Traveling the world, there are places that you visit where the view of the skyline is entrenched in your memory. As soon as you see it in a picture or in a movie, you immediately know exactly where you are. It is amazing how the simple image of a cityscape can suddenly transport your mind back to a location and the sights, sounds, and even aromas are almost tangible in your mind. It helps that almost every major city has a location with an observation deck that allows you to get high above the city in order to see it in all of its grandeur. Whether viewing Paris from the Eiffel Tower or looking out at the skyscrapers of New York City from the top of the Empire State Building, the views will forever take you back to that moment when you first visited the city.

How can one not see the Duomo in Florence and not immediately be transported to that amazing city. One glimpse of the Parliament Building in Budapest and you will find yourself standing on the walls of the Buda Castle District. Sometimes it is the view of the towers of a gothic cathedral like in Cologne and other times it is the uniqueness of the city landscape like seeing the canals of Amsterdam. Regardless of what it is that draws your eyes, these iconic views can bring back that sense of awe that you first experienced when visiting a location.

There are other times when it isn’t just the city, but the surrounding area that makes a cityscape iconic. Whether it is the ruggedness of a city sprawling on the hillsides like those of La Paz, the lush jungles surrounding Panama City, Panama, or even the peaks of Colorado looming over the city of Denver, these views make each location unique. Just like we can never pick a favorite travel location, we can also never pick a favorite skyline. Each are special in their own ways and will always remind us of our visit when we see their images on the screen.