home

Top 20 Most Impressive Skylines

Can you name the cities with the 20 most impressive skylines in the world?
This list was formed by taking the average of six different rankings: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Quiz by WolfCam
Rate:
Featured Quiz
Last updated: April 6, 2019
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
More quiz info >>
First submittedMarch 17, 2019
Times taken15,058
Average score70.0%
Rating3.66
Quiz and answer stats >>
Friends stats >>
4:00
Enter answer here
0
 / 20 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
Rank
City
1
Hong Kong
2
Shanghai
3
Dubai
4
New York
5
Kuala Lumpur
6
Toronto
7
Chicago
8
Singapore
9
Seattle
10
Paris
11
Tokyo
12
Sydney
13
Rio de Janeiro
14
London
15
Seoul
16
Shenzhen
17
Los Angeles
18
San Francisco
19
Bangkok
20
Vancouver
Quizmaster
+8
Level ∞
Apr 6, 2019
In my opinion the individual rankings are not very good, but the aggregate is decent.
ASmartPanda
+5
Level 50
May 23, 2019
Guangzhou?
JackBeNimble
+2
Level 81
Apr 6, 2019
Could you please accept NYC as per usual? I'm so used to typing it on this site, I assumed the city hadn't made the list when it didn't work.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Apr 6, 2019
Yes of course. Fixed.
JackBeNimble
+1
Level 81
Apr 6, 2019
Thank you.
TenThousand
+6
Level 76
Apr 7, 2019
Very surprised Doha isn't here.
kalbahamut
+19
Level 82
Apr 7, 2019
Most of these lists are compiled by ignorant magazine editors who will just throw on whatever city they've heard of before. But yeah, if done objectively, then Doha, Manama, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, and Baku should all be on here. I also think some city like Prague or Budapest should make the rankings, too. But Hong Kong deserves the #1 spot.
IsleAuHaulte
+4
Level 89
Apr 8, 2019
And eclectic Barcelona.
K7vn
+1
Level 66
Sep 11, 2022
All Middle East cities with the exception of Dubai are actually unremarkable and lack the density of an impressive skyline.
kalbahamut
+3
Level 82
Apr 7, 2019
and maybe Tbilisi and Istanbul, as well. and possibly Batumi.
Regtheledge1000
+3
Level 29
Feb 15, 2020
Also Abu Dhabi, Osaka, Panama City, and Chongqing
QRU
+17
Level 74
Apr 7, 2019
Not really my type of quiz. Those rankings seem to equate Skyline with Skyscraper, which I mostly find to be steril and bland. As architecture, they convey a quantitative skills - larger, higher, more difficult - but don't hold anything in regard of intimacy or experience of individual people. I would think, that a skyline of Kyoto or Florence would certainly belong on such a ranking, if those things were considered.
brandybuck96
+2
Level 83
Apr 7, 2019
Yes, I was thinking that these rankings seem to favour skyscrapers. My favourite skyline is Oxford's dreaming spires; in my opinion, the fewer skyscrapers, the better.
Tramp
+6
Level 76
Apr 7, 2019
Cities like Kyoto and Florence are beautiful up close, but for me personally, most of the cities in this quiz look far more impressive from far away. Most old cities don't even have much of a skyline at all to be honest - buildings need to rise to prominence for that to happen.
brandybuck96
+1
Level 83
Feb 3, 2024
Idk if you climb any of the hills round Durham and then turn back towards the cathedral, it's unfailingly breathtaking. (And so is the hill climb for that matter.)
TheLastFish
+4
Level 70
Apr 7, 2019
I second this. But was it even more odd with these lists is that they are heavily inconsistent each individual by its own. "Obviously" any skyline is much more interesting/beautiful/impressive when illuminated at night compared to their steril counterparts at day light. Also, Rio is always "proven" by a photo from above where you explicitly can not see its skyline, i.e. the contrast between constructions and the sky. Etc. etc.
samiamco
+4
Level 69
Apr 7, 2019
Sometimes it seems ONLY the buildings (and the tall ones at that) seem to be considered, not the backdrop – e.g. the absence of Boston, maybe Denver, even Pittsburgh? – but only sometimes (Rio, LA). On the other hand, if we're just going with "impressive" and buildings, I'm not sure how much more impressive you can get than St. Petersburg and their new, pointy, spiry thing – or, for that matter, heaven forfend, Pyongyang. That never-completed hotel of theirs is nothing if not… impressive.
QatariFerrari
+4
Level 89
Apr 7, 2019
@samiamco There are so many better skylines than Los Angeles in America alone. The ones you mentioned, Dallas, San Diego, etc.
joeythelemur
+2
Level 84
May 15, 2019
Totally agree about LA. There is nothing distinctive about it.
TravelingMama
+1
Level 73
May 22, 2019
I'm very surprised LA is on here. I didn't even guess it.
Tigerstar144
+2
Level 52
May 22, 2019
Pittsburgh blows me away every time with the location and unique buildings. You don't expect a smaller city like that to be so interesting. Of course its not as cool as seeing NYC or London imo but it gets far closer than people think.
tom88
+2
Level 72
Jun 3, 2019
ya, Pittsburgh has some really nice views. Went to see a pirates game and from the stands you can see across the river to the main part of the city, just beautiful.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi6hMigls7iAhWOEHwKHU96ATsQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.barrystickets.com%2Fpirates-seating-chart%2F&psig=AOvVaw1wD_l2wnIgU-GqblBL4vxU&ust=1559680897773322

TheLastFish
+10
Level 70
Apr 7, 2019
What about Moscow and Kiev? Moscow's skyline combines a millenium of architecture starting with the Kremlin and several cathedrals, then the 7 stalinist sykscrapters, and finally a district of modern glassy skyscrapers. IMHO only few cities on these lists (such as Singapore, Shanghai) can compete with Moscow for the first place. Kiev features the Mother Motherland statue (besides its "normal" skyline) which is at least as impressive as statue liberty or Christ the Redeemer, IMHO.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 82
Apr 7, 2019
+1 for Moscow and Kiev.
IsleAuHaulte
+2
Level 89
Apr 8, 2019
As a 360° binocular view skyline, Moscow is very interesting. It's a great postcard collage, albeit one that doesn't fit into convenient narrow photographs.

I have to agree with most posters that flat cities like Toronto and Bangkok with random white boxes are rather dull. I've never understood the love for the Sydney cityscape. Cool opera House beside a cool bridge and done.

The endless ocean of mid-rise towers in São Paulo, however, has always been fascinating to me in that it forms a gigantic, uniform, urban scene without the competing dominance of central skyscrapers.

musiclistsareus
+1
Level 62
Apr 18, 2019
Moscow, for sure.
tom88
+2
Level 72
May 22, 2019
Toronto is much less boxy than a lot of the other ones, the CN tower and the skydome provide a much more interesting shape to me than a lot of other cities
ddddan
+2
Level 81
May 22, 2019
*rogers centre (ugh)
tom88
+1
Level 72
Jun 3, 2019
ya, I don't think I'll ever get used to calling it that
kenpo17
+2
Level 66
Apr 7, 2019
I was really surprised Chicago wasn't higher on the list. I guess other cities have caught up in recent years while Chi-town has mostly stayed the same in this regard.
smartguy2
+1
Level 67
Apr 7, 2019
Toronto is higher because they look the same + the CN Tower.
Nightcap
+2
Level 78
Apr 9, 2019
I agree that Chicago not being higher surprised me, although I disagree that Chicago hasn't changed much. It has built and continues to build numerous skyscrapers every year.
bakainu
+4
Level 67
May 22, 2019
Nothing in Toronto as impressive as Sears Tower (or whatever they're calling it now). It's a joke that it gets ranked ahead of Paris (!!!), and I'm from Ontario
tom88
+1
Level 72
May 22, 2019
Sears Tower may be impressive in some ways, but it looks boring as hell to me. Both the CN tower and the skydome are more interesting visually than sears tower.
JWC1202
+6
Level 74
Apr 7, 2019
Surprised Panama City did not make the cut. It makes a pretty astounding vertical impression...
SuperT
+1
Level 70
Apr 9, 2019
Rio and Paris really don't have the skyscraper skyline...I would put my hometown, Chicago at 5. Fortunate to have seen 16 of the 20 listed. Shanghai is next on my list.
Naaate
+1
Level 72
Apr 19, 2019
I find the skyline of Las Vegas to be very impressive. Not necessarily in a height and quantity perspective, though.
WillemLAif
+1
Level 76
Apr 26, 2019
I'm not impressed. Well, a couple of times, but mostly not.
ianishomer
+7
Level 43
May 22, 2019
Very subjective, the top few i would agree with, but not having Istanbul, Barcelona, Jerusalem, Prague in front of cities like LA etc seems wrong IMO.
bakainu
+1
Level 67
May 22, 2019
Agreed. Istanbul has a stunning skyline
kiwiquizzer
+1
Level 68
May 23, 2019
I was surprised not to see Istanbul, Moscow, Capetown, Jerusalem, Barcelona.
kiwiquizzer
+1
Level 68
May 23, 2019
Pretty skylines: Stockholm, Prague, Edinburgh, Budapest, Auckland, Wellington.
rumdog11
+4
Level 49
May 22, 2019
i am very suprised there is no Cape town. Surely one of the most iconic city skylines in the world. Some on the list are pretty meh.
awesomeman259
+1
Level 49
May 22, 2019
Agreed.
Difluzi
+1
Level 81
May 22, 2019
Weird list, Gotta agree with the others here that some cities are just missing. (i.e. Panama City, Istanbul, Moscow...)
madmonte
+1
Level 72
May 22, 2019
Too subjective. Where are some of the Chinese cities.
vermiciousknid
+2
Level 88
May 22, 2019
There are three Chinese cities on here.
TheLonelyAlula
+1
Level 50
Sep 1, 2022
There really are a lot of Chinese cities with impressive skyscrapers though. Beijing, Guangzhou, Macau, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Chongqing, and Tianjin all could've reasonably been on here.
hellyeahdave
+1
Level 19
May 22, 2019
I can't beleive Xiamshan isn't included
IsleAuHaulte
+5
Level 89
Aug 3, 2019
I had to Google Xiamshan. 2 of the 4 results came back to your comment.
Alacave
+1
Level 56
May 22, 2019
Edinburgh

Athens

Perth (Aus)

St Malo

dhorist2319
+1
Level 28
May 22, 2019
Why is Las Vegas not on here??
Elan
+4
Level 65
May 22, 2019
The idea that Los Angeles is ranked one spot above San Francisco is absolute blasphemy. San Francisco has a beautiful collection of modern skyscrapers right against the bay, complete with two iconic buildings (Salesforce Tower, Transamerica Pyramid) and two world-famous bridges. Los Angeles is a disgusting cesspool of highways and smog.
kalbahamut
+2
Level 82
May 22, 2019
Yeah not sure what they were thinking there, either. Agree that San Francisco's skyline is more impressive than Los Angeles', as well as all ten of the cities I listed above.
SpencerGT
+1
Level 67
Jan 10, 2022
Los Angeles has at least one iconic building (US Bank Tower). And the air quality is getting better.
IsleAuHaulte
+1
Level 89
Aug 31, 2022
Playing Devil's advocate. Looking at the skyline itself, San Francisco has elevated freeways while much of those in Los Angeles are below grade level. San Francisco has more fog than L.A. has smog. L.A. has loftier hills. Building-wise, neither are anything on a world class scale. Just scenery-wise, Anchorage and Honolulu would be the 2 U.S. cities to dwarf San Francisco and Los Angeles.
90minutes
+2
Level 55
May 22, 2019
Based on ?
awesomeman259
+1
Level 49
May 22, 2019
Seattle over Vancouver? That's surprising.
tom88
+1
Level 72
Jun 3, 2019
the space needle probably has a lot to do with that.
Capistrano
+1
Level 80
May 22, 2019
Another surprising omission I didn't expect: Las Vegas
jayrod
+1
Level 92
Aug 25, 2020
Surprised I got them all. Took a lot of guesses to land Shenzhen as the last one.
EcceHomo
+1
Level 79
Aug 26, 2020
Hey Wolfie, I like the idea and the averaging across 6 sources, but it is still objective and I'm sure I don't agree with most of these rankings because they all have the same idea of what is an impressive skyline - skyscrapers and lights.
Haroen
+3
Level 72
Dec 4, 2022
Los Angeles shouldn't be on this list. The city is like 99% suburbs and the small downtown there is nothing special. How does that count as an impressive skyline?
Save Your Progress
Similar Quizzes by Tag

Copyright H Brothers Inc, 2008–2024

Contact Us | Go To Top | View Desktop Site