Free city views in European cities (or anywhere!)

If you are asking for elevated viewing points, in Paris you can cross the bridge from the Eiffel Tower and walk up the hill to the Trocadero Plaza for a decent panorama of the tower. Beware of skateboarders sharing the plaza. Google Maps will show you the perspective.

If you have the Paris museum pass, it is free to climb the Notre Dame towers and you get great views of the city from there. It's crowded, but we got there early and it wasn't too long of a wait. We decided to do that instead of the Eiffel Tower because then our views actually include the tower.

The terrace in front of MNAC in Barcelona offers great free views over the city, and with escalators up its very easy to reach
The wonderful viewing terrace at the Pompidou in Paris (also with escalator access) is unfortunately no longer free.
The foot way on the eastern side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge offers great free views, but is not in Europe sorry.

I like the free views of the gargoyles and intricate carvings of the duomo in Milan from the top floor of the department store cafeteria across the piazza. An added bonus is that it's reachable by escalator.

Munich- the hills near the Olympic stadium. If the weather is clear, you can even see all the way to the Alps. Of course, this isn't within walking distance to the city center, so you would have to pay the transport costs (or rent a bike) to get there.

Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Wiesbaden: The terrace at the restaurant by Burg Frankenstein, above the small town of Seeheim-Jugenheim. For the opposite view, the top of Großer Feldberg by the TV tower.

In Hamburg and Luebeck, you pay only a few euros for a ticket to climb or take an elevator up church towers (St. Michael's and St.Petri's in Hamburg; St. Peter's in Luebeck). Also in Hamburg, you can take the Elbtunnel across the river and you'll get great views of both sides of the city.

Terrace café of Galleries Lafayette department store for the roof tops of Paris and the nearby Opera.

Paris - plenty of places in the 19th arrondisement, especially the high points in the Buttes-Chaumont park.

Brussels - the view from the terrace by the Palais de Justice.

Stuttgart - by the Haigst stop on the rack tram line from Marienplatz to Degerloch, or the nearby Weinsteige Stadtbahn stop.

London - Parliament Hill Fields, and the viewpoint in Nunhead Cemetary.

In Prague if you go to Letna Park you get stunning views of the city for free,Hanavsky Pavillion offer probably the best spot but can be expensive to sit in there for a drink or a meal but further along is Letna Park Beer garden with superb views and a beer for around a $.

My own city of Edinburgh climb Calton Hill or Athur's Seat for great views completely free ,but a bit of a climb especially Athur's Seat.

Thank all - I'll def be making a note of these! Also - love to hear about other places - not just Europe - USA, Canada, Asia, Australia...I'm sure others will find it helpful as well!

And of course, in my home province of Nova Scotia - there are some great views over the city of Halifax from Citadel Hill (if you like climbing) and there are some nice views of Citadel Hill from the new gorgeous library on Spring Garden Road (although someone wants to build a 5 story building there that will pretty much kill the view of the Hill).

On a clear day the view from Signal Mountain, Grand Teton National Park is pretty amazing. My screen saver is a female elk we saw grazing on the way up, always a reminder.

Donna

In Freiburg Germany you can take the free cliff elevator up to the biergarten for some nice shady chestnut views over the city. There is a funicular at the other end of the city and it has a small charge.

Free (or nearly free) views near me: courthouse tower in Santa Barbara, Getty museum views over LA you just have to pay for parking if you come by car, nearly everywhere in the San Francisco area where you are on a hill or near water!

In Salzburg, there is a large hotel on the other side of the river near the main bridge from the old town (sorry can't come up with name). They have a terrace café on the roof that is worth the cost of coffee to see the postcard view. Same with the Rinascente department store roof in Florence. Not my discoveries, but passing them on.

Mona...we did the visit to the courthouse in Santa Barbara! We didn't have long in Santa Barbara before heading out, but we went to the botanical gardens and the courthouse at the recommendation of our Airbnb host. Not only were the views gorgeous but the building itself was lovely!

Various suggestions for London:

Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) - free but only for UK residents though as it is organised through your local MP. Six months waiting list!
Frank's Cafe: Open in summer on top of a multi storey car park in Peckham. View notionally free although you are sort of expected to buy at least one drink.
One New Change, St Paul’s: Shopping Centre near St Paul's. Take lift to the top, Again this is a roof top bar / restaurant
Monument - costs £4 and you have to walk up but a good view with its own history.

Other park suggestions: Greenwich, Alexandra Palace

In Seattle, there are great views of the city, Elliott Bay, and sometimes Mount Rainier from Kerry Park on Queen Anne and Magnolia Park on Magnolia.

To follow up on Santa Barbara, head up the hill past the mission to the El Encanto hotel. Just underwent a major renovation, has a great view of the entire harbor/city area. If you park on the street you can wander into its parklike grounds, either look around or sit and have a drink.

It's only a couple of Euro to climb the stairs up the bell tower of St Peterskirche in Munich, with wonderful views all around. It's a little more to go up the elevator of the Olympic Tower (185 meters) for its commanding views.

In Nuremberg, go up to the Imperial Castle.

In Assisi, Basilica di San Francesco provides great views of the valley below and the town of Santa Maria degli Angeli, and walking up to Rocca Maggiore is better yet.

Europe:

There are great views of Barcelona from Monjuic (particularly the cable car, or teleferic as it's called in Catalan) and from Tibidabo. I also liked the view from the MNAC mentioned above, and another nearby interesting view is from the roof of the Arena shopping mall nearby (the one that was put in an old bullring). There's an outside elevator at the Arena for extra cost, or you can ride the escalators inside to the roof for free.

The views of Florence from Fiesole are fantastic, and it's only a local bus ride to get there.

In Budapest, the Buda side has great views of the Pest side.

In Lucca, you can walk on the walls for free (or rent bikes cheaply) and get great views of the city.

If it's raining or about to rain in Edinburgh (and that's not a rare occurrence), the views of the castle from Prince's Street are very dramatic.

La Turbie, on the French Riviera, has amazing views of Monaco. If you don't have a car, buses only run there a few times a day, so you do have to check schedules carefully to make sure you're not stranded.

If you don't mind climbing something like 400 steps, the central tower in Bologna rewards you with a great view of the city's intact medieval street plan, with its "bicycle wheel and spokes" layout. It's not free but I believe it's inexpensive.

I second the Milan Cathedral - amazing!

Canada:

In Montreal, you can climb Mt Royal for free (but it's quite steep), or take a city bus there, then go to the Chalet Lookout. If you're taking the bus, it doesn't stop right at the chalet - be sure not to miss the stop.

In Vancouver, the SeaBus takes you to North Vancouver, with great views of downtown.

United States:

In Pittsburgh, you can take public transport or walk from downtown across the Smithfield Street Bridge to the Monongahela Incline, then take it up for a great view of downtown.

In New York City, the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, just across the Brooklyn Bridge, offers a great view of Manhattan (sadly, now mildly obstructed by some Brooklyn waterfront development, but still wonderful).

San Francisco has great views from all kinds of places - no need to pay a lot, just keep your eyes open as you go about town.

Roman Polanski is supposed to be the originator of the phrase, "Los Angeles is the most beautiful city in the world - provided you see it at night, and from a distance." This sounds like an insult, but it's not. It was decades ago, but I still remember flying into LA at night and how beautiful it looked from the airplane window - an undulating carpet of lights that went on forever. So, if you can wrangle a flight arrival or departure from Los Angeles at the correct time, you get a great view of the city for free. The more standard way to get these views is from Mulholland Drive.

Great topic!

Ithaca, NY - magnificent views from Ithaca College, and from the fifth floor of the Johnson Art Museum (also a magnificent Asian art collection up there).

Thanks for that hidden gem Emma!

Harold - we almost made it to the top of Mont Royal when we visited Montreal. The bad thing - we were there early July and it was so blasted hot and humid, we gave up before we got to the top! And we did enjoy the view of Florence from Fiesole. We were staying at a B&B on the outskirts of town (near a big campground) and they told us how to walk to the bus. It involved some back roads and a very dark wooded path near a school I think - lol - the bus stop was about a 10 min walk from the B&B...unfortunately (again!) it was early evening and the mosquitoes were ravenous...I think I spent more time slapping mossies instead of enjoying the view...and we did 'admire' LA from the Griffith Ob - but we were up there mid-afternoon and it was a bit smoggy over the city. I'd love to return, and will def keep in mind to find a good vantage point and watch the lights come up...

When we went to California, we arrived in San Fran at 11pm or so - and flying over the city...loved it. - you could see the bridges - I think it had to circle for 10-15 min so we were trying to pick landmarks out. One of my favs tho was when we were flying into Heathrow. We were coming from an overnight flight originating in Nfld. So I think it was arriving 6am or so. Sun was coming up, and the flight was early, so the pilot had to circle London for 15 min or so...you could see the Thames snaking thru the city, the Eye, the Parliament Buildings - it was awesome - and I was mad for letting my hubby have the window seat ;)

Vienna -

Take the 38A bus from Heiligenstadt U4 station to Kahlenberg. There is an amazing overlook as you on one of the larger hills surrounding Vienna. The hike down to town is also scenic.

Go to the Lainzer Tiergarten and take the trail leading to the Wiener Blick (Vienna view) to see Vienna spread out before you. There is a pasture with picnic tables.

The Belvedere gardens are free and from the Upper Belvedere, you have a view of the skyline. Belvedere does mean a building with a fine view, after all.