ASCII Magic
Open tool

ASCII art cities and landmarks

This ASCII city collection is a world tour in characters and halftone dots: the seafront lamps of Mumbai at night, Paris rooftops at dusk, ferries crossing the Bosphorus, the pyramids of Giza at sunset, cable cars climbing above Rio and a junk with red sails in Hong Kong. Every scene is hand-built and full of small lives, from traffic to gulls.

22 pieces

View use cases
Amsterdam Canal BicyclesCities of the World
Lotus Pond Temple DawnCities of the World
Bosphorus Mosque SkylineCities of the World
Castle Bridge DawnCities of the World
Colosseum Golden HourCities of the World
Desert Needle SkylineCities of the World
East River Bridge SunriseCities of the World
Fairy Chimney BalloonsCities of the World
Giza Pyramids SunsetCities of the World
Harbour Sails OperaCities of the World
Havana Pastel CruisersCities of the World
Hill Street Cable CarCities of the World
Pagoda Lantern LaneCities of the World
Machu Picchu Morning CloudCities of the World
Marine Drive NecklaceCities of the World
Onion Domes SnowfallCities of the World
Paris Rooftops DuskCities of the World
Rose Cliff TreasuryCities of the World
Sugarloaf Cable CarCities of the World
Supertree Grove NightCities of the World
Thames Clock TowerCities of the World
Victoria Harbour JunkCities of the World

Where to start

Each city is drawn on the same wide 16:9 grid, so the set works as a matching series: a travel blog, a conference page that changes city each year, a language course, or a wallpaper of the place you love. For skylines without a famous landmark, such as City Skyline Night or Tokyo Crossing, see Landscapes.

Marine Drive NecklaceMumbai's curved seafront road glows under a full moon as traffic streams both ways, a night city scene that makes a dark, elegant hero.Giza Pyramids SunsetThe three pyramids catch the setting sun while a camel caravan crosses the dunes, the go-to ASCII pyramid scene for history, travel and museum pages.Bosphorus Mosque SkylineDomes and slender minarets stand against a sunset over the strait as ferries cross and gulls wheel, a rich skyline for travel and culture writing.Paris Rooftops DuskThe iron lattice tower rises over zinc rooftops at dusk with chimney smoke and pigeons, a classic European skyline for travel, language and food sites.Sugarloaf Cable CarCable cars climb the granite peak above Rio's bay at golden hour with sailboats crossing below, a warm scene for summer and travel campaigns.Pagoda Lantern LaneA lantern-lit lane climbs to a five-tier pagoda in light rain, a quieter, moodier city scene for slow reading pages and calm wallpapers.

Every ASCII city and landmark, by region

Each city has its own time of day and its own moving details, so pick by mood as much as by place.

  • Asia: Marine Drive Necklace in Mumbai, Victoria Harbour Junk in Hong Kong, Pagoda Lantern Lane in Kyoto, Supertree Grove Night, and Lotus Pond Temple Dawn with its five temple towers.
  • Europe: Paris Rooftops Dusk, Thames Clock Tower in London, Colosseum Golden Hour in Rome, Amsterdam Canal Bicycles, Castle Bridge Dawn and Onion Domes Snowfall.
  • West Asia and North Africa: Giza Pyramids Sunset, Bosphorus Mosque Skyline in Istanbul, Rose Cliff Treasury, Fairy Chimney Balloons and Desert Needle Skyline.
  • The Americas: East River Bridge Sunrise in New York, Hill Street Cable Car, Sugarloaf Cable Car in Rio, Havana Pastel Cruisers and Machu Picchu Morning Cloud.
  • Oceania: Harbour Sails Opera, with green ferries crossing below a steel arch bridge.

Ideas for using ASCII art of a city

City scenes earn their place wherever a place matters. A few uses that work well:

  • Travel blogs and guides: put the city at the top of each guide, for example Havana Pastel Cruisers above a Havana itinerary.
  • Events and conferences: use the host city as the page hero, then change the piece attribute next year when the event moves.
  • Language courses: pair a lesson with its city, such as Paris Rooftops Dusk for French or Pagoda Lantern Lane for Japanese.
  • Newsletters: export a GIF of the city you are writing from and use it as the header of the issue.
  • Office and lobby screens: export a video loop of the company's home city and play it on a display.

Wide crops for headers, banners and slides

Because every city is drawn on a 16:9 grid of square cells, a scene fills a 1920 by 1080 video, a slide or a 4K desktop wallpaper without awkward crops. Very wide formats need more care. The X header is 1500 by 500 and the LinkedIn banner is 1584 by 396, so a scene that fills those frames keeps only a horizontal band.

Scenes with their story spread across the middle, such as Bosphorus Mosque Skyline, Victoria Harbour Junk or Desert Needle Skyline, keep their best detail in that band. Tall subjects like Thames Clock Tower suit the square, story or phone sizes better. Pause on a moment with something happening, a ferry mid-crossing or a bus on the bridge, before you export.

Pyramids, bridges and cable cars in ASCII

If you came looking for an ASCII pyramid, there are two. Giza Pyramids Sunset is the full scene, with three pyramids, sunlit faces and a camel caravan on the dunes. The Pyramid piece in Solids (Pyramid) is a single 3D shape turning slowly above its shadow, better as a small loader or icon.

Bridges are a theme of their own: East River Bridge Sunrise with its gothic stone towers, Castle Bridge Dawn lined with statues, and the steel arch behind Harbour Sails Opera. For cable cars, compare Hill Street Cable Car on a foggy hill street with Sugarloaf Cable Car above a tropical bay.

Ways to use ASCII cities of the world

Step-by-step guides with a live builder and code to copy.

All 18 use cases →
Social

ASCII art headers for X, LinkedIn and GitHub

Export ASCII art at the exact sizes for an X header, a LinkedIn banner and a GitHub social preview image.

Wallpaper

ASCII art wallpapers for desktop and phone

Download ASCII art wallpapers in 4K, 1080p and phone sizes. Pick any scene, choose dark or light, and export a full-resolution PNG in one click.

Email

ASCII art GIFs for newsletters and email

Export animated ASCII art as a GIF for newsletters and email, where scripts and video do not play.

Slides

ASCII art for slides and presentations

Drop animated ASCII art into Keynote, PowerPoint or Google Slides as a GIF or video, for title slides and section breaks.

/FAQS

ASCII cities of the world: frequently asked questions

Answers about using ASCII cities of the world on websites, in READMEs, in terminals and in exports.

Q. What is ASCII city art?
ASCII city art is a picture of a city or landmark made from text characters or halftone dots rather than pixels. The scenes here are animated, so the city keeps moving: traffic streams, ferries cross, windows light up and birds wheel overhead. Each one is hand-built for a single place, not a filtered photo.
Q. Which places are in the ASCII city collection?
The collection spans six continents. It includes Mumbai, Paris, London, Rome, Amsterdam, Istanbul, Cairo, Rio, Havana, New York, Kyoto and Hong Kong, plus Machu Picchu, Petra, Cappadocia and a temple pond at sunrise. More Indian city life, from Kolkata taxis to a Mumbai monsoon, is on the India page.
Q. Is there an ASCII art city skyline at night?
Yes, several cities glow after dark. Marine Drive Necklace shows Mumbai's seafront lamps under a full moon, Victoria Harbour Junk lights up Hong Kong's towers, Desert Needle Skyline has a supertall tower over a glittering desert city, and Supertree Grove Night glows magenta and teal. City Skyline Night in Landscapes is a generic downtown at night.
Q. Is there an ASCII pyramid?
Yes, Giza Pyramids Sunset shows the three pyramids glowing at sunset with a camel caravan walking the dunes in front. If you want a single pyramid as a shape, the Pyramid piece in the Solids category turns a 3D pyramid slowly above its shadow, which suits a loader or a small icon better than a full scene.
Q. Can I use a city scene on a commercial travel website?
Yes, every piece is MIT licensed, which covers commercial use as well as personal projects. Credit is appreciated but not required. You can embed the live scene, export a GIF or video for an ad or an email, or download a PNG at social sizes for posts and banners.
Q. How do I put an animated city on my web page?
Add the library script once, then place an ascii-art element with the city's slug, for example piece="paris-rooftops-dusk". The scene plays only while it is on screen and holds a still frame for visitors who prefer reduced motion. The HTML tab on each piece page has the exact code ready to copy.
Q. Which city scene works best for a wide banner?
Scenes whose detail runs across the middle work best, because very wide banners keep only a horizontal strip. Bosphorus Mosque Skyline, Victoria Harbour Junk and Marine Drive Necklace all spread their story along the horizon. Use the X header, LinkedIn banner or GitHub social preview presets on the piece page to export at the exact size.
Q. Can I download a city as a 4K wallpaper?
Yes, every city exports as a Desktop 4K PNG at 3840 by 2160, as well as 1080p and phone sizes. The scenes are drawn on a 16:9 grid, so a desktop export fills the screen without awkward crops. Pause on a moment you like first, for example when a cable car is mid-climb in Sugarloaf Cable Car.
Q. Do the city scenes show real landmarks?
Yes, each scene is built around a real place and its best-known shapes, such as the three pyramids at Giza, the domes and minarets of Istanbul or the stepped terraces of Machu Picchu. They are artistic scenes, simplified so they read clearly in characters, rather than exact architectural drawings.
Q. Can I make a city scene match my brand colors?
Partly, yes, and without editing code. Add mono and set the text color with CSS to draw the scene in one brand color, set bg for the background, or choose a look such as Halftone dots, Lines or Blocks. For full control of the palette, copy the piece's MIT licensed source from its page and edit the colors.
Q. Can I send ASCII art of a city in a newsletter?
Yes, download the city as a GIF from its page, since GIFs play in nearly all email clients while scripts and most video do not. Pick the look you want before you export. A city GIF works well as a header for a travel newsletter or a dispatch from wherever you are writing. The newsletters and email guide covers the rest.
Q. Where can I find ASCII art of Indian cities?
Mumbai's Marine Drive Necklace is on this page, and the India page has much more city life: a Mumbai street in monsoon rain, yellow taxis crossing a giant bridge in Kolkata, a bazaar full of auto-rickshaws and the evening aarti on the ghats. Landscapes adds Taj Mahal Sunset and Hawa Mahal Morning.

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