• 1. A view of the windmills in the island of Santorini in Greece. EPA
    1. A view of the windmills in the island of Santorini in Greece. EPA
  • 2. The sun sets at Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona. Reuters
    2. The sun sets at Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona. Reuters
  • 3. Mykonos town at dusk. Getty Images
    3. Mykonos town at dusk. Getty Images
  • 4. Taj Mahal in India. Getty Images
    4. Taj Mahal in India. Getty Images
  • 5. The skyline of the coastline of Funchal at sunset, Madeira in Portugal. Getty Images
    5. The skyline of the coastline of Funchal at sunset, Madeira in Portugal. Getty Images
  • 6. Uluru in the World Hertage-listed Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in central Australia. AFP
    6. Uluru in the World Hertage-listed Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in central Australia. AFP
  • 7. St Pete Beach, Florida. AFP
    7. St Pete Beach, Florida. AFP
  • 8. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. EPA
    8. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. EPA
  • 9. Sunset at Phi Phi Islands, Thailand. Getty Images
    9. Sunset at Phi Phi Islands, Thailand. Getty Images
  • 10. The sun sets at Teahupoo, Tahiti in French Polynesia. AFP
    10. The sun sets at Teahupoo, Tahiti in French Polynesia. AFP
  • 11. Jebel Akhdar, Al Hajar Mountains, Oman. Getty Images
    11. Jebel Akhdar, Al Hajar Mountains, Oman. Getty Images
  • 12. Animal silhouettes against the sunset in Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. Getty Images
    12. Animal silhouettes against the sunset in Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. Getty Images
  • 13. A panoramic view of the bridge Ponte Vecchio mirroring in the river Arno from the Piazza Michelangelo in Florence. Getty Images
    13. A panoramic view of the bridge Ponte Vecchio mirroring in the river Arno from the Piazza Michelangelo in Florence. Getty Images
  • 14. Matterhorn, Switzerland. Getty Images
    14. Matterhorn, Switzerland. Getty Images
  • 15. Cliffs next to the Ulu Watu temple Pura Luhur, Bali. Getty Images
    15. Cliffs next to the Ulu Watu temple Pura Luhur, Bali. Getty Images
  • 16. Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap province, some 314 kilometers northwest of Phnom Penh. AFP
    16. Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap province, some 314 kilometers northwest of Phnom Penh. AFP
  • 17. Youngsters play football at Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AFP
    17. Youngsters play football at Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AFP
  • 18. Mallory Square, Key West, Florida. Getty Images
    18. Mallory Square, Key West, Florida. Getty Images
  • 19. Sunset over El Nido, Palawan, Philippines. Getty Images
    19. Sunset over El Nido, Palawan, Philippines. Getty Images
  • 20. Ponte dell’ Accademia, Venice, Italy. Getty Images
    20. Ponte dell’ Accademia, Venice, Italy. Getty Images

Golden hour: the 20 best sunsets around the world

A new index has revealed the top places to watch the sun go down around the globe, and spots from the UAE, Oman and Philippines have made the top 100

Janice Rodrigues
Janice Rodrigues

March 05, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

Picking the best spots from across the world to watch the sunset in is no mean feat – but European company Lensbest has managed to do exactly that. The contact lens and glasses vendor has recently released The Sunset Index, a comprehensive list of the top 100 places to watch the sunset around the world, giving travel lovers chasing good vistas the ultimate bucket list.

The top spot went to Santorini, the Greek island known for its white-washed buildings and gorgeous water views. Coming up second is the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, US, while the third spot has also been nabbed by Greece - more specifically its island of Mykonos.

From the region, Oman's Jebel Akhdar in the Al Hajar Mountains just missed out on a spot in the top 10, coming in at the 11th best place to watch the sun go down.

The top 20 spots from across the world to catch the sunset:

  1. Santorini, Greece
  2. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA
  3. Mykonos, Greece
  4. Taj Mahal, Agra
  5. Madeira, Portugal
  6. Uluru, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia
  7. St Pete Beach Florida, USA
  8. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
  9. Phi Phi, Thailand
  10. Tahiti, French Polynesia
  11. Jebel Akhdar, Al Hajar Mountains, Oman
  12. Delta, Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana
  13. Piazzale Michelangelo, Florence, Italy
  14. Matterhorn, Switzerland
  15. Uluwatu Temple, Bali
  16. Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia
  17. Ipanema Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  18. Mallory Square, Key West, Florida, USA
  19. El Nido, Palawan, Philippines
  20. Ponte dell'Accademia, Venice, Italy

For a glimpse of what sunset at these locations actually looks like, check out the gallery above.

The Sunset Index was created by asking travel journalists from 46 countries across the globe for the best spots to view a sunset, with an online poll containing seven questions.

A total of 600 locations were nominated, then refined into the final shortlist of 100. Each location nominated by the journalists was given a score based on the number of times it was recommended.

In order to avoid a bias due to more responses coming from certain countries, each location’s score was scaled based on total number of responses received from that country.

The full list features one much-loved UAE attraction: Jebel Hafeet in Al Ain at number 58. Judging from the picture below, it's easy to see why this location would make the cut.

The full list can be viewed at www.lensbest.de/sunset-index-en

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