If cheap travel offers, be they cheap airplane tickets and discount hotel rooms or cheap vacation packages bring you anywhere close to one of the worlds vertical feats of engineering, you should make a point of stopping and taking a ride.
The following is a list of Budget Travels coolest elevators:
The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Mo. has glass doors which reveal the complexity of the structures interior as compartments chug up during a four minute ride to the observation deck of the 630 foot high wonder.
The Bailong Elevator in Hunan, China has glass elevator cars that rise almost 1,070 feet up a sheer cliff in two minutes to take visitors to a scenic area overlooking impressive lakes and distinct sandstone pillars.
The Falrirk Wheel in Falrirk, Scotland is like boarding an elevator in a boat. At the top of the Wheels rotation, riders can see up to two miles outside of Falrirk proper and take in the surrounding rustic countryside.
The AquaDom in Berlin, Germany has elevators which rise through the hollow center of a cylindrical, 82 foot tall aquarium, transporting visitors through a full panorama of tropical sea life. Vibrantly colored fish nibble at the aquarium wall inches from elevator passengers. Almost a hundred different species, including blowfish, silver moonfish, and humphead wrasse can be viewed in the tank which holds over a million liters of water and is the largest cylindrical tank aquarium in the world.
The Hammetschwand Lift in Lake Lucerne, Switzerland offers birds eye views of the rugged Alps and Lucernes blue waters. At 499 feet, the 48 second ride is the tallest outdoor lift in Europe.
SkyView in Stockholm, Sweden offers unparalleled views of the city. Gondolas attached to a track run along the exterior of this spherical structure. The ride lasts 20 minutes to the very top of the orb and back down, providing visitors with a forever changing panorama of the citys skyline.
Lloyds Building in London, England sports 12 glass elevators on the outside of the building. The 30 second ride offers magnificent views of the Thames Rives only a quarter mile away and the spire at St. Pauls from one side of the building and the celebrated Gherkin from the other.
Taipei 101 in Taipei, Taiwan moves at almost 40 miles per hour up to its 89th floor observatory in under 40 seconds. At over a thousand feet about the city every corner of Taipei looks tiny. The stomach dropping return trip is equally thrilling.
Luxor Inclinator in Las Vegas transports guests up the side of the hotels pyramid at a sharp 39 degree angle. While the cars lack observation windows, great views can be had from the top floors of the faux Egyptian universe below.
Long Island City Business Center in Queens, New York has an elevator near the small 31st St. entrance which is home to a one of a kind interior displaying a massive, twisted visage of a grinning dragon with grotesque 3-D beasts bursting from its eye sockets.
Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany has elevators that are as much fun to watch rise and fall along tracks in the museums atrium as they are to ride.
Sky Tower in Auckland, New Zealand has glass fronted elevators offering terrific views of the harbor and Aucklands city as well as the green countryside. It only takes 40 seconds to reach the observation tower located 610 feet in the air. Looking down through the glass floor provides an additional thrill of seeing the ground speed away and come rushing back on the descent.
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