Always searching for the world’s most beautiful skylines, and capturing them with atmosphere and intention. I’ve been fascinated by skyscrapers and urban panoramas for as long as I can remember. Their scale, forms, and architecture keep surprising me, wherever in the world I find them. Here in the Netherlands, we don’t have the iconic skylines of cities like New York, Hong Kong, or Chicago. Rotterdam is the only one that comes close, a rare exception in our otherwise flat landscape.

Photographing the Manhattan Skyline: the Most Beautiful Viewpoints

The first skyline to appear on countless bucket lists is, naturally, the Manhattan skyline of New York City. It’s one of my personal favourites, not least because you can photograph this impressive horizon from so many different angles. Everyone has their own preferred spot, but for me one location stands far above the rest: the Brooklyn side. From there, you’ll find two incredible viewpoints, including the view from Old Pier 1, the perspective shown below.

The Manhattan skyline from Empire Fulton Ferry

The other, and in my opinion the most beautiful way to photograph the Manhattan skyline is from Empire Fulton Ferry. From here, you get a magnificent view of Lower Manhattan, with the iconic Brooklyn Bridge cutting gracefully through the scene. It’s a place where the city’s energy, its architecture, and the water merge into one striking panorama

Photographing the Chicago skyline from North Avenue Beach

When you continue traveling west, you eventually arrive at what I consider the most beautiful skyline in the world: Chicago, Illinois. This city is not only a paradise for architecture enthusiasts but also my favorite place for street photography.

Chicago breathes urban energy; every street, every building, every line surprises me again with each visit. Just like in New York there are multiple places to capture the skyline, but the view from North Avenue Beach inspires me the most. From this point you have an impressive panorama of the skyline, with Lake Michigan as a natural foreground. What makes this perspective so special to me is the perfect symmetry you see from here.

The photo below was taken at sunrise, right in the middle of winter. Lake Michigan was completely frozen and acted like a mirror, beautifully reflecting the Chicago skyline.

The San Francisco skyline from Twin Peaks

Cities by the water always have an extra dimension, and San Francisco is no exception. Just like New York, Hong Kong, and Chicago, the water here adds a special depth to skyline photography. The first photo below shows the San Francisco skyline as seen from Twin Peaks, a fantastic location to capture the city at sunset.

The San Francisco skyline with the iconic Golden Gate Bridge

A visit to San Francisco isn’t complete without a photo of the skyline with the world‑famous Golden Gate Bridge, the most photographed bridge in the world. On the eastern side of the bridge you’ll find countless fantastic viewpoints, such as Battery Spencer, Golden Gate View Point, Kirby Beach, and Hawk Hill. You can’t go wrong at any of these locations; each offers a unique perspective on the city.

The photo below was taken during the blue hour from Battery Spencer. From here you have a beautiful view of the San Francisco skyline with the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in the foreground.

Los Angeles skyline from Kenneth Hahn Park

Travel a little farther south and you’ll arrive in the City of Angels. Although downtown Los Angeles appeals to me less personally, the skyline remains impressive. Just like in other world cities, there are countless spots—both nearby and farther away, where you can capture beautiful skyline photos.

My absolute number one location is Kenneth Hahn Park. With a good zoom lens you can beautifully combine the mountains and the skyline into one powerful, compressed image. The result is an iconic view where nature and metropolis flow seamlessly into one another, as shown in the photo below.

Additional viewpoints for the Los Angeles skyline

n addition to Kenneth Hahn Park there are several viewpoints that are absolutely worth a visit, such as the Mulholland Scenic Overlook and of course the iconic Griffith Observatory. If you want to capture the Downtown Los Angeles skyline from closer up, the bridges along the Harbor Freeway are your best choice. Especially around sunset and during the blue hour this location truly shines.

When the light slowly fades and the city begins to glow, a long exposure creates stunning images: the DTLA skyline combined with dynamic light trails from the traffic rushing beneath you. The result is a powerful, vibrant cityscape that perfectly captures the energy of Los Angeles.

De indrukwekkende skyline van Hongkong vanaf Victoria Peak

For the next world‑famous skyline we leave the United States and travel to Hong Kong, the city with the most densely built skyline in the world. From the Avenue of Stars you can capture beautiful images, especially during the light show when the city truly comes alive. Still, my personal preference is the view from Victoria Peak.

From this height you quite literally look down over the city and the harbor, with a panoramic view that is impressive both during the day and at night. At sunrise the sun appears behind the city and bathes Hong Kong in soft, warm light. During sunset and the blue hour the illuminated skyscrapers add an extra dimension to your photo, a magical contrast between nature, elevation, and urban energy.

So many world skylines still waiting to be discovered

Of course there are countless other impressive skylines around the world to photograph. Cities like Singapore, Toronto, and Taipei, to name just a few, are absolutely worth a visit and each offers its own unique silhouette. I haven’t seen all the major skylines—and that’s perfectly fine.

It’s important to have a wish list, so you can keep dreaming about future trips and new perspectives. You simply can’t have everything, and that’s exactly what makes discovering new skylines so special.

Explore my fine art wall art collections as well

Haarlem, Amsterdam, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dutch landscapes, Landscapes, Favourites, and Fine Art.

View my full collection at Work on the Wall