Ways to explore
Views & observation decks
Towers, rooftops and lookouts for the big picture. 54 picks across 27 destinations.
The best of the best
ChicagoSkydeck Chicago at Willis Tower
The 103rd-floor observation deck atop the building most Chicagoans still call the Sears Tower — home to The Ledge, the glass boxes that cantilever out over the city 1,353 feet below.
HawaiiDiamond Head State Monument (Oahu)
Oahu's iconic volcanic crater and Hawaii's most famous hike — a short, historic trail up to panoramic views over Waikiki and the Pacific.
Lake TahoeHeavenly Mountain Resort & Gondola
Tahoe's biggest mountain, straddling two states — 4,800 skiable acres in winter, and year-round gondola rides from South Lake Tahoe's village to a 9,123-foot observation deck with the lake filling the horizon.
Los AngelesGriffith Observatory
The Art Deco observatory on the slopes of Mount Hollywood — free to enter, with planetarium shows, telescopes, science exhibits, and the city's most famous views of the LA basin and the Hollywood Sign.
New York CityEmpire State Building
The 1931 art deco icon that defined the New York skyline — 86th-floor outdoor observation deck and 102nd-floor enclosed observatory, with King Kong references everywhere.
San FranciscoGolden Gate Bridge
The most photographed bridge in the world — the 1937 Art Deco span in International Orange, soaring across the strait where the bay meets the Pacific.
SeattleSpace Needle
The 1962 icon, rebuilt for vertigo — floor-to-ceiling glass at 520 feet, tilting benches on the open deck, and The Loupe below: the world's first rotating glass floor.
BerlinBerlin TV Tower
The 368-metre needle over Alexanderplatz that East Germany built to impress the West — a viewing floor about 200 metres up with the whole city at your feet, and Tim Raue's revolving Sphere restaurant above it.