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World’s best skylines

The downtown core of big cities across the Americas, Europe and Asia are the cultural pulse and economic engines of urban regions where millions of people live. Here's the view some of the best have to offer

Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong is number one on my list for many reasons: it has a whopping 43 buildings over 200 metres tall, 30 of which were built in the year 2000 or later. It also boasts four of the 15 tallest buildings in the world. This city exemplifies the post-modern skyscraper and skyline. Finally, the mountain backdrop makes this skyline the greatest on the planet.
Metro/Urban Population: 6.9mn

Chicago, USA

Chicago built its first steel high-rise in 1885 after the 1871 Great Fire levelled the entire city. This was not the tallest structure in the world but the first example of a new form of engineering that would change nearly every city on earth. It has 19 buildings over 200 meters tall, three of which are among the top 20 tallest buildings in the world.
Metro/Urban Population: 9.5mn

New York City, USA

New York City has one of the densest and most diverse skylines, with a huge collection of buildings and building styles. Thanks to Hollywood's obsession with the city, it is also the most easily recognisable skyline in the world. New York has an amazing 47 buildings over 200 meters – the most in the world and the four tallest buildings were built in the early 1930s. Home to the Empire State building, the Statue of Liberty and the United Nations, it is the financial capital of the western world.
Metro/Urban Population: 21mn

Shanghai, China

Not to be mistaken for a space station, Shanghai is a real city. Said to be the most cosmopolitan city in the beginning of the 20th century, it lost glory during the Mao era. Shanghai is quickly regaining its position as one of the biggest economic powerhouses in the world as well as a showcase of modern architecture. Here you'll find 28 structures that are over 200 meters tall, one of which is the insanely tall, the 468m downtown Oriental Pearl TV Tower.
Metro/Urban Population: 13.1mn

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo is the world's most populated city. Its skyline has a number of unique characteristics that set it apart from other big city skylines, among them are the 15 structures at over 200 metres tall, including the Tokyo Tower which changes colour every night. But because of the density and vast size of the city, every corner appears to have its own skyline. Tokyo houses the world's largest fleet of helicopters to get around town if traffic gets too crazy.
Metro/Urban Population: 32mn

Singapore

One of the best planned and cleanliest metropolitan cities in the world, Singapore looks like an architectural model city come to life. The buildings cannot be higher than 280 metres due to air traffic control restrictions, but that has added a tall and consistent building height and space pattern that makes this skyline unique. Three buildings are exactly 280 metres tall and five others stand at just over 200 metres. This South-Eastern city is definitely in a league of its own.
Metro/Urban Population: 3.8mn

Toronto, Canada

Toronto is a meeting place, a crossroads of many cultures and ethnicities. Toronto is downtown Canada, the biggest city in the country with a skyline to match. Toronto has seven structures in its skyline that stand at over 200 metres, including the astonishingly tall 553 metre, CN Tower, which is often referred to as the tallest free-standing structure in the world. The CN Tower possesses the world's highest observation deck, making this city's skyline one of the most immediately identifiable.
Metro/Urban Population: 5.1mn

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This is probably the most impressive city worldwide that has less than 2mn residents. Marvellous modern buildings reach the sky here and while the skyline is not too dense, it does allow buildings to soar and stand out. Kuala Lumpur has three of the 25 tallest buildings worldwide, including the tallest twin buildings, the Petronas Towers, as well as the 420 metre Menara Kuala Lumpur Tower.
Metro/Urban Population: 1.6mn

Shenzen, China

What was a tiny fishing village on the border of Hong Kong in 1970 has now turned into a buzzing metropolis of over four million people. With 18 buildings at over 200 metres tall, including the Shun Hing Square (the eighth tallest building in the world), Shenzen is a spectacle of lights and neon signs after sunset. You can't help but ask yourself if you are in a video game or in a real city.
Metro/Urban Population: 6.2mn

Seoul, South Korea

This city's skyscrapers are divided into many clusters, spread amongst the main businesses and residential districts. Most of the recent growth in Seoul's skyline, however, has been of residential towers over 60 storeys high that are shooting up like blades of grass. There are ten buildings in Seoul over 200 metres tall and much of the mid-rise to high-rise structures are lined up in a linear fashion, creating a wall of buildings like no other. Seoul is where the ancient Eastern world meets the modern West.
Metro/Urban Population: 20.8mn

Sao Paulo, Brazil

"What building did you say they lived in?" Finding it in the largest mass of condensed apartment buildings anywhere would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Sao Paulo has a population of over 18mn people. While the buildings are not super tall (with only a single structure at over 200 metres tall) this skyline is nevertheless stacked. Sao Paulo has a fleet of over 500 helicopters, the second largest helicopter fleet in the world.
Metro/Urban Population: 18.3mn

Sydney, Australia

Oceania's showcase city, Sydney has one of the most recognisable skylines due to its world-famous harbour with many bays and inlets. It is spanned by the vast Harbour Bridge, and the Opera House sits on the shoreline like a big bright white flower. The Sydney skyline is world-class with many skyscrapers in the central business district and many more highrise buildings in the outlying neighbourhoods. Sydney has eight buildings over 200 metres tall.
Metro/Urban Population: 4.2mn

Dubai, UAE

Seemingly out of nowhere emerges a city in the middle of a desert. This is Dubai, a city that produces only the best modern architecture in the world. Already home of the world's tallest hotel building and the second tallest all-residential building in the world, and currently building the world's tallest building, this skyline might just leap to the number one spot in the near future. All 18 structures in this city at over 200 metres tall were built after 1999 – that's how new this city is.
Metro/Urban Population: 1.4mn

Frankfurt, Germany

Certainly one of Europe's most interesting cities in terms of skylines, Frankfurt is home to five structures that are over 200 metres tall. These modern skyscrapers are marvels compared to those other, mostly non-existent ones scattered across European cities. The contrast here is interesting: The city combines low-rise, high-density traditional European architecture (some of which is over 1,000 years old), with modern towers that stick out like sore thumbs, but are impressive nonetheless.
Metro/Urban Population: 4.1mn