Postcards from the Old Miramar Hotel, a Crumbling Relic of Venezuela’s Ritzy Riviera

The Miramar Hotel is falling down. Its voluptuous domes and towering spires have crashed to the ground, its red roof tiles have been slipping and the classically-moulded plaster on its walls reduced to dust. This once awe-inspiring piece of architecture lies prostrate, with its dismembered limbs on display in the breeze of the balmy seaside…

The Vault

In Newark, NJ the Number of Abandoned Theatres Lying Around Is Kind of a Problem

There is nothing quite so poignant and eerie as an abandoned theatre. From the torn, dusty remnants of old red velvet curtains, to rows of empty and dilapidated seats, it is easy to imagine the bustling crowds, thronging together for an evening’s entertainment. For those who love to explore the faded gilt of old, grand…

Pssst! You've stumbled across content that is exclusive to Nessy's Keyholders.

There’s a new way to access the really special stuff from Messy Nessy Chic …

Hidden beneath the surface layers of the internet, there’s a place where we keep our most secret addresses, untapped archives, creator’s inspiration, collector’s guides, explorer’s manuals, obscure research and much more… And it’s made for our keyholders only!

Apply now to unlock the Vault

Keyholder Login

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CCCXXII)

1.Freddie Mercury’s First Band You can see him, centre, with his bandmates in 1958. Their band was called “The Hectics”. The school-band was formed while all five were students at St. Peter’s Boys School, an English boarding school near Bombay (now Mumbai), India. The band only played at school events and were not allowed to venture outside for bookings. Found on…

Our Zoom Date with the Guy Who Bought a Ghost Town & is Now Quarantined There (Alone)

In 2018, Brent Underwood and his pal, Jon Bier, spent their life savings on the purchase of a California ghost town, “Cerro Gordo” – and life has never been the same since. Underwood’s virtual tour of the town and its stories – equal parts Clint Eastwood Western, Twin Peaks, and The Shining – brought its…

The Secret Swimming Pools of the Paris Catacombs

It felt like the pavements of Paris could have melted these past few days. The city’s swimming pools were overflowing with splashing bodies and escape from the heat seemed futile. But there is one place, beneath the baking pavements, where only few will venture and plunge into the cool waters of the underworld. So let’s follow them…

Have New York’s Grand Central Station all to Yourself

Turns out, even them hardened New Yorkers have a soft spot for romance. This week, Grand Central Terminal announced the impossible: it will be opening its doors for the night to one special, randomly selected couple this Valentine’s Day for a romantic dinner for two beneath that iconic zodiac ceiling in the Main Concourse, all…

Who Will Rescue the Ruins of This French Fairytale Chateau?

“STOP!” I howled from the passenger seat of the car as it sped past the padlocked gates in the darkness of the old town square. “You have to go back– I saw something!” We’d left Paris that evening for the long weekend and stopped for dinner in the little commune of Fontenay-Trésigny, thirty minutes from the city. As…

A Walk along the Paris inner city Railway, abandoned since 1934

I spent my Saturday afternoon, avoiding the Parisian summer crowds and tiptoeing along the train tracks of the “Little Belt” railroad (La Petite Ceinture), a surviving relic of a bygone era, closed since 1934; open for pleasant summer strolls if you look hard enough for a way in … Built in 1862, the Petite Ceinture…

These are the Real-Life Gardens of Earthly Delights

These are also the places that will confuse the heck out of aliens if they ever do land on this planet. From the forests of Finland to the subtropical mountains of Mexico, we’ve come across some many magical gardens over the years and thought it was about time to put them in one place… The…

Saving a Slice of America’s Mansions

Your eyes do not deceive you. These homes have indeed been cut down the middle like a knife through a buttercream cake, but in lieu of confetti sprinkles, the insides spill out water damage, rot, and everything that’s wrong with our throw-away society. It’s the greatest triumph, and tragedy of America’s 100-yr-old homes: when they…