A well-designed city is a pleasure to visit, and architecture plays a starring role. A great building can dazzle and delight, astonish and amaze. Along with parks, bridges, public squares, marketplaces and boulevards, architecture creates the stage upon which we live, work and play. And while it’s certainly practical and functional, that doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful or awe-inspiring. Stepping inside a meticulously designed space can change the way we see, feel and think, adding up to a powerful experience that makes the whole trip worthwhile. Here are 10 of the world’s best cities for architectural adventures.
Barcelona, Spain
It’s hard to beat Barcelona for sheer architectural exuberance. The city is famous for the wildly creative structures of architect Antoni Gaudí, such as the magnificent, towering Sagrada Família basilica, whose flowing lines and organic shapes merge Gothic and Art Nouveau styles with stupendous results. The building project began in 1882, and it’s still not finished. Other Gaudí gems in Barcelona include the undulating apartment blocks Casa Milà (also known as La Pedrera) and Casa Batlló, colorful Park Güell and Palau Güell and the extravagant Casa Vicens, inspired by Moorish Revival, Catalan and Japanese design. It’s no wonder that Barcelona has been named the UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture for 2026.
Casa Milà, Barcelona
Brasília, Brazil
When Brazil relocated its capital from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília in the 1950s, the move inspired the construction of a bold new wave of modern buildings designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. Three Powers Plaza is home to the Planalto Palace, Supreme Federal Court and National Congress buildings, the latter of which has dual towers and two hemispheres (one facing up, one inverted) to symbolize balance. Niemeyer’s futuristic forms are also at play in the stunning, crown-shaped Metropolitan Cathedral; Itamaraty Palace, with its towering arches; the massive, domed National Museum of the Republic; and the president’s official residence, Alvorada Palace, perched on a peninsula in Paranoá Lake.
Planalto Palace, Brasília
Itamaraty Palace, Brasília
Casablanca, Morocco
In the Moroccan port city of Casablanca, architecture fans will want to visit the oceanfront Hassan II Mosque, designed by Michel Pinseau and built between 1986 and 1993. The landmark complex, created by more than 10,000 artisans and laborers, is embellished with intricate zellige tilework, carved cedar wood and stone and includes a prayer hall spacious enough to welcome 25,000 worshipers and an esplanade that can accommodate 80,000 more. The 690-foot-tall minaret shines a laser beam toward Mecca. Beyond the mosque, Casablanca’s Central Post Office is a gorgeously tiled local institution where architect Adrien Laforgue blended Modernism with Moorish Revival. Movie buffs can check out the 1929 Art Deco Cinema Rialto, designed by Pierre Jabin, or raise a toast to Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman at the recreated Rick’s Café.
Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca
Aqua tower, Chicago
Chicago, USA
For architecture devotees, the Windy City is a must-see destination. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 swept through the fast-growing city, a rebuilding effort began, spurring innovation from architects including Louis Sullivan, Daniel Burnham and Frank Lloyd Wright. Skyscraper enthusiasts can trace the evolution of that building type here, from The Rookery (built in 1888) and Monadnock Building (completed in 1893) to the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower). Other landmarks include the Gothic Revival Tribune Tower, the Art Deco Carbide & Carbon Building, the cylindrical 1960s Marina City towers, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Lake Shore Drive Apartments, Frank Gehry’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park and Studio Gang and James Loewenberg’s wavy Aqua tower. Frank Lloyd Wright fans can’t miss the Prairie Style Frederick C. Robie House in Hyde Park, as well as the renowned architect’s Home and Studio and the Unity Temple, both in suburban Oak Park.
Carbide & Carbon Building, Chicago
Church of Our Saviour, Copenhagen
Copenhagen, Denmark
The pedestrian- and bike-friendly city of Copenhagen is home to architectural wonders both old and new. From the Renaissance Rosenborg Castle, the 1642 Round Tower (one of Europe’s oldest observatory buildings) and the spiral-towered Church of Our Saviour to the grand Amalienborg Palace and the colorful waterfront buildings of the Nyhavn district, there are plenty of historic structures to admire. Copenhagen has also gained a reputation for innovative contemporary projects, including Olafur Eliasson’s ship-inspired Circle Bridge and CopenHill, the energy plant and urban recreation center designed by Bjarke Ingels Group with a rooftop ski slope.
Rosenborg Castle, Copenhagen
CopenHill, Copenhagen
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Dubai boasts the world’s two tallest towers — the 2,717-foot-tall Burj Khalifa and the under-construction Burj Azizi — and that’s just the start of its eye-popping architectural marvels. You can add the billowing sail–shaped Jumeirah Burj Al Arab; the donut-shaped, calligraphy-emblazoned Museum of the Future, by architect Shaun Killa; Opus, by Zaha Hadid Architects, which resembles a fluid glass cube; and the wave-like Jumeirah Beach Hotel. There’s also the 492-foot-tall Dubai Frame, plus the palm tree–shaped Palm Jumeirah artificial archipelago, which is home to design-forward hotels such as the Jenga-like Atlantis The Royal.
Museum of the Future, Dubai
Kyoto, Japan
The ancient city of Kyoto, which was Japan’s capital and home to the imperial court from 794 to 1868, is a treasure trove of ornate wooden buildings. There are more than 400 Shinto shrines and 1,600 Buddhist temples in the city, including the statuary-filled Daihōon-ji, the maple tree–surrounded Tofuku-ji and the gold leaf–covered Kinkaku-ji. The Kiyomizu-dera temple, founded around 780, is part of a complex that includes the three-story Koyasu Pagoda and a spacious terrace overlooking the city. Among Kyoto’s other notable landmarks is the Fushimi Inari-taisha, a shrine dedicated to the Shinto god of rice, known for its thousands of vermillion torii gates and forest hiking trails that climb up sacred Mount Inari. For something non-religious, there’s Nijō Castle, which the first shogun of the Edo Period built in the early 17th century and which includes the Ninomaru-goten, a shoin-zukuri-style palace — characterized by tatami-matted rooms, sliding doors and carefully composed garden views — on its grounds.
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Kinkaku-ji, Kyoto
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Fushimi Inari-taisha torii gates, Kyoto
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Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto
Napier, New Zealand
Following a devastating earthquake in 1931, the citizens of Napier rebuilt the city, infusing it with an Art Deco style that still energizes the streets of this North Island community. A characteristically New Zealand interpretation is at play here: Along with the usual ornamental motifs — zigzags, sunbursts, geometric shapes — visitors may spot Māori designs representing whales and fern fronds. Notable landmarks include The Daily Telegraph Building, the Art Deco Masonic Hotel, the AMP Building, the National Tobacco Company Building, the former Bank of New Zealand Building and the Marine Parade Soundshell. The city celebrates its architectural heritage each February by hosting the Art Deco Festival Napier, complete with vintage cars, fashion shows and tours.
The Daily Telegraph Building, Napier
Paris, France
History is written in the buildings of Paris, from medieval wonders like the recently restored Notre-Dame Cathedral (begun in 1163) to the glorious, Gothic Sainte-Chapelle, with its jewel-like stained glass. The story continues with the stately, French Neoclassical hôtels particuliers of Jules Hardouin-Mansart’s Place Vendôme and Montmartre’s Romano-Byzantine Sacré-Cœur Basilica. The opulent, 19th-century Palais Garnier inspired “The Phantom of the Opera” and the 1889 Eiffel Tower stands as a proud symbol of modernity. Visitors will be delighted by Hector Guimard’s famed Art Nouveau Métro entrances, the breathtaking steel-and-glass interiors of the Grand Palais and the Beaux-Arts brilliance of the Musée d’Orsay. The Louvre, including its 1989 I.M. Pei glass pyramids, is not to be missed — and who can resist a detour to wander through the Baroque magnificence of the Palace of Versailles?
Sacré-Cœur Basilica, Paris
Rome, Italy
When in Rome, an architectural treasure hunt is always a good idea. Walking among ancient structures, including the spectacular Colosseum, the iconic Pantheon and the ruins of the Roman Forum, is a powerful way to bring history to life. Rome’s Renaissance landmarks include the hilltop Villa Medici, with its fabulous views toward the Michelangelo-designed dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. Baroque splendors include Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s elliptical Sant’Andrea al Quirinale, Carlo Moderno’s Santa Maria della Vittoria and the Santa Maria della Pace, a church designed with a semicircular portico. The splashiest Baroque extravaganza of all is the Trevi Fountain, designed by Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762. Measuring 86 by 161 feet, it features a triumphal arch as a backdrop to a crowd of allegorical and mythological figures, including Oceanus astride a chariot hitched to a pair of hippocamps, mythological sea horses. According to legend, visitors who toss a coin in the fountain will return to Rome — so why not make a wish?
Trevi Fountain, Rome