Traveling can take on a new meaning when you try to see things from a different perspective. You can change your travel companion, revisit a city during a festival, or find new experiences in the same place depending on the season. To get a new perspective, in the literal sense, I try to see cities from a “bird’s eye view”. By venturing to the top of a city, I gain a sense of a direction and can soak in most of the historical sites all at once. I have even found this to be helpful in my hometown, Boston, to gain a better appreciation of all the city has to offer. Some of my favorite places I’ve visited were seen as eyesores when they were first built, but now have become symbols of the cities that surround them.

1. Empire State Building (New York, NY) – Cliché maybe, but it was one of my first skyscraper views of an immense city. It’s no wonder so many romantic movies are filmed from the top of the building – you are so terrifyingly high you need to cling on to someone! Think “Sleepless in Seattle”. Mr. Hanks, you can meet me up there any day of the year.

2. Monteverde Cloud Forest (Monteverde, Costa Rica) – Close your eyes and imagine you are flying through the clouds. When I visited Monteverde’s rainforest, we took a zipline tour to the top of the mountain. We kept ascending the landscape until we were above the trees. Nearly 10 years later, the memory is still vivid of clinging on to the side of a metal tower before I was strapped on to a cable to soar out into the great unknown. On a clear day, I would have seen green trees for miles. However, on that cloudy day, it was exhilarating to be completely alone in the sky and not know when the ground would meet my feet again.

3. La Alhambra, Albaicin, and Sacromonte (Granada, Spain) – During my junior year of college, I lived in Granada for 8 months. Hiking up to the city’s fortress, La Alhambra, was tiring and hard work but I made the effort almost weekly. The history and architectural beauty that surrounds the castle is astounding. The view of Granada below is breathtaking, and, not to mention, free. The opposing mountainsides are home to the Albaicin and the Sacromonte. From the Alhambra you get a better understanding of the elaborate, winding alleyways of the Albaicin, packed with Arab teterias (tea houses). Directly to the west of the Arab neighborhood is the Sacromonte, where you can find white caves reverberating Flamenco music and dance, the song of the Gypsy culture. Whenever I wandered over to explore these hillside streets, I was astonished by the opposing view of the Alhambra. During the day, you can see the white peaks of the Sierra Nevada set up like a painting; by night, the Alhambra is a glowing fortress protecting the medieval city of Granada.

4. St. Peter’s Basilica (Vatican City, Rome, Italy) – The home to Catholicism is awe-inspiring in and of itself, but not everyone realizes there are magnificent views from the top of the Basilica, even closer to the heavens. The climb up a winding staircase may not be possible for every tourist to make, but is worth it to be able to mail your postcards back home from the Vatican’s post office.

5. State Room (Boston, MA) – The “Top of the Hub”, a fancy restaurant in the Prudential Center with views of all points of Boston, is well-known among tourists and locals alike. However, another great view can be had from the top of the State Street building, which I didn’t discover until I had lived in Massachusetts for 8 years. The State Room can be rented to host parties, weddings and other events. A spectacular view for any day or evening shindig!

6. Lacerda Elevator (Salvador de Bahia, Brazil) – The structure itself is not the most spectacular on this list, but the purpose it serves for locals and tourists is one of those simple pleasures of everyday life. The elevator connects the lower and upper city, making the commute easier for locals and allowing tourists to do more shopping in more places. The cost in U.S. Dollars is next to nothing, pennies per person. The ride up the elevator, crammed with a dozen sweaty bodies, is only seconds long but can produce many fun stories to bring back home.

7. Chair lift to Anacapri (Isle of Capri, Italy) – The views from Capri are astounding no matter which way you look, north or south, up or down: crystal clear waters for miles, vibrant flowers, and quaint white villas hanging on to the cliffs of the rocky island. After risking your life on the crowded buses from Marina Grande to Anacapri at the top of the island, the chair lift provides some peaceful alone time. You pass directly over the backyards and gardens of the island residents, and learn to appreciate the splendor of the Mediterranean without the swarms of tourists.

8. Sagrada Familia (Barcelona, Spain) – Barcelona offers numerous aerial views from all points of the city, and Gaudi’s “Sacred Family” puts you smack dab in the middle of all the commotion. The streets of Barcelona are perfectly planned, even down to the rounded street corners. The same details have gone in to the adorned towers of the unfinished church. The staircases are windy and a little unnerving as your spiral to the top but you will get up close and personal with Gaudi’s architectural design and gain a better sense of direction for navigating the vast city.

9. Eiffel Tower (Paris, France) –Le Tour Eiffel symbolizes to me every romantic, childhood dream of Paris I’ve ever had since I was 10 years old. It wasn’t until the age of 23, on my second trip to Paris, that I finally ascended the infamous tower. I was not let down; the “city of love” lives up to its name. When night falls, the street lamps illuminate the famous Champs Elysees and River Seine. The twinkling bulbs that sparkle on the tower, every hour on the hour, are the icing on the Parisian cake. “Ou la-la, que fantastique-ca!”

10. Flight over the Rockies (Salt Lake City, UT to Denver, CO) – I’ve saved the best for last – one of America’s natural wonders. I request a window seat on every flight, usually to sleep against the side of the plane. However, on any flight near or around Denver, I cannot take my eyes off the rolling mountains and snow covered peaks. The scenic view can only be fully described in a picture!

Towers, skyscrapers and mountains allow us to observe the world below in a new outlook, literally and figuratively. These 10 are just the beginning of a long list the world has to offer – what are you favorites? Please share!