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It would be hard to pick the best view of the Chicago skyline, but three two are absolute classics:
1. going north on S LSD in Hyde Park at the point. Here the skyline suddenly comes into view like an island floating in the sea of Lake Michigan, The view from the south is special because it highlights the iconic skyline of the Loop.
2. going south on N LSD. At Belmont Harbor, the full width of the skyline comes into view. What is special here is how all encompassing this view is: lake, beaches, Lincoln Park, the condos on Lakeview, LPW, Clark and straight ahead, the gorgeous view of downtown (although the view here is of downtown north of the river, with the Loop and other parts of downtown south of the river way in the background)
3. Nowhere can you get the view of the whole sweep of the Chicago skyline as you can driving south on the Kennedy Expy (like when you come in at O'Hare). The bulk and mass that is the Loop is to your right (west), adjoined by the more linear portion of the downtown skyline in River North and Streeterville.
I really like your picks, but there are two others IMO which are also great; the one is what I think the best vantage point in Chicago is where I sometimes run during lunch and I take my out of town friends, and the other is just a great view.
Best: The view from the museum campus peninsula containing the Planetarium and Aquarium. Outstanding views of the city in all of its majesty, even better than the south LSD view you mentioned which is also awesome.
2. The view of the skyline from Navy Pier. Not as majestic, but beautiful none the less.
Since I also know Los Angeles as well, I think the views of the skyline from Mulholland Drive or wandering the hills to spots such as Griffith Observatory give a great view of the city (and mountains), especially on a clear day.
SF has many; I like the view from Alcatraz myself.
The views of the NYC skyline from various spots in New Jersey, such as Hoboken, are fantastic.
I really like your picks, but there are two others IMO which are also great; the one is what I think the best vantage point in Chicago is where I sometimes run during lunch and I take my out of town friends, and the other is just a great view.
Best: The view from the museum campus peninsula containing the Planetarium and Aquarium. Outstanding views of the city in all of its majesty, even better than the south LSD view you mentioned which is also awesome.
2. The view of the skyline from Navy Pier. Not as majestic, but beautiful none the less.
Since I also know Los Angeles as well, I think the views of the skyline from Mulholland Drive or wandering the hills to spots such as Griffith Observatory give a great view of the city (and mountains), especially on a clear day.
SF has many; I like the view from Alcatraz myself.
The views of the NYC skyline from various spots in New Jersey, such as Hoboken, are fantastic.
That's funny. I was actually going to put the view from Adler Planetarium as my fourth (although it is spectacular and easily on par with the ones I listed. I left it off for one (probably stupid) reason: when you are at the Museum Campus, you are already downtown; that's the same reason I didn't include another of your excellent picks, Navy Pier.
I'd say you're perspective on this makes a lot more sense than mine. All I can say is I was going for that "seeing it without being in it".
Griffith Observatory and Mullholland Drive are absolute classics. No (natural) view in America can look down from above at the flat grid of a city the way the basin appears from Griffith or the basin and valley from Mulholland. Then again, no US city mixes the flat with the hilly (actually mountainous in the only major American city that could possibly be called that. An honorable mention for Honolulu) the way LA does. It is one of a kind.
If you include OC as part of metro LA (I do), even the soaring Matterhorn can rest atop Anaheim's flat plains of orange groves.
For SF, I left off the Telegraph Hill view from Coit Tower for the same reason I left off Adler in Chicago: to me, if you are anywhere from Van Ness east and Mission Bay north, you are within SF's core.
San Diego from the top of Point Loma. You got the Pacific Ocean, Coronado, and the bay in the foreground, with mountains that often have snow on them in the winter in the background. From the top of Mt. Soledad in La Jolla is another good one. You get everything listed above, along with Mission Bay in the foreground, and Tijuana in the background.
Saint Louis, like most cities, has a facade that shows it to an advantage. The view approaching the city from across the Mississippi is probably its best front view. Most images feature the Arch in front of the skyline. I prefer images where the Arch and Eads Bridge, two engineering marvels of their day, are captured...even at the expense of losing the exquisite domed Old Courthouse where the Dred Scott case was argued.
Albuquerque has two awesome, popular and recognized vantage points for our skyline, both east and west.
From the east there is the classic view of the skyline from the sandhills that run along I-25, specifically the small, park-like viewing area off of Woodward Place. This view is especially beautiful at night with our lit up skyline. This view is also popular as the background for live shots in the local TV news.
From the west is the view from Pat Hurley Park, which is popular in the local media for taking still pics and stock footage of the skyline. It's also popular for parking and viewing the skyline and city lights at night. It was known as Albuquerque's 'Lovers Lane' when I was growing up.
All 3 have impressive views from the Water. Also Seattle and San Fran from various Hillsides. Another cool one is actually El Paso Texas. Their is a mountain there where you can see El Paso and even Juarez Mexico from a lookout point.
I was going to say Chicago from Lake Shore Drive as well. I’ve driven it many times from both directions and it never ceases to amaze me.
Someone said Griffith Observatory in LA and I definitely agree with that one.
I grew up in Atlanta, and always thought the view from atop Stone Mountain was fantastic. On a clear day you can see the planes and tower at Hartsfield, the core in Downtown, the highest point at North Avenue, Midtown, Buckhead, and the Perimeter Edge Cities in Sandy Springs/Dunwoody and the Galleria.
In little old Raleigh (Bless our Hearts...), the best view of our comparatively small but growing downtown skyline is usually going North on McDowell Street heading into Downtown. Folks here like to call that the money shot, though you can get a great shot from the top floors of the buildings at N.C. State University, and over near Cameron Village, and on the other (East) side of Downtown near Chavis Park. We’ve got a lot of trees and hills here which can block the skyline views, even near Downtown.
That view from McDowell Street always reminded remind of the view from Atlanta's Jackson Street Bridge
Jackson Street Bridge https://maps.app.goo.gl/3bsDaa7oBQDNKCuU7
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Seattle, San Fran, Chicago
