The best views in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

You don't always have to travel far to enjoy a breathtaking view. Plenty of stunning sights can be found across Germany, as well as in nearby Austria and Switzerland - a great alternative for the more budget-conscious travellers among us, as holidays abroad tend to be quite costly, while staycations are a more budget-friendly option. And remember, whether you're on holiday or living abroad, you can use Remitly to send money around the world to destinations such as India, the Philippines and Turkey.

Whether you're planning a short trip to explore a new area or moving to a new city, it's always worth looking out for stunning viewpoints to get to know a place in a whole new way.

With this in mind, we wanted to unveil the best viewpoints in various cities across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. To do this, we analysed over 300,000 tourist reviews for landmarks, popular tourist spots and viewing points in the 35 most populated cities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, to see which features the highest percentage of positive mentions of the word ‘view’. From this, we created our final ranking and can officially crown the best views in these countries.

Key findings:

The Birkenkopf in Stuttgart is the most popular viewpoint among travellers in Germany - almost 60% of reviews mention the stunning view.
Overall, viewpoints in the south-west of Germany impress visitors the most - nine out of the top ten viewpoints are located here.
The Mönchsberg in Salzburg offers the best view in Austria, followed by the Festung Hohensalzburg and the Kahlenberg in Vienna.
In Switzerland, the view from Harder Kulm is the most popular among visitors - with almost 62% of the ratings mentioning its stunning view, followed by the Uetliberg in Zurich.

The best views in Germany

Rank	Viewpoint	City	Total reviews	% of reviews mentioning ‘view’
1	Birkenkopf	Stuttgart	203	59.6%
2	Fernmeldeturm	Mannheim	124	46.8%
3	Florianturm	Dortmund	226	46%
4	KölnTriangle	Cologne	2,058	44.3%
5	Turmberg	Karlsruhe	296	44.3%
6	Drachenfels	Bonn	785	43.7%
7	Killesberg	Stuttgart	362	43.1%
8	Rheinturm	Dusseldorf	3,048	42.3%
9	Fernsehturm	Stuttgart	1,186	42.2%
10	Panoramapunkt	Berlin	960	42%
11	Panorama Tower	Leipzig	687	41.9%
12	Olympiaturm	Munich	1,419	41.4%
13	Main Tower	Frankfurt	3,851	39.5%
14	Fernsehturm	Berlin	11,881	38.9%
15	Rheinseilbahn	Cologne	887	36.5%
16	Goetheturm	Frankfurt	152	35.5%
17	Perlachturm	Augsburg	241	34%
18	Flakturm Humboldthain	Berlin	160	33.8%
19	Sparrenburg	Bielefeld	381	32.8%
20	Berliner Funkturm	Berlin	128	32%

Birkenkopf, Stuttgart offers the best view in Germany

Looking at the sheer number of reviews, Berlin's attractions and viewpoints would come out on top - which is hardly surprising as the German capital attracts millions of people and tourists each year. With this in mind, we wanted to determine which viewpoints have the highest percentage of reviews mentioning ‘view’ positively rather than looking at the number of reviews in total.

Our research shows that the Birkenkopf in Stuttgart takes the top spot, with nearly 60% of reviews mentioning the impressive view. Visitors are particularly impressed as the viewpoint offers a beautiful sight over the whole city. However, the 511-metre-high hill does not only offer an incredible view, but visitors can also experience a piece of history, which is frequently mentioned in the reviews. The Birkenkopf is home to some remains of the Second World War, which is why the locals often call it 'Monte Scherbelino'.

The TV tower in Mannheim and the Florianturm in Dortmund rank in second and third positions, respectively. At 125 metres, Mannheim’s TV tower offers a fantastic view, which visitors say stretches as far as Heidelberg and the Black Forest. The Florian Tower is part of Dortmund's skyline, and the stunning view is mentioned in almost every other review (46%). Some visitors are particularly enthusiastic about the fact that you can see some of Dortmund's most popular attractions, such as the stadium, from above.

The KölnTriangle takes the fourth position, followed by the Turmberg in Karlsruhe - roughly 45% of the reviews mention the impressive views from both attractions.

Viewpoints in south-west Germany are the top among visitors

The Drachenfels (Bonn), the Killesberg (Stuttgart), the Rheinturm (Düsseldorf) and the Stuttgart TV tower all follow in positions six to nine. Therefore, viewing points in the southwest of Germany are particularly popular among visitors, as nine out of the top ten viewpoints are located here.

Stuttgart in particular, performs exceptionally well in our study, with three of the top ten viewpoints located here (Birkenkopf, Killesberg and Stuttgart TV Tower).

Only one viewpoint in Berlin secures a spot in the top 10

The Panoramapunkt is the only viewpoint in the German capital that secures a spot in the top ten which might be surprising as Berlin is a popular travel destination, welcoming millions of tourists every year. The viewpoint has 960 reviews, with almost 40% mentioning the impressive view over the German capital.

The viewing platform, located directly on Potsdamer Platz, offers a great view of numerous famous sights. Many travellers are particularly impressed by the combination of modern architecture and historical highlights, which can be spotted from the viewpoint. Other Berlin attractions, such as the TV tower, the Humboldthain Flak Tower and the Berlin Radio Tower rank in the top 20.

Some other popular sights, such as the bell tower at the Olympic Stadium, did not secure a top spot in our ranking. Overall, the tower only has a total of 19 reviews, but almost 60% of these mention the incredible view - making it a somewhat underrated viewpoint. In addition to the bell tower at the Olympic Stadium, the Altonaer Balkon in Hamburg is another underrated viewpoint in our study (22 reviews in total), with almost 60% of reviews positively mentioning the view.

The best views in Austria

Rank	Viewpoint	City	Total reviews	% of reviews mentioning ‘view’
1	Mönchsberg (Aufzug)	Salzburg	489	52.4%
2	Festung Hohensalzburg	Salzburg	12,147	47%
3	Kahlenberg	Wien	683	45.8%
4	Donauturm	Wien	1,758	41.2%
5	Stadtturm	Innsbruck	769	35.2%
6	Bergisel-Pavillon	Innsbruck	1,354	34.9%
7	Pöstlingberg	Linz	712	34.8%
8	Stift Nonnberg	Salzburg	435	28%
9	Schlossmuseum	Linz	208	17.8%
10	Schlossberg	Graz	1,002	16.9%

Mönchsberg offers the best view in Austria

Austria certainly has no shortage of beautiful landscapes and viewpoints. Overall, our research shows that viewing points in Salzburg and Vienna dominate the top five in our ranking - with Mönchsberg taking the top spot.

The Mönchsberg lift takes locals and tourists to the top of the 485-metre-high mountain. The platform at the top offers a fantastic view of Salzburg’s old town, which is reflected in many reviews, with more than half (52.4%) mentioning the breathtaking sight. In addition to the impressive view, many visitors also mention the great hiking trails around the viewpoint.

One of Salzburg’s most renowned landmarks, Festung Hohensalzburg, took the second spot for Switzerland's most popular viewpoint, with almost 47% of the reviews mentioning its remarkable 360-degree view over the city. The fortress is Central Europe's largest fully preserved castle and is considered one of the city's prominent landmarks. The Kahlenberg in Vienna follows in third place - almost 46% of the reviews mention the beautiful view. The Kahlenberg is considered one of the most sought-after local recreation areas and is also very popular among hikers.

The Donauturm, also located in Vienna, and the City Tower in Innsbruck follow in fourth and fifth position with around 40% and 35% of reviews mentioning ‘view’.

The best views in Switzerland

Rank	Viewpoint	City	Total reviews	% of reviews mentioning ‘view’
1	Harder Kulm	Bern	2,488	61.7 %
2	Uetliberg	Zürich	2,578	61.2 %
3	Schynige Platte	Bern	442	52.7 %
4	Lindenhof	Zürich	1,606	45.1 %
5	Lavaux	Lausanne	127	42.5 %
6	Mont Salève	Genf	1,213	41.4 %
7	Seilbahn Rigiblick	Zürich	145	40 %
8	Grindelwald	Bern	2,021	35.6 %
9	Großmünster	Zürich	1,913	29.6 %
10	Sauvabelin Turm	Lausanne	516	28.9 %

Harder Kulm in Bern is the most popular viewpoint among tourists

Mountains feature heavily in the rankings for the top viewpoints in Swiss cities, as visitors flock to the picturesque beauty spots to see the cities from high up. Harder Kulm in Bern tops the ranking as the most popular viewing point in Switzerland, with around 62% of reviews mentioning the stunning sight. At 1,322 metres high, visitors particularly enjoy the panoramic view of the Jungfrau region.

Uetliberg, Zurich, follows in close second with 61% of reviews mentioning ‘view’ positively. The mountain is known as ‘Zurich's local mountain’; travellers can see the entire city from here and even catch a glimpse of the Alps. The Schynige Platte follows in third place, with around half of the reviews mentioning the incredible view from this attraction. The viewpoint is located near Bern at 2,099 metres high and is the starting point for one of the most beautiful hikes in Switzerland. Lindenhof Hill, Zurich (fourth place) and the Lavaux vineyard region near Lausanne (fifth place) round off our top-five ranking.

Methodology

For this study, we compiled a list of 360 popular sights and viewpoints in the 35 most populous cities across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We then examined the reviews of travellers and visitors on a popular travel review website for each viewpoint and determined the percentage of reviews that mention ‘view’ positively. Using this method, we created our final ranking and analysed the best views in each country.

Viewpoints that had less than 100 total reviews were excluded from the ranking. Results where the term ‘view’ was used negatively or for another context (a sports stadium offering a good view of the pitch) were omitted from the final results.

Data correct as of August 2024.