See the World's Most Iconic Skylines With Culture Trip

While not quite as distinctive as some skylines, the sheer scale of the world’s most populous city is enough to make it iconic in its own right. If the seemingly endless neon-lit horizon doesn’t give it away, then the city’s Eiffel Tower lookalike (the Tokyo Tower) certainly will – there’s no Seine to be seen here. If the aerial shots aren’t iconic enough for you, then your ground-level views certainly will be. The Shibuya Crossing and Omoide Yokocho could only ever be in Tokyo. You’ll spend three nights in the capital on our extensive Japan Rail Trip, which uses the Bullet Train network to fit Osaka, Hiroshima, Kyoto and Tokyo – plus a whole lot of countryside – into just one trip.

When you think of skylines you most probably picture ultra modern skyscrapers towering above a city with a population larger than most countries. Well, that doesn’t have to be the case. We struggle to think of an image on Earth more easily recognisable than the gorgeous whitewashed buildings crawling up the hillside of Fira, the capital of Santorini. We don’t expect you to know the name of the town, but even if you’re not familiar with Santorini, this place could only ever be an island in Greece. Those blue-domed churches, and the aesthetically pleasing shapes of all-white stairs, towers and flat-topped houses, are as beautiful as any city skyline on the planet, especially when the sunset bathes it in a warm glow. That’s why we could only end our Greek island-hopping adventure with a sunset dinner in Santorini – the defining image of the definitive Greek getaway.