Let’s face it: bathrooms are part of everyone’s life. They can be a lot more than just places to relieve yourself, though, and often are refuges from a stressful night, or places to refresh, relax, recuperate, and talk in secret. When you really think about it, bathrooms are shelters of sorts, a built-in escape that no one can rightly stop you from taking.

They can also be beautiful and inventive visual experiences, and in New York, where absolutely anything can and will be designed to the limit, there are more than a few bathrooms that are worth visiting for their design alone. Read on to discover 10 of the most unique, beautiful, strange, and even terrifying water closets in the city.

1. A Bathroom with a View at Governors Island

Who says a bathroom can’t come with a magnificent view? This bathroom on Governors Island is not only a great place to take care of business—it’s also an idyllic spot for gazing across the river at Manhattan‘s Freedom Tower and the city skyline. With its wooden floors, circular mirrors, and open-air nature, this bathroom is a destination in itself.