the 14th century onwards: it was used to quarantine people from incoming ships who were suspected to be infected with the black death. Archeologists have since come across mass grave sites here and many are convinced the island is haunted. Guided tours typically operate at select times of year – keep an eye on the website for 2022 updates.

Opened in 1904, beautiful City Hall is much more elaborate than today's subway stations, with its vaulted ceiling and patterned glass. But, despite its architectural beauty, the station wasn't quite fit for purpose. Its curved platform design meant that it couldn't accommodate the longer, modern trains that took to tracks in the 20th century. It was closed in 1945 and the New York Transit Museum typically run tours today – availability may be altered due to COVID-19. 

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Hurricane Katrina caused utter devastation when she ripped through the Big Easy in 2005, and one of the most famous attractions to suffer was Six Flags New Orleans (formerly Jazzland). The theme park ended up under almost seven feet (2m) of water, destroying its rides and colorful attractions, which still stand moldering today. Visitors aren't permitted inside the park, but they can see some of its haunting structures from beyond the gates.

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The strange domed towers of Teufelsberg look like something out of a sci-fi movie. They actually form part of a US listening station used during the Cold War and are perched on an artificial hill, made from piled up rubble over the years. Modern-day visitors can usually take history tours of the building and drink in the views from its observation platform. Availability and access may be altered due to COVID-19, though, so check for updates before you head out.

These striking Corinthian columns were first erected in the 1820s and formed part of the US Capitol Building – but, when the Capitol was topped with a mighty, and extremely heavy, new dome in the 1860s, the elegant columns no longer served their purpose. Today they can be found tucked away in the US National Arboretum. The arboretum is open, though onsite museums are temporarily closed. 

Nestled in one of Paris' eastern suburbs, Le Jardin d'Agronomie Tropicale was a curious spot once home to exhibitions showcasing flora from French colonies around the world. Eventually the displays closed and the site was left abandoned, its pavilions, statues and gates giving in to Mother Nature. The garden was bought by the City of Paris in the early Noughties, though, and reopened to visitors, who can now drink in the fascinating remnants of its former attractions.

Within kissing distance of the Big Apple, this historic hospital, technically in Jersey City, first opened its doors in the early 20th century. Its purpose was to hold and treat immigrants who had arrived in America in search of a new life: over the years, the facility treated hundreds of thousands of people. However, stricter immigration laws meant the hospital closed in the 1930s, and the islands were abandoned in the Fifties. Weekend hard-hat tours of the creepy abandoned hospital are now available.

Abandoned churches don't come much more haunting than this. St Dunstan in the East, whose roots date right back to medieval times, was ravaged in the Second World War by a German bomb that hit in 1941. It was deemed too hard a feat to rebuild the sacred building but, luckily, the soaring tower and some of the walls survived. Come the 1960s, the abandoned church was transformed into a bench-dotted public garden. Today, trees form the building's congregation and ivy climbs its centuries-old walls.

Hyderabad isn't short on atmospheric ruins, but the Golconda Fort is among the most striking and impressive. Thought to date to the 13th century, the citadel was augmented by rulers over the centuries, gaining a grand gate, arcades and reliefs, and also served as an important diamond market. However, it fell to the Mughal Empire in the 17th century and was soon abandoned and left to ruin. Visitors can still explore its haunting remnants and even enjoy the sound and light show that illuminates them on select days. 

For many, Michigan Central Station is an icon of Detroit – a symbol of its industrial boom and its fall from heady heights in the 20th century. And as the Motor City regenerates once more, big things are on the horizon for the Beaux-Arts-style station building, which closed in the 1980s and stood abandoned for decades. It's now been bought up by Ford, and work has begun to transform it into a sprawling campus with businesses, community spaces and trails. From the outside, though, it's still a haunting reminder of Detroit's past. 

Situated in the Sydney suburb of Gladesville, Tarban Creek Asylum is a haunting sight indeed. Beginning life in the 1830s, the asylum was tipped as the first of its kind in the region – but its many decades in operation were marred with reports of overcrowding and the barbaric treatment of patients. It was eventually closed and abandoned in the 1990s, and has since given in to the whims of nature, its walls moldering and vine-choked.

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You might not know that this architectural feat lies beneath the streets of south London – but the head-turning subway has existed since the 1850s. It originally served as an access point for Crystal Palace, an elaborate confection that housed the Great Exhibition of 1851, but which was destroyed by fire in the 1930s. Today the subway, with its columns and bold brick patterns, is sporadically open to visitors (though it's currently closed for major restoration work). 

This dinky theme park in South Korea's capital is almost more alluring in its abandoned state than it ever was when it was open. The site first welcomed visitors in the 1980s but, over the decades, profits plummeted and the opening of bigger, bolder parks nearby put the final nails in the coffin. Now the rusting carousel, stopped in time, and the deserted dodgems are the park's most striking remnants. Visitors can typically pay a small fee to enter and wander around.

Seattle is full of surprises and its best-kept secret is the network of subterranean passages that sprawl out beneath the city's Pioneer Square. They're the remains of the original city, whose many wooden buildings were devastated by fire in the late 19th century. As plans to rebuild the burnt-out city came to fruition, stone and brick materials were favored and the streets and buildings were also built much higher up. This left the original streets neglected, claimed by the city's underworld. Tours exploring this portion of subterranean Seattle have run since the 1960s and are still available today.

This ramshackle street might look like something from America's Southwest, but it's actually tucked away in the Scottish capital. The lane, which originally formed part of an advertising campaign for a furniture company, has existed since the Nineties, and is complete with a jail, a blacksmith's shop and a cantina. It was eventually abandoned, though some of the lots are now filled with artists' studios and garages.

The remains of the original Los Angeles Zoo form a fascinating portion of Griffith Park. The once-beloved zoo – home to animals like lions, bears and monkeys – was founded in 1912 and existed right up until the 1960s, when it moved to its modern location. Today the rocky walls, abandoned cages and grottos, built in the 1930s, are home to trails and picnic areas.

Abandoned St Stephen's Church loves the camera. Visitors to Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood come to peek at the building's façade, with its decorative columns, detailed glass and striking portico. First built around 1917, the church played host to varied congregations over the years, but was eventually sold off to a private buyer. Today its future remains unknown and it stands deserted and decorated in plant life.

Toronto's Lower Bay Station was short lived indeed. Spreading out beneath the main Bay station, Lower Bay was in operation for a mere six months in the mid-Nineties, as the Toronto Transit Commission tested out a new underground route. The planned route proved unwieldy, though, and so Lower Bay was rendered obsolete. Very occasional public tours operate here and passengers can sometimes also catch a glimpse of the abandoned station on diverted trains.

This hulking industrial building lords over the coast in the Perth suburb of North Coogee. It was once the site of the South Fremantle Power Station, which opened in the 1950s and operated right up until the 1980s. However, when the power station was dubbed unprofitable, it was deserted and left to the elements. Today its walls crawl with graffiti and though it has been eyed by developers over the years, nothing has come to fruition just yet.

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One of America's most famous and formidable prisons existed on this rocky, wave-beaten island from 1934 to 1963. Conditions were strict and stark at Alcatraz and it incarcerated big-name gangsters like Al Capone during its time in operation. Today tours usually whisk visitors across San Francisco Bay and allow them to explore the renowned abandoned prison. This eerie shot shows the ruins of the warden's house.

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Londoners can still spot the former entryway to Aldwych tube station along buzzing thoroughfare The Strand. It first opened in 1907, but it never got very busy: instead, its main legacies are its roles as a shelter for London's priceless artworks throughout the World Wars, and as a popular movie set. The station finally closed in the 1990s and London Transport Museum's "Hidden London" tours typically take visitors underground – tours are on hold for now, but keep an eye on the website for updates.

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The city of Indianapolis hides a secret beneath its buzzy streets: a labyrinthine network of passages and brick archways that have existed since the 19th century. They're the subterranean remains of Tomlinson Hall, a landmark building that was destroyed in a fire in the 1950s. Now Indianapolis City Market and Indiana Landmarks take visitors beneath City Market to explore this curious underground world. Tours are currently operating on a limited basis due to COVID-19. 

Another imposing, abandoned building in Motor City, Lee Plaza is impossible to ignore. It's a soaring, Art Deco-style tower block that shot up in the 1920s, inspired by the juggernauts of New York's Manhattan, and served as a residential hotel. But, by the 1930s, the Great Depression had hit, and developer Ralph T. Lee was bankrupted. Lee Plaza changed hands several times afterwards, serving time as a senior citizens’ home, but was never returned to its former glory. The grand building has now stood abandoned and windowless for decades. 

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The Macassar Dunes Reserve spreads out for more than 2,000 acres, and is home to ever-shifting sand mountains and a bounty of wildlife. It's also host to the remains of an abandoned water park, Macassar Beach Pavilion. First opened in the Nineties, the park was subsequently closed and deserted. Today its slides, pavilions and walkways are swallowed by the sand.

It's hard to believe that this intricate, Victorian-era building was actually a sewage works: so impressive was the colorful ironwork at Crossness Pumping Station that it was nicknamed the "Cathedral on the Marsh". Built as an antidote to London's "Great Stink" in the 1850s, the station was in operation right up until the 1950s, when it was decommissioned and eventually deserted. Tours of the abandoned pumping station are typically on offer, but check before you visit.

The history of Madrid's metro is captured in this abandoned station dating from 1919. It was in operation up until the 1960s, when it could no longer accommodate the city's more modern, longer trains. The historic station remained deserted for decades, until the 2000s, when it was reopened to visitors – they come today to spot adverts, turnstiles and benches from a time gone by. There are currently limits on group numbers due to COVID-19, check the website for details.