The viewing platforms vertigo-inducing are breathtaking … Looking at pictures, do you feel safe? Make you feel like you may fall at any moment? Imagine that you’re literally just standing on a platform, then nothing. There’s no half-kilometer high building holding everyone’s weight as you stare down and hope that the engineers responsible didn’t have an off day at any point during its planning and construction. Just a drop and incredible views.
Grand canyon skywalk, Arizona, U.S.A.
This horseshoe-shaped pant-filler hangs approximately 4.000 ft above the floor of the Grand Canyon. But… below the platform is not a sheer drop of that height – it’s still extremely high, but not 4’000ft worth. Also, the platform is located in a side canyon, not the main one, although it’s pretty close. All that said, this is still a monster.
Il binocolo, Meran, Italy
Within the gardens of trauttmansdorff castle in Italy you’ll find this charming steel platform poking out through the trees, its name (meaning ‘the binoculars’) coming from the shape of the platform’s small roof and the view of the surrounding landscape. Designed by architect Mmatteo Thun.
Aurland lookout, Aaurland, Norway
Architects Todd Saunders and Tommie Wilhelmsen were commissioned to design a scenic rest-stop 2.000 ft above Aurland fjord in Norway and came up with this beauty. The outermost end of the horizontal platform – which curves to form the structure’s support – is closed off by a sheet of glass, offering an incredible view towards the ground for all those with the balls to make the trip to the end.
Top of Tyrol, Tyrol, Austria
‘Top of Tyrol’, designed by Aste Architecture, is a spectacular cantilevered viewing platform overhanging a ridge of Mount Isidor in Austria. Admittedly the same view could’ve been gained without the steel platform but it definitely provides a deceivingly safe area for tourists wanting a perfect view of stubai glacier. Plus there’s always the attraction of the thrill factor as you stand 9 meters away from the mountain.
Dachstein skywalk, dachstein glacier, Austria
Nicknamed the ‘balcony of the alps’, the dachstein skywalk is perched above the 850ft vertical rock face of the hunerkogelin Austria and offers views of both Slovenia and the Czech republic. In order to scare tourists as much as possible there’s also a glass section of floor at the unsupported end of the cantilevered platform. A definite knee-trembler.
The Landscape Promontory, Switzerland
The landscape promontory is a suspended viewing platform designed by Paolo Bürgi as part of the Cardada Project, a revitalization of the Cardada Mountain that is expected to finish in 2010. As with ‘il binocolo’, the steel and titanium platform enables you to walk amongst the tree tops and experience a view of lake maggiore that was previously unattainable.
