Towering 2,300 feet above the buildings of Rio de Janeiro, the 98-foot-tall statue of Christ the Redeemer overlooks the coastal Brazilian metropolis. Built on the summit of Mount Corcovado, the statue was completed in 1931 and is said to be visible from anywhere in Rio. Below the statue, Rio's urban center only has three official skyscrapers, the tallest of which is the 535-foot Rio Sul Center.

Though it isn't the tallest structure in the city, Seattle's Space Needle is certainly the most famous. Built in 1962 for that year's World's Fair, the 605-foot observation tower was the tallest tower in Seattle (and in all of Washington) until 1969. Since then, eight other buildings have passed it in height, including the 933-foot Columbia Center, which is currently taller than any other Seattle structure.

Frankfurt am Main is the biggest city in the German state of Hesse and is the country's economic powerhouse. With the highest concentration of banks, the world's fourth-biggest stock exchange, and Europe's second-largest airport, it was only natural that Frankfurt would become Germany's tallest city as well, with 17 completed skyscrapers.

For more than 45 years, the Transamerica Pyramid was the tallest building in San Francisco, with a height of 853 feet. But in 2018, the 1,070-foot Salesforce Tower became the city’s tallest skyscraper — and the second-tallest building in California after the Wilshire Grand Center in Los Angeles.

The greater metropolitan region of Paris, France, has 17 skyscrapers, but only one is located within the city limits, and that's the Tour Montparnasse. About 400 feet shorter than Paris's tallest structure, the Eiffel Tower, the Tour Montparnasse was finished in 1973 and remains the city's only true skyscraper.

The floating boat-like structure of the Marina Bay Sands hotel and casino is one of the most famous features of Singapore's dense skyline. The building, which was constructed in 2010, has three towers which are joined at the 57th floor by a 2.5-acre garden skypark that includes an infinity pool. Despite each tower's 636-foot height, there are more than 30 Singaporean buildings taller than the 2,600-room hotel.

The most iconic part of the Tokyo skyline isn't human-made at all. Rising 12,380 feet above sea level and looming behind the many skyscrapers of the Japanese capital is the tallest mountain in Japan, Mount Fuji, which is only 62 miles away. Fuji is an active volcano and is the most popular tourist site in Japan, with more than 200,000 visitors climbing to the summit each year.

The Sydney skyline includes buildings like Crown Sydney, the Chifley Tower, and the Citigroup Centre, but its most recognizable feature is only 222 feet tall. The Sydney Opera House, which opened in 1973, is one of the most distinctive buildings of the 20th century. Designed by Jørn Utzon, the Opera House holds several performance venues, the largest of which is a 2,679-seat concert hall.

The CN Tower in Toronto has been one of Canada's most recognizable structures since it was built in 1975. At that time, it officially became the world's tallest free-standing structure — a title which it held for nearly three decades. Today, the CN Tower is still the tallest tower in the Western Hemisphere and the tallest structure in Canada, with a height of 1,815 feet.

Topped by the world’s second-tallest skyscraper, the 2,073-foot Shanghai Tower, the Chinese metropolis has a skyline that includes a staggering 175 skyscrapers. Since the city’s first 500-foot-plus building was constructed in 1988, the city's metropolitan area has exploded, making it now the fifth-tallest city in the world by number of skyscrapers.

Soaring to a symbolic 1,776 feet, New York City's One World Trade Center is the tallest building in the United States. One World Trade Center features an enclosed observation deck at 1,250 feet above street level, where visitors are treated to panoramic views of the city. To honor its origins, the skyscraper's cubic base has a footprint identical to the original Twin Towers.

At a height of 2,717 feet, Dubai's Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world — by a long shot. Built in 2010, the 163-floor skyscraper towers over the skyline of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The Burj's Y-shaped floor plan maximizes views of the Arabian Gulf and contains offices, retail space, residential units, and a hotel.