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.
The thing about night photos is they need to have decent lighting, and therefore the big skyscraping cities will feature on this list rather than rural farms. Starting with Asia's "World City", Hong Kong.
1. Victoria Harbour in HONG KONG:
Hong Kong at night is totally fantastic. There are lots of places you can go to view it's lit up skyscrapers, most of which are centred around Victoria Harbour, either there on that side of Kowloon, or across the water on Hong Kong Island. With a backdrop of mountains on one side and hundreds of lit up skyscrapers all around, this place provides you with endless shiny, happy moments relaxing, enjoying the view. You have a choice of where to go to see it:
(a) go 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) eat your dinner in a top floor restaurant such as Aqua or Sky 100 . Aqua has no entry fee - pop in for a cocktail and enjoy the view. Sky 100 is considerably higher and with a better view but they charge an entry fee.
2. Tokyo, JAPAN:
I'm actually not a fan of Tokyo (I don't know why - maybe because I'm a budget traveller and I found it expensive but I normally love most of the big cities). However at night Tokyo transforms and an array of typical lit up streets give the city a whole new appeal. At night I toured around all the top spots for example Shinagawa, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Shinkiba, Ginza and Roppongi and I was mesmerised by the never ending streets of lights, the locals doing whatever they pleased (most of them were eating and shopping). Tokyo by day is a rip off, a disconnected city which stretches out too far. At night is where it attracts you into its vast array of activities.
3. AUSTRALIA: Sydney:
What can I say? Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour etc. Sydney at night is fantastic. I spent a couple of years living on the western edge of Sydney and I just loved it. I managed to catch the amazing New Year's Eve fireworks display in 2009. You can climb the Sydney Tower at night for a great view, but seriously I prefer just chilling in a bar or restaurant down by the harbour front.
4. St. Malo in FRANCE:
I'm sure this will be a surprise inclusion to most but I just love St. Malo in Brittany. By night, this quiet port houses nothing more than relaxing tranquility within it's well maintained city walls. Boats come in and out at all hours of the days, the walls light up at times, festival seasons are fantastic and St. Malo hides a charm only those who have been there will ever know about. Get yourself into a restaurant in the downtown, order a few crepes and beers or wines and watch the sunset over the harbour in a world bereft of skyscrapers. Proof that not all cities at night for views have to have skyscrapers or be well lit up. I used to work on boats in and out of St. Malo and my memories of the shining harbour at night will live forever.
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 in HUNGARY:
Budapest is stunning. Get yourself up to a place called Gellert at night for a different type of night view - no lit up commercial advertising boards here. This is Eastern Europe remember and the most prominent feature is the marvellous Parliament which shines onto the river Danube which separates Buda from Pest. Squashed in between is the island of Margit Sziget. All worth seeing from Gellert - and cracking at night. Bring a decent camera and some warm clothes. And try Hungarian sweet wine and a drop of goulasch. It's a top city.
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!!
.
The thing about night photos is they need to have decent lighting, and therefore the big skyscraping cities will feature on this list rather than rural farms. Starting with Asia's "World City", Hong Kong.
1. Victoria Harbour in HONG KONG:
Hong Kong at night is totally fantastic. There are lots of places you can go to view it's lit up skyscrapers, most of which are centred around Victoria Harbour, either there on that side of Kowloon, or across the water on Hong Kong Island. With a backdrop of mountains on one side and hundreds of lit up skyscrapers all around, this place provides you with endless shiny, happy moments relaxing, enjoying the view. You have a choice of where to go to see it:
(a) go 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) eat your dinner in a top floor restaurant such as Aqua or Sky 100 . Aqua has no entry fee - pop in for a cocktail and enjoy the view. Sky 100 is considerably higher and with a better view but they charge an entry fee.
2. Tokyo, JAPAN:
I'm actually not a fan of Tokyo (I don't know why - maybe because I'm a budget traveller and I found it expensive but I normally love most of the big cities). However at night Tokyo transforms and an array of typical lit up streets give the city a whole new appeal. At night I toured around all the top spots for example Shinagawa, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Shinkiba, Ginza and Roppongi and I was mesmerised by the never ending streets of lights, the locals doing whatever they pleased (most of them were eating and shopping). Tokyo by day is a rip off, a disconnected city which stretches out too far. At night is where it attracts you into its vast array of activities.
3. AUSTRALIA: Sydney:
What can I say? Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour etc. Sydney at night is fantastic. I spent a couple of years living on the western edge of Sydney and I just loved it. I managed to catch the amazing New Year's Eve fireworks display in 2009. You can climb the Sydney Tower at night for a great view, but seriously I prefer just chilling in a bar or restaurant down by the harbour front.
4. St. Malo in FRANCE:
I'm sure this will be a surprise inclusion to most but I just love St. Malo in Brittany. By night, this quiet port houses nothing more than relaxing tranquility within it's well maintained city walls. Boats come in and out at all hours of the days, the walls light up at times, festival seasons are fantastic and St. Malo hides a charm only those who have been there will ever know about. Get yourself into a restaurant in the downtown, order a few crepes and beers or wines and watch the sunset over the harbour in a world bereft of skyscrapers. Proof that not all cities at night for views have to have skyscrapers or be well lit up. I used to work on boats in and out of St. Malo and my memories of the shining harbour at night will live forever.
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 in HUNGARY:
Budapest is stunning. Get yourself up to a place called Gellert at night for a different type of night view - no lit up commercial advertising boards here. This is Eastern Europe remember and the most prominent feature is the marvellous Parliament which shines onto the river Danube which separates Buda from Pest. Squashed in between is the island of Margit Sziget. All worth seeing from Gellert - and cracking at night. Bring a decent camera and some warm clothes. And try Hungarian sweet wine and a drop of goulasch. It's a top city.
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 amazing cities at night here: Top 5 Cities At night and to keep up to date with Jonny Blair's travel stories and hints check out his travel, work and lifestyle websiteDont Stop Living.
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