The world’s best observation decks: the new Brighton tower, walking over the Grand Canyon and beyond
Brighton's new i360 continues a growing tradition of weird and wonderful viewing platforms around the world
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Your support makes all the difference.Brighton’s brand-new viewing tower, the snappily monikered British Airways i360, might have only opened today, but it’s already been causing trouble - dividing opinion neatly between "eyesore" and "modern design masterpiece". But then what’s a viewing platform without a bit of controversy? Attractions the world over have been competing to create the maddest lookout points imaginable to hook in visitors. Here are some of our favourites.
British Airways i360, Brighton
The world’s tallest moving observation tower is a steel stalk jutting unabashedly out of Brighton, with a space-age glass pod sliding up and down it to give passengers a view of far-off English beauties like the Seven Sisters and the South Downs. Those inside this glass-walled observation doughnut are free to walk around its circumference and pick their preferred vista, which they’ll view from as high as 450ft in the air. In the evening, it transforms into a Sky Bar – which basically means they add booze. The work of husband and wife team David Marks and Julia Barfield, the brains behind the London Eye, it’s shot straight to the top of Britain’s most bonkers-looking attractions.
Tickets £15 for adults and £7.50 for children, discounts available online.
Grand Canyon Skywalk, Arizona, US
Those suffering from vertigo can be truly terrified by the Grand Canyon’s Skywalk, a horseshoe-shaped glass bridge suspended more than 4,000ft above the Colorado River. Visitors literally walk off the edge of a cliff and out over the water, giving a one-off perspective of Arizona’s immense rust-red wonder.
A visit to the Skywalk can only be arranged as part of a tour package, which start at $46.95 (around £35).
Canton Tower 'Bubble Tram’, Guangzhou, China
Why walk around an observation deck when you can ride around it in a fairground-style cabin? Guangzhou’s Canton Tower, at 1,968ft, was briefly the tallest tower in the world (of course that accolade now goes to record-busting Dubai’s 2,722ft tall Burj Khalifa). But the real selling point is the rollercoaster-like track that circumnavigates the Canton’s sloping, elliptical observation deck at around 1,500ft off the ground. Sixteen transparent pods circle the track to give 360-degree views. Each takes between 20 and 40 mildly alarming minutes to do the circuit, set at a 15-degree angle. Fear not, though – they’ve been built to withstand the area’s earthquakes and typhoons.
Bubble Tram tickets cost 180 Chinese Yuan (around £25).
Dachstein Stairway to Nothingness, Austria
Not content with merely sticking out over the edge of a cliff at the Dachstein Glacier in the Austrian Alps, the sadistic Stairway to Nothingness cajoles visitors into descending a narrow glass staircase to stand on a tiny glass platform hanging over a 1,300ft drop. And prepare to have your mettle tested before you even get to that horrifying hurdle – the stairs are accessed by a flimsy suspension bridge over a yawning gap between cliffs.
Tickets from €10 (around £8).
Stegastein Viewpoint, Flam, Norway
This platform overlooking Norway’s Aurlandsfjord in the Aurland Valley (known as the "Grand Canyon of Norway") has been built in typically chic Scandi style. The bridge leading you over the edge of a mountainside is all traditional timbers and classic clean lines, which might feel safe and soothing in a reliable Ikea sort of way – until it comes to an abrupt end over a 2,000ft drop, giving the impression you could simply fall off the end. Luckily, there’s actually a glass panel there to halt your descent into the abyss, though the illusion is startling. Still, it’s a fairly unbeatable spot for snapping those must-have Norwegian fjord panoramas. The platform is a short drive from Flam, a picturesque little village that finds itself bombarded with about 500,000 visitors each year.
While the bridge can be accessed independently, it requires driving up an incredibly tricky mountain road, so the attraction recommends booking a sightseeing tour. Tickets cost 275 Norwegian krone (around £24).
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