Don't you just love cities lit up at night? Great for relaxing, admiring and photographing. Here's a snapshot of my top 5 cities for night views from my jaunts round the globe.
This list features mostly lit up skyscraping type cities. Mostly because at night they are easier on the eye and ultimately more inspiring. Don't get me wrong, I love sleeping in deserts,but your night view of a following a torch to a toilet isn't exactly much cop when you're blessed with staring down on a city like Budapest at night...
1. Victoria Harbour, HONG KONG:
For views, you cannot really beat Hong Kong. And I know I'm only basing this on places I've actually seen at night, but I love it. A pretty, clean, shiny harbour reflecting boats, skyscrapers and with mountains in behind, it is hard not to love the busy night time appeal of the Kong. For the best night views, it's either:
(a) head to The Peak!
(b) find a mate whose flat has a decent view (I've lived in 3 places in Hong Kong all of which had amazing night views!)
(c) head for dinner in a high restaurant such as Aqua or Sky 100 . Please note that Sky 100 costs to get to the top, whereas Aqua you can just pop in for a cocktail, which I have done a couple of times!
2. JAPAN: Tokyo:
Although I'm not a fan of Tokyo (for whatever reason I am not sure - I normally love all the big cities), at night it livens up and the amazing lights give the city a whole new buzz. At night I visited Shinagawa, Shinjuku, Roppongi, Shibuya, Shinkiba and Ginza and was impressed by the bouyant array of lights, people doing whatever they wanted (mostly eating and shopping). For a travelling Northern Irishman, I did find Tokyo a little bit crazy and actually haven't even written about my trip there properly yet.
3. Sydney, AUSTRALIA:
Sydney has to be in my list - I lived out there for a couple of years and to have the view of Sydney Harbour every night is a traveller's dream. The Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour. A bustling nightlife - you really can chill out a lot in Sydney at night while also enjoying one of the world's top cities. I made it to a New Year's Eve fireworks display before and loved it. Get yourself down to the waterfront and relax with a beer! You will just love it!
4. FRANCE: St. Malo:
OK, so you're baffled by my choice of St. Malo in France but honestly as a traveller you go with fond memories and places that really shone out at you. And the glorious walled city of St. Malo is quite spectacular at night. What's more is it isn't that busy so you can enjoy a nice quiet time while eating crepes and drinking French beer or wine in traditional streets and with endless boats docking in the lit up harbour. I might be slightly biased though as I used to work on boats in St. Malo so the night view of leaving the harbour at night is a memory that just stuck and has yet to be replaced. Go and check it out - you'll be pleasantly surprised!
I spent a fair few nights in the city itself, but most of my views of the gorgeous St. Malo were from the bow of the ship as we sailed in or out of this splendid French Port! If you live in the south of England, hop on a Condor Ferry and spend a night at least in St. Malo!
5. Budapest, HUNGARY:
Eastern Europe offers some alternative night view magic, as I find it less commercial. Lit up advertising boards are replaced by lit up parliaments and lamposts by rivers. Well that's the beauty of Budapest. You can head up to Gellert for a sensational view down over the city at night. It's a wonderful city to see from high up. While you're at it try some of the amazing sweet Hungarian wine and grab some goulasch. The two sides of the city, Buda and Pest are separated not just by the Danube but also small island called Margit Sziget.
So that's just a snapshot of my top 5 cities for night views. Of course I've left lots of them out, I can think of New York, London, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Johannesburg and Caracas as other decent cities by night, will maybe do some more night posting in future.
Don't Stop Living!!
.
This list features mostly lit up skyscraping type cities. Mostly because at night they are easier on the eye and ultimately more inspiring. Don't get me wrong, I love sleeping in deserts,but your night view of a following a torch to a toilet isn't exactly much cop when you're blessed with staring down on a city like Budapest at night...
1. Victoria Harbour, HONG KONG:
For views, you cannot really beat Hong Kong. And I know I'm only basing this on places I've actually seen at night, but I love it. A pretty, clean, shiny harbour reflecting boats, skyscrapers and with mountains in behind, it is hard not to love the busy night time appeal of the Kong. For the best night views, it's either:
(a) head to The Peak!
(b) find a mate whose flat has a decent view (I've lived in 3 places in Hong Kong all of which had amazing night views!)
(c) head for dinner in a high restaurant such as Aqua or Sky 100 . Please note that Sky 100 costs to get to the top, whereas Aqua you can just pop in for a cocktail, which I have done a couple of times!
2. JAPAN: Tokyo:
Although I'm not a fan of Tokyo (for whatever reason I am not sure - I normally love all the big cities), at night it livens up and the amazing lights give the city a whole new buzz. At night I visited Shinagawa, Shinjuku, Roppongi, Shibuya, Shinkiba and Ginza and was impressed by the bouyant array of lights, people doing whatever they wanted (mostly eating and shopping). For a travelling Northern Irishman, I did find Tokyo a little bit crazy and actually haven't even written about my trip there properly yet.
3. Sydney, AUSTRALIA:
Sydney has to be in my list - I lived out there for a couple of years and to have the view of Sydney Harbour every night is a traveller's dream. The Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour. A bustling nightlife - you really can chill out a lot in Sydney at night while also enjoying one of the world's top cities. I made it to a New Year's Eve fireworks display before and loved it. Get yourself down to the waterfront and relax with a beer! You will just love it!
4. FRANCE: St. Malo:
OK, so you're baffled by my choice of St. Malo in France but honestly as a traveller you go with fond memories and places that really shone out at you. And the glorious walled city of St. Malo is quite spectacular at night. What's more is it isn't that busy so you can enjoy a nice quiet time while eating crepes and drinking French beer or wine in traditional streets and with endless boats docking in the lit up harbour. I might be slightly biased though as I used to work on boats in St. Malo so the night view of leaving the harbour at night is a memory that just stuck and has yet to be replaced. Go and check it out - you'll be pleasantly surprised!
I spent a fair few nights in the city itself, but most of my views of the gorgeous St. Malo were from the bow of the ship as we sailed in or out of this splendid French Port! If you live in the south of England, hop on a Condor Ferry and spend a night at least in St. Malo!
5. Budapest, HUNGARY:
Eastern Europe offers some alternative night view magic, as I find it less commercial. Lit up advertising boards are replaced by lit up parliaments and lamposts by rivers. Well that's the beauty of Budapest. You can head up to Gellert for a sensational view down over the city at night. It's a wonderful city to see from high up. While you're at it try some of the amazing sweet Hungarian wine and grab some goulasch. The two sides of the city, Buda and Pest are separated not just by the Danube but also small island called Margit Sziget.
So that's just a snapshot of my top 5 cities for night views. Of course I've left lots of them out, I can think of New York, London, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Johannesburg and Caracas as other decent cities by night, will maybe do some more night posting in future.
Don't Stop Living!!
.
About the Author:
You can read more about great cities at night here: Top 5 Cities At night and to keep up to date with Jonny Blair's travel tales and advice check out his travel, work and lifestyle websiteDont Stop Living.
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