We’re thrilled to reveal the winners of our 2025 Cityscapes Photo Contest!
From glowing skylines to quiet streets at dawn, these ten photos show the beauty and energy of city life around the world. Five were chosen by reader votes, and five were selected by our editorial team.
Let these city scenes inspire you to explore new places and see the familiar with fresh eyes.
First up, the People’s Choice winners, followed by our Editor’s Picks.
People’s Choice
1. Cosmovitral Jardín Botánico
Grand Winner
Photographer’s Name: Karen Gershowitz
Location of Photo: Toluca, Mexico
Description: The Cosmovitral is a dazzling marriage of art and nature. Opening in 1910, it started life as Toluca’s main market hall. The soaring iron-and-glass Art Nouveau building was more like a railway station in Paris than a market in central Mexico. For decades, it thrummed with the noise and scents of daily commerce. When it closed in 1975, local officials soon saw its potential and transformed the building into something extraordinary. Today, the Cosmovitral is a vast botanical garden. Surrounding the garden are monumental stained-glass murals designed by Mexican artist Leopoldo Flores. These are not church windows depicting religious tales. Instead, they blaze with cosmic imagery: fiery reds, radiant blues, and glowing golds illustrate dualities—day and night, creation and destruction, life and death. A colorful glass ceiling bathes everything below in shifting hues. Every step feels like walking inside a painting.
2. Talaat Harb Square
Photographer’s Name: JR Marquina
Location of Photo: Cairo, Egypt
Description: Night scape view of the busy roundabout intersection.
3. Life below the Acropolis
Photographer’s Name: Kristine De Abreu
Location of Photo: Athens, Greece
Description: On a sweltering summer day below the Acropolis, Monastiraki is teeming with bustlers, starstruck tourists and market vendors eager to sell their goods. During the time of the Ottomans, the Monastiraki area housed a simple monastery. Now, it is a large and popular shopping district in the heart of Athens, but, admittedly, a crazy tourist trap.
4. Cotton-Candy Dusk over Lower Manhattan
Photographer’s Name: Sudip Sen
Location of Photo: Liberty State Park, Jersey City, New Jersey — near Flag Plaza.
Description: I kept the composition spare: water, skyline, sky. The Hudson brings calm, the buildings add rhythm, and a wash of pink ties it together. From Liberty State Park near Flag Plaza, One World Trade Center anchors the view without shouting. I stepped back to let space breathe, using the wide foreground as a quiet invitation across the river. It’s the gentle side of a giant—strength shown through balance, restraint, and clean lines. Call it “Cotton-Candy Dusk,” or “Calm Across the Hudson”—different names for the same quiet power.
5. Beautiful Architecture You Witness in Hanoi
Photographer’s Name: Sunayina Dadhwal
Location of Photo: Hanoi, Vietnam
Description: The photo was taken while strolling through the streets of Hanoi. It has a colourful vibe while retaining the old-world charm of the city.
Editor’s Picks
Atlanta Sunrise
Photographer’s Name: Mark Krancer
Location of Photo: Atlanta, GA
Description: Sunset in Atlanta, Georgia, as the traffic passed by the Jackson Street Bridge.
City by the Bay
Photographer’s Name: Tressie Tucker
Location of Photo: San Francisco
Description: This is the San Francisco skyline at sunset, as seen from Crissy Field- below the Golden Gate Bridge.
The Parliament in Twilight
Photographer’s Name: Richard Sovis
Location of Photo: Budapest, Hungary
Description: Taken on the Danube River in the early morning in April 2025.
Heavenly NYC
Photographer’s Name: Donnie Geter
Location of Photo: New York, NY
Description: This photo was taken on April 26, 2025, on the Manhattan-bound Staten Island Ferry after a storm.
Symbolic Transformation
Photographer’s Name: Sylvia Guarino
Location of Photo: Venice, Italy
Description: I took this photo 3 days ago. The Gondola is not only a symbol of Venice; it is the personification of the city’s history. Initially purely transport, they became symbols of wealth. The gondolas in the foreground are moored along the Riva degli Schiavoni, near Piazza San Marco. Across the water, you can see the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore with its tall bell tower on the island of the same name. They are an icon of Venice tourism.
Thanks for celebrating this round of winners! To be the first to know when our next photo contest launches, subscribe to our free newsletter—packed with updates, travel inspiration, and more.
View all of the Cityscapes Contest submissions here
Check Out Our Past Contest Winners
- 48 Hours in Maui: Where to Stay, Eat, and Explore the Island - November 8, 2025
- Sacred Caves and Crusader Castles: The Christian Heritage of Patmos and Rhodes - November 8, 2025
- Don’t Miss These 7 Hidden Gems in Europe for Your Next Escape - November 8, 2025