--- title: Travel Ideas: Photos From the World's Most Iconic Landmarks description: From Grand Canyon to Machu Picchu to Eiffel Tower canonical: https://time.com/3982560/iconic-world-landmarks/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-05T15:00:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:42:26.559Z og:title: These Are the World's Most Iconic Landmarks og:description: From Machu Picchu to the Eiffel Tower og:url: https://time.com/3982560/iconic-world-landmarks/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Are the World's Most Iconic Landmarks twitter:description: From Machu Picchu to the Eiffel Tower twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # These Are the World's Most Iconic Landmarks > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. by [Caroline Hallemann / Travel + Leisure](https://time.com/author/travel-leisure/) ## Caroline Hallemann / Travel + Leisure Aug 5, 2015 3:00 PM UTC by [Caroline Hallemann / Travel + Leisure](https://time.com/author/travel-leisure/) ## Caroline Hallemann / Travel + Leisure Aug 5, 2015 3:00 PM UTC Upon arriving in a destination, an effective way to get the lay of the land is to look down on the city from above. Whether from the roof of a centuries-old cathedral, the summit of a mountain, or the observation deck of a skyscraper, these views can offer travelers a breathtaking new perspective on even the most popular tourist spots. Scared of heights? Get a vertigo fix without leaving your living room, with photos from the top of 21 landmarks around the world. ### Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia  D6TE27 People climbing to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, BridgeClimb Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Blaine Harrington III—Alamy Thrill-seekers know the best view of Sydney’s famed Opera House comes from the [top of Harbour Bridge](http://www.bridgeclimb.com/). Climb to almost 440 feet above sea level for an unobstructed vista of the city below. ### Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur  02 Mar 2011, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia --- View of the town from the Observation Deck of Petronas Towers (82nd Floor Tower 2) --- Image by © Atlantide Phototravel/Corbis Massimo Borchi—Corbis No trip to the Malaysian capital would be complete without an expedition to the top of these twin towers. Visit the observation deck on the 86th floor, or walk between the structures on the [Skybridge](http://www.petronastwintowers.com.my/), 557 feet above ground. ### The Empire State Building in NYC  29 Oct 2013, Manhattan, New York City, New York State, USA --- USA, New York City, Manhattan, Uptown cityscape from the Empire State Building at sunset --- Image by © Pietro Canali/SOPA RF/SOPA/Corbis Pietro Canali—SOPA RF Once an airship docking station, the Empire State Building now stands as an icon in New York City’s skyline. Head up to the main observation deck on the 86th floor for expansive views of The Big Apple’s most notable landmarks. Then, kick your visit up a notch by taking the manually operated elevator to the 102nd-floor “[Top Deck](http://www.esbnyc.com/explore/top-deck-102nd-floor)” where you can see up for 80 miles, depending on the weather. ### Grand Canyon  07 Apr 2014, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA --- Grand Canyon, Arizona, Usa --- Image by © Topic Photo Agency/Corbis Topic Photo Agency/Corbis For a truly vertigo-inducing visit to the Grand Canyon, take a stroll on [the Skywalk](http://www.grandcanyonwest.com/), a glass-bottomed, horseshoe-shaped platform that extends over the western end of the natural wonder, nearly 4,000 feet above the floor. ### The Shard, London  E8ADT6 England, London, View from The Shard Steve Vidler—Alamy London’s iconic, Renzo Piano-designed skyscraper offers visitors a view of the city skyline from 800 feet up. Once you’re at the top, pause for a snapshot, or, if you’re feeling peckish, [a picnic](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/this-summer-have-a-posh-picnic-800-feet-above-london). ### Eiffel Tower in Paris  10 Oct 2013 --- A view from the Eiffel Tower of the Seine River and its bridges. --- Image by © William Albert Allard/National Geographic Creative/Corbis William Albert Allard—National Geographic Creative/Corbis The [most famous lookout in the City of Light](http://www.toureiffel.paris/en.html) got a bit of a makeover last fall with a new glass floor 187 feet above the ground. Stop your ascension there for breathtaking views of the city below or take the stairs one story up and reward yourself with a panoramic vista paired with a glass of champagne from the on-site bar. ### Mount Everest  BAPPE3 Aerial view of Mount Everest Hitendra Sinkar Photography/Alamy The reward for summiting the highest peak on Earth? An otherworldly view of the mountain below. ### Willis Tower in Chicago  21 May 2013, Chicago, Illinois, USA --- USA, Illinois, Chicago, View from Willis Tower --- Image by © Fotofeeling/Westend61/Corbis Fotofeeling—Westend61/Corbis Perhaps more commonly known by its former name—Sears Tower—Willis Tower gives tourists a new perspective the Windy City. Dare-devils should venture out on [the “Ledge,” ](http://theskydeck.com/)a glass box extending four feet from the Skydeck that gives the impression of hovering over thin air. ### St. Peter’s Basilica  21 Sep 2014 --- View from the dome of St. Peter's Basilica, San Pietro, across Piazza San Pietro, St. Peter's Square to Via della Conciliazione, Vatican, Rome, Lazio, Italy, Europe --- Image by © Moritz Wolf/imageBROKER/Corbis Moritz Wolf—imageBROKER/Corbis After taking in the beauty of the Sistine Chapel, climb to the top of St. Peter’s Dome—a short 551 steps, but who’s counting—for another masterpiece: the view of Vatican City. ### Machu Picchu  07 Dec 2010, Machu Picchu, Peru --- The stone work laid by the ancient Incas resembles the surrounding mountain scene. The sight is located near the town of Aguas Calientes. Most visitors take a long train ride from Cusco to get to Aguas Calientes and then proceed to Machu Picchu. --- Image by © Brandon Hauser/Science Faction/Corbis Brandon Hauser—Science Faction/Corbis Climb to the top of the Incan citadel for this birds-eye view of the Peruvian UNESCO World Heritage Site. [_Read the full list here._](http://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/view-from-the-top-photos-from-the-worlds-most-iconic-landmarks/11?xid=PS%5Ftime) _This_ [_article_](http://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/view-from-the-top-photos-from-the-worlds-most-iconic-landmarks/) _originally appeared on_ [_Travel + Leisure_](http://www.travelandleisure.com/) _More from Travel + Leisure:_ * [25 Things You Didn’t Know About Disney](http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/25-things-you-didnt-know-about-disney-parks?xid=PS%5Ftime) * [These Are the Friendliest Cities in America](http://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/americas-friendliest-cities?xid=PS%5Ftime) * [17 Restaurants Worth Planning a Trip Around—and How to Get a Reservation](http://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/best-restaurants-worth-planning-a-trip-around?xid=PS%5Ftime) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3982560/iconic-world-landmarks/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3982560/iconic-world-landmarks/"},"headline":"These Are the World's Most Iconic Landmarks","datePublished":"2015-08-05T15:00:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:42:26.559Z","description":"From Machu Picchu to the Eiffel Tower","url":"https://time.com/3982560/iconic-world-landmarks/","keywords":["Living","Travel","World"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Caroline Hallemann / Travel + Leisure"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3982560/iconic-world-landmarks/","name":"These Are the World's Most Iconic Landmarks"}}]}] ```