What is the best city skyline in the world?

Height, density and setting rarely peak in the same city, so the tallest skyline here is not automatically the best one.

1

Hong Kong

Victoria Harbour framed by one of the densest clusters of towers on earth.

2

New York City

Two separate skylines — Midtown and Lower Manhattan — on one island.

3

Chicago

The city that invented the skyscraper, seen across Lake Michigan.

4

Shanghai

The Pudong towers rising straight out of the Huangpu, built almost entirely since 1990.

5

Shenzhen

More towers above 150 metres than any other city, most of them younger than the people looking at them.

6

Singapore

Marina Bay's engineered skyline, anchored by a hotel with a ship on the roof.

7

Dubai

More supertall buildings than anywhere, and the tallest of them all in the middle.

8

Tokyo

A skyline that goes on past the horizon in every direction, lit up all night.

9

Kuala Lumpur

The Petronas Towers and a downtown that grew around them.

10

Toronto

A wall of condo towers with the CN Tower spiking out of the middle.

11

Sydney

Less about height than about the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge in the same frame.

12

Seoul

Towers packed against the Han River with mountains standing directly behind them.

13

London

A low historic city interrupted by a cluster of oddly nicknamed towers.

14

Guangzhou

The Canton Tower and Zhujiang New Town facing each other across the Pearl River.

15

Panama City

The most vertical skyline in Latin America, packed onto a strip of Pacific coast.

16

San Francisco

A compact downtown behind hills, bridges and fog.

17

Doha

West Bay's towers rising out of the desert on a single crescent of waterfront.

18

Melbourne

A dense southern-hemisphere downtown wrapped around the Yarra.