The world is packed with picture-postcard views. There are the parks, plains and wilderness areas that unfurl seemingly endlessly, and mountains, lakes and rivers so perfect they hardly seem real. Then there are the skylines and buildings that have sprung from human imaginations. Sometimes it’s hard to know where to look – so we recommend starting by gazing upon this stunning selection.
The Great Barrier Reef is famously so vast it can be viewed from space. It looks good both underwater and from dry land. It’s the world’s largest reef system, made up of nearly 3,000 reefs and encompassing more than 135,000 square miles (350,000sq km). It’s also home to whales, dolphins, sea turtles and thousands of species of fish. Even without all that, the dazzling, dappled expanse of blue is pretty lovely to look at.
Japan has cherry blossom, the US states of New England have autumn colours and Provence, in southern France, has endless swathes of lavender. Each summer, farms and fields bloom into a bright sea of lilac, violet and magenta, and infuse the air with delicate, floral perfume. Just gorgeous.
The views from the world’s longest man-made structure – which stretches for more than 12,427 miles (20,000km) – certainly aren’t bad. But it’s the wall itself, snaking through forests, mountains and rivers, that really captures the imagination and makes you catch your breath. The series of fortresses was built between the 3rd century BC and the 17th century, and is so large that, like the Great Barrier Reef, it can be seen from space.
Bright white and shimmering turquoise are a match made in hue heaven, and there are few places that demonstrate that more gorgeously than the thermal pools of Pamukkale, a town in western Turkey. The travertine terraces, whose staggered steps tumble down the mountainside, are the result of limestone deposited over millennia from the natural hot springs, which flow over and form milky-blue pools.
Some landscapes just have a way of putting things into perspective, or at least making you feel very small indeed. The Grand Canyon is the master at this and although there are really no bad views to be found in this vast national park, the South Rim is arguably the best for vistas. The rolling and undulating valley of jagged rust-red rock formations is washed with lilac and pink at sunrise.
In the north of this vast, fascinating country, Simien Mountains National Park has gaspingly gorgeous vistas at every turn. The green, undulating mountains are roamed by curved-horned wail ibex, Ethiopian wolves and – easiest to spot – endemic gelada monkeys, who gather in groups to preen and play in the meadows.
Barren doesn’t really cut it. Lunar-like, perhaps, or simply surreal. Salar de Uyuni is the world’s largest salt flat, covering nearly 4,633 square miles (12,000sq km) with crackly, crunchy white salt and rock formations. It’s the result of a prehistoric lake that dried out, leaving behind the dazzling desert-like landscape.
The rolling sand dunes of this vast national park in Tularosa Basin, New Mexico are so snow-white you might expect the ground to feel cold – especially when people sled down the slopes. Dunes curve and dip seemingly endlessly, although actually the desert covers 275 square miles (443sq km) between the San Andres and Sacramento mountain ranges.
This fjord on the country’s South Island is surrounded in lush rainforest and waterfalls, and home to seals, penguins and dolphins. What more could you want in a view? Mountains, perhaps, like the much-photographed Mitre Peak, which dominates the shores. Even rain is a joy here, setting in motion a series of temporary waterfalls that cascade down the mountain slopes.
However you look at it, this huge, thundering waterfall on the Zambezi River is pretty incredible. Straddling Zimbabwe and Zambia, with cascades more than 5,500 feet (1,700m) wide and 355 feet (108m) tall, it’s one of the world’s largest and most iconic waterfalls. It’s also among the loudest, making such a racket and creating such a cloud of mist that the Kalolo-Lozi people named it Mosi-oa-Tunya, or 'The Smoke That Thunders'.
There’s something mystical about the pinnacles and hoodoos that rise jaggedly across the landscape of this beguiling national park. Or perhaps that’s just if you stare at them for too long. The cream and apricot rock formations are certainly fascinating, especially the amphitheatre seen from Inspiration Point (pictured).
This San Francisco icon is a classic for good reason: its beautifully bold, rust-red curves and lines are just mesmerising to look at, and from pretty much every angle and distance. And, although the Golden Gate Bridge is a man-made, engineering marvel, it complements the city’s parks and beaches as effortlessly as it does the gleaming downtown skyline.
