Seattle Great Wheel

The views from Seattle’s 175-foot-high Ferris wheel more than compensate for its corniness. From the top you’ll enjoy a grand panorama of the city, the Pacific Ocean and—if you’re lucky—the Olympic Mountains. The Seattle Great Wheel, on Pier 57, is one of the largest of its kind anywhere in North America and gondolas are fully enclosed for rain-or-shine rides. For an enhanced experience, visit on a Friday or a Saturday evening—when the wheel runs until midnight—and ask for the VIP carriage: a pimped-out glass-floored gondola with four leather bucket seats and a stereo system; perks include champagne, photo booth snaps and a personal escort to the front of the line.