Mother Nature delivers mere mortals two stunning art exhibitions every day, and both are free of charge to enjoy. The daily sunrise and sunset have charmed humans ever since the dawn of time; illustrious paintings in the sky full of vibrant oranges, reds, pinks, golds, and blues against a silhouette of both the Earth's natural design and man-made structures is truly enough to hypnotize anyone.
People have had a long love affair with dawn and dusk as the sun comes and goes each day, which has led to many seeking out the most glorious locations on the planet from where to take in nature's serene, artistic ambiance at these times of the day. So, where exactly are these top spots?
Well, the legends at mornings.co.uk did all the work in answering this difficult question. By analyzing impressive amounts of TripAdvisor data, they discovered both the USA's and the rest of the world's best sunrise and sunset-watching locations - and even ranked them all according to their popularity. Without further ado, these are the world's and the USA's most popular and top places for catching the very best sunsets, whilst the most sensational sunrise settings can be found here.
How Were The Results Obtained?
Acquiring data on the best places to see a sunrise and sunset isn't a quick feat. The folks a mornings.co.uk used TripAdvisor's "Things To Do" option to search for the keywords “sunset” and “sunrise” in each US state and every country around the globe. After scoping out and organizing their truckloads of data, the team took the locations with the highest number of "sunset" and "sunrise" mentions in their public TripAdvisor reviews and classed them as the best places to catch the sunset or sunrise in the order of those mentions.
They also removed any destination with “sunrise” or “sunset” in its name from the dataset for the purpose of achieving more authentic results, whilst at the same time eliminating all excursions, tours, and experiences at locations around those places. For a more accurate reflection, these criteria meant that the places with the highest number of mentions were limited to physical locations, such as buildings, beaches, mountain peaks, and other public areas.
The Best Place To See The Sunset In Every Country Around The World
Floridians, pop open a bottle of the finest champagne, because the sunny eastern state's sunsets blow all others off the horizon. According to mornings.co.uk's findings, Mallory Square in Florida delivers the world's (and the USA's) most popular sunset, beating all other contenders with its whopping 9,811 mentions on TripAdvisor - achieving almost double that of the second-in-place Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates, which was once the world's tallest building at 828 meters-high.
Naturally, the Florida region's residents are well aware of the fact that their home's sunset is the best in the world; they even have a whole festival dedicated to it. The amazing Sunset Celebration - a nightly arts festival at Mallory Square Dock - is one of the area's premier attractions and consists of beautiful arts and crafts exhibits and vendors, street performers, food carts, and more, all attracting thousands of tourists from around the globe.
The Best Sunsets In the US
As with their analysis of the best places to see the sunrise and sunset around the world, the folks at mornings.co.uk also narrowed it down further to discover the very best sunsets in the USA. With such breathtaking diversity all across the country with the likes of city skylines, forested lands, barren deserts, and majestic mountain ranges, it's not at all surprising that the USA has been granted its own list of unbeatable sunset-scoping spots.
As mentioned, Florida's Mallory Square is the world's number one place for watching sunsets, and thus also takes that same spot on the list of the USA's top dusky horizons. But the runner-up candidate offers extraordinary sunsets in a different way; against a 360-degree unparalleled city skyline. The Top of the Rock in New York boasts 4,968 TripAdvisor mentions, and it's easy to see why; this magnificent observation deck at the Rockefeller Center provides what can inarguably be described as the most dramatic, uninterrupted images of iconic New York landmarks in front of a remarkable canvas of the striking sunset sky.
Of course, in many American states, catching the very best sunrises and sunsets requires moving around as the sun's light casts its magic throughout the daylight's expiring hours. However, the number three US sunset scene based on its TripAdvisor mentions is Arizona’s Grand Canyon South Rim, which effortlessly offers the best of both; sensational sunrises and spectacular sunsets in sweeping, panoramic form.
It's likely that such beauty cannot be imagined nor even fully photographed - only experienced; as the sun's rising or descending rays illuminates and colorizes the canyon's mighty rocky formations, it would seem that no eye can resist the enchanting allure of such a natural exhibition of powerful art created with love by Mother Nature.
Get Interactive: The Official Top Sunset Locations Around The World And In The US
Handily, to help intrigued folks sift through all this incredible information, the team at mornings.co.uk has also produced an interactive list that showcases over 100 of the world's and the USA's most-reviewed and highly-rated sunset-watching destinations alongside the best spots for catching the sunrise.
This is it - it is indeed official; from the USA to the rest of the planet, the most popular and celebrated destinations boasting the best sunrises and sunsets have finally been found. The discovery is undoubtedly fascinating, but at the same time, it also allows jet-setters to factor in sunrises and sunsets when on the hunt for their next dream vacation.
With so many delightful places to pick from - each with the best early morning and evening vistas - travelers, photographers, early risers, and night owls alike are truly spoilt for choice from here on in. Wherever one goes in search of vibrant horizons, consider any one of the locations featured - and for goodness sake do not forget to take a camera!