Incheon, South Korea
OceanScope
Photo: ANLStudio + Zzangpd
Heading up the stairs of this futuristic observatory, made of illuminated metal shipping containers positioned at varying angles and heights, is like entering a giant viewfinder. Inside, you can peek through small windows for postcard vistas of the Yellow Sea, and from the top, you can see Incheon Bridge – the sixth longest bridge in the world.
Yeonsu-Gu, Songdo-Dong 30-9
Offenbach, Germany
Observation Tower
Photo: Juergen Zeller
Inspired by a meteorological instrument balancing on a tripod, this lofty weather tower brings storm chasers and aspiring rainy day forecasters closer to the action. From the 10-metre-high lookout, consult the weather charts lining the railings. Then keep your eyes on the skies; there just might be a cloud formation rolling in from Frankfurt some 10 kilometres away.
In the Offenbach Wetterpark, Offenbach, Buchhügelallee 400, 49-69-8383-6896
Helsinki, Finland
Kupla
Photo: Jussi Tiainen
Located in Korkeasaari Zoo on an island 18 metres above sea level, this tower (whose name means bubble in Finnish) gives animal lovers a virtual bird’s-eye view of the property. From behind the shelter’s woven timber strips, spy on Cat Valley below, where tigers and lynx roam their own spacious enclosures.
Mustikkamaanpolku 12, 358-9-310-37900, korkeasaari.fi
Hexham, United Kingdom
Kielder Observatory
Photo: Charles Barclay Architects
Get starry-eyed at this astronomical lookout, where the evening skies are the darkest in England. During a Nightwatch event, spot the Cygnus constellation through one of the powerful telescopes housed in rotating turrets. Come day, check out the park’s sculptural viewpoints by artists like James Turrell.
In Kielder Water & Forest Park, kielderobservatory.org
Rooms with a View
Hotels that give you an eyeful.
1 Settle into one of the roomy window nooks in room 1211 of Chicago’s Hotel Monaco for a front-row seat overlooking landmark architecture like the glittering Trump Tower.
312-960-8500, monaco-chicago.com
2 From your private terrace in room 46 at Spa Eastman (located 90 minutes east of Montreal), watch the sun rise over the impressive peaks of Mont Orford.
450-297-3009, spa-eastman.com
3 At London’s Radisson Edwardian Hampshire Hotel, stay in room 705 – directly beneath the penthouse – for a stupendous yet more affordable view of the London Eye.
44-20-7839-9399, radissonedwardian.com
