Condé Nast Traveler: The World's Largest Ferris Wheels

Incredible Views from the Tallest Observation Wheels in the World

High Roller
Las Vegas, Nevada

Height: 550 feet

Ticket price: $24.95-$34.95

What you’ll see from the top: The current record-holder for the tallest observation wheel in the world (for now), the High Roller offers 360-degree views of The Strip (including the Bellagio fountains), along with Red Rock Canyon, the valley, and the mountains beyond.

FYI: Who needs a drive-through Vegas chapel? The High Roller offers its own quickie weddings, where you can say “I do” 550 feet in the air. Wedding packages can include a private cabin with a private VIP entrance, a personal in-cabin bartender, 90 minutes of photography, and room for up to 25 guests.

Condé Nast Traveler: Historical Landmarks With Amazing Views

Sky-High History: Landmarks with Amazing Views

Sure, cities are constantly debuting new skyscrapers with amazing observation decks—but it's not only modern buildings that provide stellar views. These structures, all built before the 20th century, offer bird's-eye views that have stood the test of time, and offer a little bit of history to go with them. Sure, cities are constantly debuting new skyscrapers with amazing observation decks—but it's not only modern buildings that provide stellar views. These structures, all built before the 20th century, offer bird's-eye views that have stood the test of time, and offer a little bit of history to go with them.

Mole Antonelliana
Turin, Italy

At nearly 550 feet tall, Turin's Mole Antonelliana has earned plenty of bragging rights. It claims to be the tallest museum in the world, along with the tallest building in Italy, and it was once the tallest brick building in the world. One advantage it has over other historic platforms: You don't have to climb any stairs to take advantage of its height. Instead, take an all-glass elevator to the top, where you can see all the way to the Alps. Then, explore the rest of the building, which is now home to Turin's Museo Nazionale del Cinema and contains a vast collection of artifacts related to the history of film.

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Image: © Stefano Cavoretto / Alamy




Condé Nast Traveler: Trips Inspired by the Best Picture Nominees

Oscars 2015: Trips Inspired by the Best Picture Nominees

The Imitation Game

Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) kept lots of secrets during his time at the United Kingdom's Bletchley Park, where he and other MI6 agents and mathematicians worked to break German codes during World War II. If he were alive today, he might be shocked to find out that now the whole complex is open to the public. The site may look more like a Victorian weekend retreat than an army base—but that was exactly the point. Today, the area has been restored with exhibits dedicated to the secret codebreaking operations that went on at the site. There, you can find examples of the "unbreakable" German Enigma machines, as well as a fully operational reproduction of the machine Turing help build to break the Enigma codes. Hut 8, where Turing worked, features a re-creation of his own office, and the park also hosts an exhibition dedicated to The Imitation Game, with props and costumes from the movie.

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Image: The Weinstein Company




The Daily Traveler: Pop-Up Ice Rinks

Our Favorite Pop-Up Ice Skating Rinks Around the World

Le Grand Palais des Glaces
Paris, France

The gorgeous, Beax-Arts Grand Palais was built for the 1900 World's Fair, but it's still turning heads more than a century later. Starting in December, the floor of the glass exhibition hall is frozen to form the world's biggest indoor ice rink, checking in at more than 29,000 square feet. Come when it gets dark to see the projections and animations that light up the massive rink. Then stay until late—starting at 9 p.m. and lasting until 2 a.m., DJs provide the music while visitors dance under stars visible through the glass ceiling. Open through March 8

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Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images


The Daily Traveler: Ghost Tours

Scariest Ghost Tours for Halloween

Explore haunted spaces, meet scary spirits, hear dark legends—and, yes, maybe learn a little history—on these ghost tours.

Boroughs of the Dead
New York City

Tour: The Ultimate Greenwich Village Ghost Tour takes guests through some of New York City's most famous haunts, including the "House of Death," (pictured) a house that is haunted by 22 spirits—including (possibly) the ghost of Mark Twain, who lived there for a year.

What Else You'll Pass: St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery, McSorley's Tavern, the Public Theatre, the Merchant's House Museum, and Washington Square Park.

You Might Meet: A boy who haunts the sixth floor of Hayden Hall at New York University. He hanged himself there more than 20 years ago; now he spends his time opening and closing drawers and moving furniture around.

FYI: All of Boroughs of the Dead's tour guides are writers who specialize in horror and speculative fiction (and a few of them are actors, too)—so they know how to tell a good ghost story.

Tours meet at St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery, 131 E 10th St, New York, NY, 646-932-0680; boroughsofthedead.com. Tours last two hours and cost $20 in advance, $25 at the door.

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Photo Courtesy of Boroughs of the Dead

The Daily Traveler: Rooftop Bars Around the World


When you want more than just a cocktail, head to one of these rooftop bars, where the price of a drink gets you access to some rarified scenery.

Sonny's Soda Shoppe
New York City, New York

Don't let the name fool you—you won't be heading to Sonny's Soda Shoppe for an old-fashioned egg cream. Instead, this is where a well-heeled crowd gathers to sip cocktails and check out the view of lower Manhattan and beyond. It sits atop the modern Mondrian SoHo, but the design is meant to recall a 1950s Italian beach club, albeit with faux grass turf instead of sand.

To drink: We didn't say there were zero old-time soda fountain pleasures to be had. Sonny's Blood Orange Gelato Float combines Don Julio Añejo, Chartreuse, vanilla gelato, and blood orange soda.

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The Daily Traveler: Amazing Outdoor Film Screenings

A Hot Tub Cinema? Our Favorite Outdoor Movie Venues

Who needs a drive-in? No cars are required to enjoy these outdoor movie screenings—and, chances are, the view will be as good as the film. Enjoy a sunset screening all summer long in an historic Italian piazza, on the rooftop of a cinema in Athens, in a cemetery in Los Angeles, and yes, in a hot tub.

Bologna, Italy

When the weather warms, Cineteca di Bologna turns the city’s Piazza Maggiore into one of the most historic outdoor movie venues, with Renaissance architecture surrounding the plaza on all sides and the dome of the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Vita rising behind the screen. Cineteca di Bologna holds 51 screenings under the stars throughout the summer, with eight nights dedicated to the “Il Cinema Ritrovato” (Cinema Rediscovered) series of classic movies. It also claims that the Piazza Maggiore's screen is one of the largest in Europe.

Coming Attractions: Jules and Jim, The Spirit of '45, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

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Photo: Lorenzo Burlando






The Daily Traveler: Extreme Amusement Park Rides

The Craziest New Roller Coasters and Thrill Rides in the U.S.

Screw up your courage and take a ride on one of this year's new crop of roller coasters, drop towers, Ferris Wheels, and other amusement-park attractions—if you can stand the record-shattering speeds, mind-bending loops, and heart-stopping falls.

Adventuredome; Las Vegas, Nevada

The small, four-person cars of the El Loco allow for tighter twist, turns, and rolls. The whole thing starts with a hairpin turn that rolls into a greater-than-straight-down dive, so riders experience what coaster nerds call a "negative 1.5 vertical G"—what a normal rider would call that feeling of floating up out of your seat. Plus, the Las Vegas Adventuredome, located in Circus Circus, is all indoors, so you can't use the weather as an excuse to chicken out.

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Photo: Denise Truscello





The Daily Traveler: Urban Gardens

You don't have to choose between bustling city life and serene nature. Next time you need a botanic pick-me-up, duck into one of these (gorgeous) public urban gardens—from Barcelona to Singapore, Rio to Rome. The roses and orchids are waiting...

Singapore

Orchids have been hybridized at the Singapore Botanic Gardens since 1859, and now more than 1,000 species and 2,000 hybrids are on display in the National Orchid Garden (including one named in honor of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Vanda William Catherine). That’s just one of the dazzling sights here: There's also a Swan Lake, a Fragrant Garden (known to attract butterflies as well as visitors), outdoor sculptures and sundials, and a section of rainforest home to 314 plant species. It’s no wonder that the garden is Singapore’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site nominee.

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Photo courtesy of National Parks Board (NPARKS)

The Daily Traveler: 10 Weird Tourist Attractions


An homage to Stonehenge made of classic cars. A museum devoted to instant noodles. A gnome reserve. We track down some of the world’s wackiest tourist attractions, for our amusement and yours.

Thailand’s Hell Garden
Saen Suk, Thailand
The sign that greets visitors entering this sculpture garden pretty much says it all: “Welcome to Hell.” The Wang Saen Suk’s “hell garden” depicts, in garish detail, the punishments in store for those who transgress in life. If the statues are to be believed—with impaling, transfiguration, and disemboweling all represented—the tortures for sinners are pretty gruesome, so you might want to bank a few good deeds before you visit.

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Photo: Amos Chapple / Lonely Planet Images/Getty Images