The World’s Most Spectacular Skylines

08/18/08  Print This Post Print This Post    72 Comments   Popular   Written by Juliane Huang
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Chicago skyline reflected off the Bean / Photo by jswieringa. Feature photo by Pete Carr.

Some of the best instances in which humanity attempts to reach for the heavens.

Something about the outline of a city against its clear, crisp sky stops us in our tracks and commands our attention.

City skylines stand as testaments to human engineering and architectural advancements. Its shape reveals our history, our culture, our beliefs, our beauty to the infinite universe. How can we not stop and stare?

Below are staggeringly beautiful images where city meets sky all across the globe.

Miami, Florida, USA / Photo by vgm8383.

Bangkok, Thailand / Photo by Andrew Hux.

Vancouver, British Columbia / Photo by kennymatic.

Republic Plaza, Singapore / Photo by Singapor3.

Sydney, Australia / Photy by Maik Radke.

Shanghai, China / Photo by Molas.

London, England / Photo by vemma.

Perth, Australia / Photo by Ole Reidar Johansen.

Cologne, Germany / Photo by JaBB.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates / Photo from7_70.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia / Photo from The Wandering Angel.

Hong Kong / Photo by wenzday01.

Tokyo, Japan / Photo by tenaciousme.

Cairo, Egypt / Photo by Aldas Kirvaitis.

Moscow, Russia/ Photo by Alexander Andreev.

New York, New York, USA / Photo by Wilhelm J. Anderson.

Warsaw, Poland / Photo by Qba from Poland.

San Francisco, California, USA / Photo by Selena N. B. H..


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About the Author

Juliane Huang

Juliane Huang currently writes for Matador from the beautiful city of San Francisco. With a laptop in one arm and a travel bag in the other, Juliane is rarely at home, though always online. Catch up with her on her blog.

72 Comments... join the discussion!

  • ytcritic6 replied on August 19, 2008

    they all look like fake HDR's

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  • anon replied on August 19, 2008

    photos look nice but theyre were some that lacked skylines and focused too much on just one building.

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  • skylineJudge replied on August 19, 2008

    hong kong > everything else everything else fails miserably, especially new york

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  • all the commentators replied on August 20, 2008

    I actually thought some of the pics were cool. What's the big deal anyway? Why is everyone going nuts and being such assholes? Seriously, I don't get the basis for such an undeserved violent reaction. If the person was writing about how women should show their tits or that we should kill kittens, yeah, I might say not so nice things too..but seriously, what's everybody's problem?

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  • PhPhreddy replied on August 20, 2008

    Two great skylines left out: Frankfurt and Calgary also the NYC shot was bunk.

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  • Free Xbox 360 replied on August 20, 2008

    Great pics. I'll have to go to these places.

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  • SPunkNutz replied on August 20, 2008

    Pittsburgh.

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  • Richard replied on August 20, 2008

    Nice to see Perth in there! Great picture!

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  • Will replied on August 20, 2008

    Worst NYC skyline ever

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  • N/A replied on August 20, 2008

    I kinda liked some of these pics! What's with all the vitriol?!

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  • liv replied on August 20, 2008

    they forgot oxford, england [IMG]” target=”_blank”>http://i324.photobucket.com/albums/k354/livvydee/...

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  • Simon replied on August 22, 2008

    Perth…not South Perth. and is that just a big puddle? Although it is nice to see Perth there, it doesn't get much attention as the worlds most isolated city.

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  • Phoenix replied on August 23, 2008

    Perth having a "spectacular skyline"? Sorry. This is a collection of good photographs, with little bearing on the actual skyline.

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  • David paul Ohmer replied on August 24, 2008

    Hello, Thanks for using my San Francisco photo on your website. I very much appreciate it. I really liked the other photos of Perth, London and Miami as well. Sincerely, Dave P. Ohmer

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  • Avy replied on August 25, 2008

    Ouch, really? Have you been to Detroit?

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  • alan replied on August 26, 2008

    really spectacular captures…but whare's the polluted sky of bejing?

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  • logos replied on August 26, 2008

    i translate your wonderful article into chinese in http://www.yeeyan.com/

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  • martin Miller-yianni replied on August 27, 2008

    You need to get around a bit more many of these would be relegated if you did..

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  • Paul replied on August 30, 2008

    Thanks for bringing some spectacular cities to our attention, but yeah, most of these photos are comically bad.

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  • laradunston replied on August 30, 2008

    Gosh, what an 'interesting' thread… whoever would have thought that a blog on 'skylines' (although a couple in there aren't really skylines at all) would inspire such 'passion'. Dubai (the Deira skyline from the Bur Dubai side) and Abu Dhabi (taken from the giant flagpole) should definitely be there. Along with Istanbul for sure. And that picture is of Perth, not South Perth (could be taken from South Perth I think). I think the problem with a lot of these photos is that they are so over-processed – put them on a professional photographer's site and they'd be laughed at – although they probably wouldn't be the subject of such verbal abuse. Great idea for a post!

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  • Sophie replied on November 21, 2009

    Good idea! And that photo of Dubai – Wow!

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  • Suzanne Kapusta replied on November 21, 2009

    I enjoyed them very much, thank you!

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