On Public Transit, Some of the World’s Best Sightseeing

Keith Plocek writes about cities around the world where spectacular views are accessible and available on transit. "Many tourists ride the free Staten Island Ferry just to see the skyline and the Statue of Liberty, but New York isn’t the only place where public transportation provides outstanding vistas."

In London, he suggests hopping aboard the Route 11 bus, which travels by a number of sites, including St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Millennium Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and Westminster Abbey.

For most Americans, the cable cars of Medellín, Colombia, are a less familiar mode of transportation, but they are a cheap, and breathtaking, way to travel in the city. "A one-way fare costs tourists and locals alike 2,255 Colombian pesos (68 cents). You haven’t really experienced this city until you’ve queued up with locals and dangled over red-brick buildings while the morning sun pours into the valley below," says Plocek.

He also suggests traveling on ferries in Hong Kong and Sydney; the Venice water buses; trains in Lisbon, Los Angeles, and Paris; and an outdoor elevator in Salvador, Brazil.