If the words ‘skywalk’, ‘glass floor’ and ‘viewing platform’ give you the heebie-jeebies, you might want to look away from this article. However, if you can face your fear of heights long enough, you can check out some of the world’s best (and more terrifying) views below.
Here are 9 of the world’s most impressive viewing platforms.
1. Step into the Void, French Alps
Like fresh Alpine air? Take a deep breath before strolling out onto this glass cube, perched 1,036 metres above, looking out at the French Alps in Aiguille du Midi. Views of Mont-Blanc and Chamonix can be seen from here, if you can peel your eyes off the nerve-racking glass floor at your feet.
2. Skywalk Grand Canyon, Arizona
Keeping in with the wild-west theme, the Grand Canyon Skywalk’s cantilever bridge is horse-shoe-shaped, but, its most impressive feature is its glass floor. The skywalk takes you 21 metres along the lip of the Grand Canyon, almost 1.6 kilometres above the valley floor. The 90 tonnes (90,000 kilos) of glass at your feet have been imported from Germany, so you know they’re safe. In fact, the structure is so strong it can support the weight of 70 x 747 passenger jet planes.
3. Glass Floor Eiffel Tower, Paris
In 2014 the Eiffel Tower got even more famous, launching a new see-through floor section. Taking the ‘selfie’ to new extremes, posers can now snap the ultimate selfie while lying down on the Eiffel Tower’s glass floor. Get that ‘walking on air’ feeling in the city of love from almost
200 feet (60 meters) above the ground.
4. The SkyDeck at Willis Tower, Chicago
Want to know what it feels like to step outside the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere? 103 floors up at 1,353 feet (412 metres) in the air, SkyDeck’s glass box extends 1.3 metres out from the Skydeck. Remember that scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? Well now you can set foot out on the glass box and see Chicago right under your feet without needing to press your face against the glass like Ferris.
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5. The Edge, Eureka Skydeck, Melbourne
Sufferers of acrophobia might want to skip The Eureka Tower’s ‘The Edge’ experience, which has you suspended 300 metres above the city in a glass cube with glass walls, floor and ceiling. Get a different perfective of this picturesque city.
Funny #skydeck #eurekaskydeck #Melbourne A photo posted by Amber Lee (@gazawoo) on
6. Glass Floor Tower Bridge, London
Your opportunity to see the winding, bustling city of London like never before; from 42 metres above the River Thames. Watch London buses wiz past you below as you walk the 11-metre-long-glass-floored section of the Tower Bridge’s overhead walkway. Extra excitement awaits when the bascules are raised beneath your feet.
7. Stegastein Lookout , Norway
Norway is renowned for its breathtaking nature, and the Stegastein Lookout adds to the experience. The structure is 30 meters long, 4 meters wide and 9 meters tall at its peak, and was built with little impact on the environment. You’ll find it perched above the Aurland Fjord from a height of more than 2,000 feet (610 meters) – making it certainly worth the three hour drive from Bergen, Norway's second largest city.
8. Dachstein Sky Walk, ‘Stairway to Nothingness’, Austrian Alps
This mighty suspension bridge between the Austrian Alps sure puts any towering city skyscraper to shame. After reaching the peak of the mountain range via a glass gondola, you can walk the proverbial plank by crossing the suspension bridge trying not to look (but you definitely must) at the 400-metre drop below, then onto experience the the glass viewing deck and infamous ‘Stairway to Nothingness’.
#dachstein #skywalk #dachsteinskywalk #mountains #snow #sky 2700 metres!!! A photo posted by Phil Hollingsworth (@pacmanphil) on
9. Suspended platform, Iguazu Falls, Brazil
While the star attraction here is the magnificent falls, being able to view them and fully appreciate their splendour from the skywalk viewing platform is next level. Get so close to the falls you’re deafened by the roar and refreshingly drenched by the sprays of water as it plummets off the 80-metre cliff right before your eyes.
And a special number 10: due for completion by the end of the year, we bring you the Southern Hemisphere’s first suspended viewing cube. The glass cube will be suspended off Skyline Queenstown’s viewing deck at the top of Bob’s Peak. Inspired by the Step into the Void’ installation at the Aiguille du Midi in Mont Blanc, the cube will heighten the experience of viewing the Remarkables mountain ranges and Lake Wakatipu as viewers will feel the sensation of being ‘suspended in mid air’.
Skyline Queenstown’s proposed glass cube viewing platform to launch end of 2015
