Exploring the World Through Elevators: Fun Places to Visit With Elevators

Elevators are amazing machines that help us go up and down between floors of buildings. A long time ago, when people first invented elevators, they were just simple lifts, but now, they can be super-fast and can take us to the tops of really tall buildings in seconds. Elevators let us see cities from high up and also go deep underground. They can also be worth seeing all on their own. If you love exploring new places, knowing where to find cool elevators can make your adventures even more fun!

Skyscrapers With Unique Elevators

• The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the tallest building in the world, and it has some of the fastest elevators in the world, too. Visitors can go up from the ground to the 124th floor at a speed of 10 meters per second. That’s more than 32 feet per second or 20 miles per hour!
• Located in China, the Shanghai Tower has the tallest above-ground elevator in the world, rising 1,898 feet.
• The Willis Tower is a 110-story skyscraper that was completed in 1973 in Chicago. It has double-decker elevators that can carry twice as many people at once.
• Lotte World Tower is the tallest building in South Korea, and it offers amazing views of Seoul from its observation deck, which you can get to in the tallest double-decker elevator in the world.
• The elevators at One World Trade Center in New York City have walls covered in video screens that show a visual display of the history of the city outside unfolding as you go up.

Museums and Galleries With Notable Elevators

• The Louvre Abu Dhabi has a glass-enclosed elevator that gives you amazing views of the Arabian Gulf as it goes up.
• The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City has four elevators that are immersive art installations, with interiors designed by Richard Artschwager.
• Visitors to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., start their tour in a huge glass-walled elevator that transforms into a time machine, taking you into the past along a timeline that leads all the way back to the 1400s.
• The Eiffel Tower was opened in 1889, and its current visitor elevators were installed in 1899. Everyone knows about this famous landmark in Paris, but not everyone knows that there’s a mini-museum exhibit at the top. Gustave Eiffel, the man who designed the tower, had an office built for himself at the top, and today, it’s been restored to look the same as it did back then.
• A cutting-edge glass elevator at the Niguliste Museum in Estonia takes visitors up to the top of the building, where they can get an incredible view of Tallinn’s historic skyline.

Theme Parks and Attractions With Exciting Elevators

• Universal Studios Singapore’s Transformers ride elevator is part of the ride, becoming a battle zone with motion, sound, and visual effects.
• Walt Disney World’s Tower of Terror in Florida is famous for providing a thrilling ride through another dimension.
• The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, have high-speed elevators that take visitors up to the Skybridge, a pedestrian bridge connecting the two towers.
• The Shard in London was designed by architect Renzo Piano, who said it’s his favorite creation. It has super-fast glass elevators that give you great views of the city: On a clear day, you can see up to 40 miles!
• The Tower of the Americas in San Antonio, Texas, has three high-speed elevators that can make the trip to the top in just 43 seconds while offering incredible views along the way.

Unconventional Elevators

• The London Eye, a giant Ferris wheel, has glass-enclosed capsules that function as elevators, allowing visitors to ascend and descend gently while enjoying 360-degree views of London.
• The Globen SkyView in Stockholm, Sweden, has glass gondolas that travel along the outer surface of a large globe.
• The Bailong Elevator, located in the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in China, is one of the world’s tallest and heaviest outdoor elevators.
• The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, has a unique tram system that transports visitors to the top of the iconic 630-foot structure.
• The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland is the world’s only rotating boat elevator, moving boats between two canals at different elevations.

In a lot of places, we can use elevators to get where we want to go, but as technology keeps improving, more people are making elevators that are almost worth visiting all by themselves. Taking a ride in these lifts can be a memorable adventure!