Found a worthy contender for the most unusual city attraction. In Austin, Texas.

Back in the 1980s, the city renovated a bridge. The new structure turned out to be absolutely perfect for... a bat colony. It got to the point where in a city of almost a million people, there are now more bats than humans.

At first, residents were scared and really wanted to get rid of their uninvited neighbors. But a campaign by local biologists changed public opinion. Now it's practically the main draw for tourists.

Every night from March to October, crowds gather at the bridge waiting for the show. You can pay to get on a boat and watch everything from the water. Though there's no guarantee you'll actually see anything: the hunt only happens when it's warm, dry, and there's no strong wind. Otherwise, the insects they hunt stay home, and there's no point flying out. In a single night, they can collectively eat a whole ton of gnats. First, solo "scouts" fly out, then at some point a massive exodus begins. On the best nights, up to a quarter of the colony of a million and a half can take flight to hunt.

There's a whole website where enthusiasts track flight history and publish forecasts for the day. I wasn't too lucky: I only managed to see about 3% of the colony take off in complete darkness to hunt. So the video doesn't show much. People say you need to go in August. That's when the most impressive flights happen. Added an internet picture to the post. Would love to see something like that in person.

And yes. All of this happens not in some remote village, but right in the center of a huge glass and concrete city.