Clear as day! The viewpoints around the world with the best visibility

With the summer holiday season in full swing, many of us are starting to think about itineraries for upcoming city breaks and day trips. Holidaymakers are keen to make the most of their time in a new location – ticking off all of the major landmarks, seeing the best destination views and taking photos to remember the amazing trip.

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Berliner Fernsehturm, Germany

One of the most popular things to do on city breaks is going to the top of one of the tallest attractions for a bird’s eye view of your destination – not just to get your bearings, but to soak up the scenery. And it’s not just cities!

The world is full of spectacular scenery, with hikes designed to take walkers around lakes, through forests and up mountains to treat them to some of the most breathtaking views.

However, we’ve all felt the disappointment of reaching that peak or viewpoint only to find that the view we’ve been waiting for is almost completely blocked by clouds. This got us thinking – which stunning vistas around the world are most likely to offer clear views?

We’ve analysed nearly 100 viewpoints around the world to reveal exactly that!

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Here, we’ll be revealing:

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The top 50 viewpoints with the clearest views

Here’s how it works – we combined data on the average cloud cover and visibility for each of our 100 long-listed locations to create our own unique Visibility Score.

Our research revealed that Canada’s Grouse Mountain in British Columbia is the viewpoint that’s most likely to have a clear view – despite being perched next to Vancouver city, visitors can expect to see incredible city and nature views from the summit. Scoring 91 out of a possible 100, Grouse Point takes the top spot thanks to its average visibility of more than 36km, which is also the highest of any site in our rankings.

Following in second is the Cerro Otto Panoramic Deck in Patagonia, just ten points behind with an overall score of 81. This viewpoint is also the only location in South America to rank within the top 25.

Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in Wales completes the top three, despite the UK’s often changeable weather. Berlin’s Fernsehturm and Reichstag Dome rank in joint fourth position, as they both benefit from the same average weather in the German capital – so, if you’re planning city breaks in Germany, it might be worth trying to visit both viewpoints in the same day!

Oceania’s highest-ranking viewpoint is Ben Lomond in Queenstown, New Zealand, which sits in sixth position with an overall score of 66.

Recently featured in the hit Netflix series One Day, Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh joins Edinburgh Castle in seventh place, with Pen Y Fan in Wales rounding off the top 10. As a result, viewpoints in the United Kingdom make up almost half of the top 10 locations – so, despite the UK’s changeable weather, it’s not all bad when it comes to getting a good view!

Victoria Falls features in ninth position, also placing as the most reliably unobstructed viewpoint in Africa.

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Rank	Viewpoint Name	Country	Visibility Score (/100)
1	Grouse Mountain	Canada	91
2	Cerro Otto Panoramic Deck	Argentina	82
3	Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)	United Kingdom	75
=4	Berliner Fernsehturm	Germany	67
=4	Reichstag Dome	Germany	67
6	Ben Lomond	New Zealand	66
=7	Arthur's Seat	United Kingdom	66
=7	Edinburgh Castle	United Kingdom	66
9	Victoria Falls	Zambia/Zimbabwe	59
10	Pen Y Fan	United Kingdom	56
=11	Petřín Tower	Czech Republic	56
=11	Charles Bridge Tower	Czech Republic	56
13	The Blackpool Tower	United Kingdom	54
14	Cheddar Gorge	United Kingdom	48
15	Broadway Tower	United Kingdom	47
16	Spinnaker Tower	United Kingdom	47
17	Blyde River Canyon	South Africa	45
18	Mehtab Bagh Viewpoint	India	43
19	Giant's Causeway	United Kingdom	43
20	Echo Point Lookout	Australia	42
21	Durdle Door	United Kingdom	42
22	Padar Island Viewpoint	Indonesia	41
23	Eiffel Tower	France	40
24	Mirador Achachiua	Peru	39
=25	London Eye	United Kingdom	29
=25	Sky Garden	United Kingdom	29
=25	The Shard	United Kingdom	29
=25	Primrose Hill	United Kingdom	29
29	Mirador Laime	Venezuela	29
30	Tianmen Mountain	China	28
31	The Lookout	Netherlands	27
32	Columbia Icefield Skywalk	Canada	27
33	Walls of Dubrovnik	Croatia	27
34	Guinness Storehouse	Ireland	27
35	Wineglass Bay Lookout	Australia	26
35	kunanyi/Mt Wellington summit	Australia	26
37	Seoul Sky	South Korea	26
38	Kengamine Peak	Japan	25
39	Tokyo Skytree	Japan	25
40	High Roller	United States	24
41	Camelback Mountain	United States	24
42	Airpost Mesa Trail	United States	24
43	Sandia Park Tramway	United States	24
44	Chapel of the Holy Cross	United States	24
45	Golden Gate Bridge	United States	23
46	Table Mountain	South Africa	23
47	Beachy Head	United Kingdom	23
48	National WWI Museum and Memorial	United States	23
49	Reunion Tower	United States	23
50	Lincoln Memorial	United States	23

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1. Grouse Mountain, Canada - 91 out of 100

Located at the edge of Vancouver, Grouse Mountain offers incredible views over the city, and can be accessed within 30 minutes of leaving downtown. The Skyride cable car transports visitors to an elevation of around 1,000 metres in just eight minutes, or you could always take on one of the many hiking trails.

Grouse Mountain offers five viewpoints which look over not just Vancouver city itself, but also the Georgia Strait, Cascade Mountain Range and the wider area of British Columbia’s South Coast. Scoring 91 out of 100 for visibility, visitors should be pretty confident in enjoying a clear view!

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2. Cerro Otto Panoramic Deck, Argentina - 82 out of 100

The peak of Cerro Otto stands at 1,405 metres high and sits to the south-west of the city of Bariloche in the Andes. Shuttles carry visitors from the city to the cable car throughout the day, ideal for anyone visiting the city.

Offering views of Nahuel Huapi Lake, the Patagonian steppe, Ñireco, Ventana and Carbón Hills and all of Bariloche city, the 100 square metre viewpoint is a must-visit.

The peak is also a great rest point for those taking part in activities at Cerro Otto, including sledding, snowshoeing and hiking.

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3. Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) - 75 out of 100

The highest mountain in Wales and England, Yr Wyddfa, also known as Snowdon, is the most popular summit in Eryri national park. Situated among several other jagged peaks, the summit of the mountain offers views over Anglesey, Pembrokeshire, and Ireland on a clear day.

There are six different tracks to choose from to hike up to the top too! Alternatively, the Snowdon Mountain Railway runs from mid-May until the end of October.

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Europe’s best viewpoints

European destinations are among the most visited in the world, and with a perfect mix of city, mountain and coastal destinations, there really is something for everyone when it comes to capturing a stunning view.

Ranking in the top three on the overall list, Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in Wales takes the top spot for Europe. With many visitors flocking to Eyri national park each year, and the train offering a family friendly and accessible way to reach the viewpoint as well as hiking, it’s easy to see why around 600,000 visitors hike to the summit each year.

The Fernsehturm and Reichstag Dome in Berlin follow in joint second position on the European rankings, with 67 points out of a possible 100. Arthur’s Seat and Edinburgh Castle follow closely behind with 66 points in joint fourth.

Though it’s regarded as one of the most famous landmarks in the world, the Eiffel Tower only makes it into fifteenth position, with a total of 40 points. Similarly, London’s top attractions, including the London Eye, the Shard and the Sky Garden follow in sixteenth place with a Visibility Score of just 29.

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#2. Reichstag Dome, Berlin, Germany

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#4. Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh, Scotland

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#6. Pen Y Fan, Wales

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Rank	Viewpoint Name	Country	Visibility Score (/100)
1	Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)	United Kingdom	75
=2	Berliner Fernsehturm	Germany	67
=2	Reichstag Dome	Germany	67
=4	Arthur's Seat	United Kingdom	66
=4	Edinburgh Castle	United Kingdom	66
6	Pen Y Fan	United Kingdom	56
=7	Petřín Tower	Czech Republic	56
=7	Charles Bridge Tower	Czech Republic	56
9	The Blackpool Tower	United Kingdom	54
10	Cheddar Gorge	United Kingdom	48
11	Broadway Tower	United Kingdom	47
12	Spinnaker Tower	United Kingdom	47
13	Giant's Causeway	United Kingdom	43
14	Durdle Door	United Kingdom	42
15	Eiffel Tower	France	40
=16	London Eye	England	29
=16	Sky Garden	United Kingdom	29
=16	The Shard	United Kingdom	29
=16	Primrose Hill	United Kingdom	29
20	The Lookout	Netherlands	27
21	Walls of Dubrovnik	Croatia	27
22	Guinness Storehouse	Ireland	27
23	Beachy Head	United Kingdom	23
=24	Parc Guell	Spain	21
=24	Montjuic Castle	Spain	21
26	Stegastein Viewpoint	Norway	18
27	Hallgrimskirkja	Iceland	17
28	Leaning Tower of Pisa	Italy	17
29	Kotor Fortress	Montenegro	17
30	Five Fingers	Austria	16
31	Galata Tower	Turkey	16
32	Pena Palace	Portugal	15
33	Stubai Glacier Platform	Austria	15
34	Piazzale Michelangelo	Italy	14
35	Halászbástya	Hungary	14
36	Matterhorn Glacier Paradise	Switzerland	14

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Mehtab Bagh, India

Asia's best viewpoints

Moving Eastwards, the Mehtab Bagh Viewpoint in Agra, India is revealed as Asia’s clearest viewpoint, scoring 43 out of 100 on our Visibility Score. The Mehtab Bagh or ‘Moonlight Garden’ sits just north of the Taj Mahal on the opposite bank of the Yamuna River and offers a perfect opportunity to see the ivory white mausoleum from another angle.

Padar Island Viewpoint in Indonesia – a favourite among hiking enthusiasts visiting Komodo National Park – follows closely behind with a score of 42 points.

The summit offers stunning views of the surrounding islands and beautiful beaches. It can be reached after a 2.4-mile (3.9 kilometre) hike that usually takes one to two hours to complete.

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Rounding off Asia’s top three is Tianmen Mountain in China. Home to dramatic views – as well as activities like a 4,700 feet high glass skywalk and the world’s longest cable car – this spot is unmissable.

Renowned as one of the most captivating mountains in the world, it’s one of the best viewpoints to visit in the country.

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Rank	Viewpoint Name	Country	Visibility Score (/100)
1	Mehtab Bagh Viewpoint	India	43
2	Padar Island Viewpoint	Indonesia	41
3	Tianmen Mountain	China	28
4	Seoul Sky	South Korea	26
5	Kengamine Peak	Japan	25
6	Tokyo Skytree	Japan	25
7	Bagan Viewing Tower	Myanmar	21
8	Victoria Peak (The Peak)	Hong Kong	20
9	Mount Kinabalu	Malaysia	20
10	The Chocolate Hills	Philippines	15
11	Mount Batur	Indonesia	15
12	Langkawi Sky Bridge	Malaysia	15
13	Lebua Sky Bar	Thailand	15
14	Singapore Flyer	Singapore	14
15	Burj Khalifa	United Arab Emirates	14

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Victoria Falls, Zambia / Zimbawe

Africa's best viewpoint

As well as ranking in the top 10 overall, Victoria Falls ranks as Africa’s most reliable viewpoint. The waterfall is nestled on the Zambezi River, on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, and is the world’s largest sheet of falling water at 108 metres high and 1,708 metres wide. For those hoping to get a good view of the falls, the Zimbabwean side is often better to visit.

The Blyde River Canyon, which you may not be as familiar with, ranks in second with a score of 45. The third largest canyon in the world and also the largest ‘green canyon’ due to its subtropical foliage, Blyde River Canyon offers stunning views for those lucky enough to visit.

The famous Table Mountain follows in third, scoring 23 out of 100. Though many visitors travel to the summit each year via cable car or hiking, the flat summit is often cloaked in clouds, which give a ‘tablecloth’ like appearance to the mountain when viewed from below.

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Rank	Viewpoint Name	Country	Visibility Score (/100)
1	Victoria Falls	Zambia/Zimbabwe	59
2	Blyde River Canyon	South Africa	45
3	Table Mountain	South Africa	23
4	Cape of Good Hope	South Africa	22
5	Top of Africa, Carlton Centre	South Africa	17

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Ben Lomond, New Zealand

Oceania's best viewpoints

Ben Lomond in Queenstown, New Zealand ranks as the clearest viewpoint in Oceania; its summit offers spectacular views of New Zealand’s Southern Alps. The country is known for its beautiful scenery, and the summit of Ben Lomond allows adventurers to see this from an entirely new perspective.

Echo Point Lookout in Australia’s Blue Mountains follows in second with a score of 42 out of 100. The viewpoint also has the lowest number of days with more than 50% cloud cover of any viewpoint in the continent, at just 177 days per year in comparison to the 301 cloud cover days at Milford Sound.

Wineglass Bay Lookout and the Mount Wellington Summit tie in third place for Oceania with 26 points each.

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Rank	Viewpoint Name	Country	Visibility Score (/100)
1	Ben Lomond	New Zealand	66
2	Echo Point Lookout	Australia	42
3	Wineglass Bay Lookout	Australia	26
3	kunanyi/Mt Wellington summit	Australia	26
5	SkyWalk	New Zealand	18
6	Mount Victoria	New Zealand	15
7	Q1 SkyPoint Observation Deck	Australia	15
8	Hill Inlet Lookout	Australia	15
9	Milford Sound Lookout	New Zealand	13

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Columbia Icefield Skywalk, USA

North America's best viewpoints

Home to both spectacular cities and stunning national parks, the USA and Canada both boast countless incredible viewpoints. Following the global rankings, Grouse Mountain in British Columbia, Canada, places top overall with a score of 91 out of 100.

However, the rest of the viewpoints analysed in the USA and Canada don’t fare quite as well when it comes to getting clear weather; second place Columbia Icefield Skywalk in Alberta trails with just 27 points overall. Perched on the edge of the Sunwapta Valley, visitors to the Skywalk will have to work their way along a 280-metre suspended glass platform - not one for the faint hearted!

Las Vegas’ High Roller completes the top three, with Camelback Mountain and Airpost Mesa Trail, both in Arizona, tied in fourth with 24 points.

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Rank	Viewpoint Name	Country	Visibility Score (/100)
1	Grouse Mountain	Canada	91
2	Columbia Icefield Skywalk	Canada	27
3	High Roller	United States	24
4	Camelback Mountain	United States	24
5	Airpost Mesa Trail	United States	24
6	Sandia Park Tramway	United States	24
7	Chapel of the Holy Cross	United States	24
8	Golden Gate Bridge	United States	23
9	National WWI Museum and Memorial	United States	23
10	Reunion Tower	United States	23
11	Lincoln Memorial	United States	23
12	Pittock Mansion	United States	23
13	Tower of the Americas	United States	23
14	Empire State Building	United States	23
14	Top of the Rock	United States	23
16	Cabrillo National Monument	United States	22
17	Glacier Point	United States	22
18	Skydeck Chicago - Willis Tower	United States	22
19	The Seattle Center and Observation Deck	United States	22
20	Grand Canyon Skywalk	United States	22
21	Griffith Observatory	United States	22
22	Skylon Tower	Canada	21
23	House on the Rock	United States	21
24	CN Tower	Canada	21
25	Torre Latinoamericana	Mexico	18

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Cerro Otto Panoramic Deck, Argentina

South America's best viewpoints

The Cerro Otto Panoramic Deck ranks second overall in the world, as well as top for South America. Scoring 82 points out of a possible 100, the Cerro Otto Panoramic Deck places far ahead of Mirador Achachiua, which ranks second on the continent with 39 points. The closest viewpoint of Colca Canyon to the village of Cabanaconde, visitors will have the opportunity to observe the incredible depth of the canyon (around 3,400 metres at the deepest point), and even glimpse condors in flight.

Mirador Laime in Venezuela follows in third (29 points), while Huayna Picchu, which offers dramatic views over the famous Machu Picchu site, follows in fifth (15 points).

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Rank	Viewpoint Name	Country	Visibility Score (/100)
1	Cerro Otto Panoramic Deck	Argentina	82
2	Mirador Achachiua	Peru	39
3	Mirador Laime	Venezuela	29
4	Huayna Picchu	Peru	19
=5	Pao de Acucar (Sugarloaf)	Brazil	15
=5	Morro da Urca	Brazil	15
7	San Cristobal Hill	Chile	14
8	Sky Costanera	Chile	14

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If you’ve been inspired to discover somewhere new and take in the scenery from a local viewpoint, check out our travel guides for some inn-spiration and book unforgettable short breaks with us.

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Methodology:

A list of 98 popular viewpoints from around the globe were compiled using desk research.

Weather data was then gathered for each viewpoint, including the average cloud coverage, number of days per year with more than 50% cloud cover, average visibility and average visibility grade - this data was based on weather in 2023.

The average visibility distance in kilometres was then turned into a score by considering the frequency of visibility extremes. If a location had more than 5% of the year with visibility greater than 50km, the score got a bonus of 25%. Likewise, if it had visibility < 4km for more than 5% of the year, the score was reduced by 25%. Additionally, if visibility was > 20km for more than 90% of the year, the score was increased by 25%, and if visibility was less than 20km more than half the time, the score was reduced by 25%. This score was then multiplied by 2 to create a 0-100 scale, which allowed us to rank the viewpoints based on their visibility.

All data correct as of June 2024.