Homes above the horizon.
03.10.2025Reinhard Mey described it perfectly in his song “Über den Wolken” (Above the Clouds): “Above the clouds, freedom must be boundless, all fears, all worries – they say – remain hidden below, and then what seems big and important to us would suddenly become insignificant and small,” he sings in his song. But the properties recently featured in the online magazine Luxury Defined by Christie’s International Real Estate are not quite that high up. Rather, they are about cliffside villas blessed with boundless views to deluxe duplexes that soar over cityscapes and high-altitude homes that offer upscale sanctuaries in the sky.
The magazine writes: “For millennia, civilizations have sought to transcend their earthly existence and connect with the divine by building lofty pyramids, temples, and turrets that reached for the heavens. Centuries later, there remains a kind of divinity around cloud-grazing penthouses and cliffside dwellings that command the same rarefied vantage point—those enviable abodes in exceptional locales with horizon-nudging perspectives.”
The 2,717-foot Burj Khalifa
According to Luxury Defined, the tallest building in the world, this mixed-use monolith is a testament to human ambition and opulence. Its spiraling inverted Y shape tapers into a near half-mile-high (0.8 km) splinter that stands sentinel over the city and showboats views to infinity. Set atop the Armani Hotel, the expansive glass windows of the 900 residences frame spectacular sunsets far over the Arabian desert dunes, which residents can still see several minutes after those down on street level.
Gardens directly beneath Singapore’s sky
Sharing a similar dynamic economy and distinctive skyline with Dubai, Singapore offers a tropical alternative to the desert oasis. There are more than 100 high-rises in Singapore’s Central Business District. None, though, reach the zenith of GuocoLand and SOM’s Guoco Tower in Tanjong Pagar, where futuristic skyscrapers stand guard over the Colonial shophouses of the historic old city centre. At 950 feet (290 m), the crowning glory is the tallest building in Singapore, the Wallich Residence – 181 abodes with a sleek Japanese aesthetic and far-reaching postcard views over the Singapore Strait.
Hong Kong’s Enviable Panoramas
Hong Kong is naturally blessed with an elevated topography of forest-cloaked hills and majestic mountains that afford wide-angle views over the colossal skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island, the spectacular light shows of Victoria Harbour, and out over the islands of the South China Sea. At the highest point of the city is The Peak, shrouded by fragrant banyan, pine, and orchid trees. It’s an exclusive enclave perched on a 1,811-foot-tall (552 m) mountain that’s been synonymous with wealth, exclusivity, and luxury since the late 19th century.
Hellenic Highs on Santorini
Luxury Defined writes: “Thanks to Santorini’s preserved beauty and breathtaking views, the world’s leading hoteliers have positioned their chic properties high on its plateaus. Here, sugar-white cave dwellings have been sympathetically transformed into elegant suites with bare-stone walls, rock-hewn bathrooms, and infinity-edge pools on the bluff of the cliff. On the island’s elevated interior, a roster of contemporary Athens architects has created high-end rural retreats for the sophisticated style set in villages such as Pyrgos, each boasting Aegean-facing terraces that drink in the nightly spectacle of the sun setting fiery red over the caldera.”