Drone Videos of the World's Alpha Cities

In this video, award-winning contributor Majestic takes the city dronelapse genre to a new level with a stunning aerial tour of New York City.  The video opens with a shot of the skyscrapers around Times Square on the west side of Midtown.  From there it will take you to the downtown Financial District and the adjacent World Trade Center at golden hour, back to Midtown, around the East River bridges connecting Manhattan to Brooklyn and Queens, and much more.  It's easily one of the best drone videos of the Big Apple we've seen anywhere.  

Take an aerial tour of the UK capital city of London with this magnificent drone video by top contributor and pilot New Entertainment Pictures.  The video opens with a couple of epic shots over the River Thames, including an amazing view of the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge.  From there, you'll get a bird's eye view of Westminster Abbey and the nearby Parliament building.  Then it's on to Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, the London "Eye", the Millennium Dome, and more! 

Top contributor Panvelvet used the Chinese city of Shanghai as the backdrop for this epic drone film, shot over a period of 24 hours.  Filmed in a fully controlled environment, the video shows an actor standing atop several of the more prominent towers in this megalopolis, which as of the end of 2018 had over 150 buildings of at least 150 meters (about 480 ft.) in height, fourth amongst the world's cities.  This video was a winner at the second annual Drone Video Awards Winner in the Originality category.

Top content creator and pilot Fabio Knoll's masterpiece "Singapore" was nominated for the 2017 AirVuz Drone Video of the Year Awards in the Cities category.  This impressive video includes beautiful aerial views of the visually spectacular Gardens by the Bay, as well as the equally impressive Marina Bay Sands, both used as filming locations for the 2018 popular movie "Crazy Rich Asians."  The glow of these landmarks, mixed in among the imposing skyline is showcased here in this striking night footage.

Behold this magnificent aerial tour of Paris, France by former Drone Video of the Week Winner FrameworkFilms.  The "stars" of the video are three of the most recognized landmarks in the City of Light: the Eiffel Tower, the lattic tower contstucted in connection with the 1889 World's Fair; the I.M. Pei-designed Louvre Pyramid in the courtyard of what is probably the world's most famous museum; and the Sacré-Cœur Basilica atop Montmartre Hill, the city's second-most famous church after the Cathedral of Notre Dame.  

Measured by the number of tall buildings, Hong Kong has the largest skyline in the world.  The city's skyscrapers are spread throughout the city - on Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula, and along much of the shoreline of Victoria Harbor.  In this marvelous drone video by contributor Haussmanvisuals, you'll get a great aerial tour of the most vertical parts of the 430 square miles of the city.   This video was picked as a Finalist in the Cities category for the 2nd annual Drone Video Awards.

In this stunning video, contributor and drone pilot Kakikujalanjalan takes us on an aerial tour of Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia.  This metropolis lies on the western side of the Malay Peninsula, across the Strait of Malacca from the Indonesian island Sumatra.  The amazing drone footage captures the twin Petronas Towers (once the world's tallest buildings) as well as the other massive skyscrapers which dominate the skyline of this Southeast Asian metropolis, one of the world's fastest growing cities.  

Get a bedazzled view of Dubai in this hyperlapse drone video from contributor obnasr4k.  The skyline of the United Arab Emirates' swanky sultanate on the Persian Gulf seems to move in hyper speed through the darkened night sky.  The lights from the skyscrapers, the reflections, and the traffic lights in motion are completely mesmerizing as we soar high above the urban oasis of Dubai, the capital of one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE.  The city is home to the world's tallest skyscraper as of early 2019, Burj Khalif.  

Contributor EdDrone used a DJI Mavic Air to treat us to this epic aerial view of Sydney Harbor.  Australia's largest city and capital of the New South Wales state, Sydney is blessed with one of the world's finest natural harbors, comparable to Hong Kong's.  Watch the video to get a sense of how closely the city's most recognized landmarks - the downtown, the famous Opera House, and the equally famous Harbor Bridge - are tied to its great harbor, the second busiest in Australia after Melbourne.

Content creator and drone pilot Tdheyen created this amazing aerial portrait of his native Los Angeles.  With footage of the city's skyscrapers and surrounding freeway system, so vital to the lifeblood of this city with historically limited public transportation, the video shows the Southern California metropolis at its very finest.  The video ends with an epic shot of Dodger Stadium in Chavez Ravine, with the skyline behind it.  Enjoy the aerial views of La La Land in this amazing production! 

This 2017 AirVūz Video of the Year by contributor Timelab.pro showcases the beauty of Moscow, the great capital city of Russia. Shot with a Zenmuse X7 camera on a DJI Inspire 2 drone, the video captures "three Moscows": (1) the original core around the Kremlin complex and the adjacent St. Basil's Cathedral; (2) the Seven Sisters Stalinist-era skyscrapers, led by the Moscow State University building; and (3) the sleek skyscrapers of the new Moscow International Business Center, west of the city center.

Bangkok is Thailand's largest city as well as its capital.  The city lies in the south of the main (non-peninsular) part of the country, at the head of the Gulf of Thailand.  The skyline of Bangkok has followed its population boom, and it now is one of the more impressive skylines in the world.  In this video, contributor and drone pilot Worldpitou takes us on a tour of this budding world city with a metropolitan population of over 15 million; the aerial views of the city's gleaming  skyscrapers are amazing. 

Top contributor Haussmannvisuals created this memorable 60 second aerial tour of Guangzhou in southern China.  It's the capital of the province of the same name, the largest in the country by population and in many respects its economic dynamo.  It's also home to some of the world's tallest buildings.  In the video you'll see some epic footage of the 111 floor, 530 meter (about 1.7k ft.) CTC Financial Center (#6 in the world at year-end 2018), the Guangzhou IFC (439 meter, 1.45k ft.), and more.

This epic video by top contributor Majestic shows two things: (1) the skyline of Chicago is tough to beat and (2) the new DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone is one amazing aerial video platform, with video quality that holds up well against much more expensive models.  Majestic uses some of the built in hyperlapse functionality of the Mavic 2 to produce some of the best 4k footage of the Chicago skyline anywhere.  The video includes spectacular footage of  the city's skyscrapers, the Lake Michigan waterfront, and more.

In this amazing drone video, award-winning contributor  Majestic makes a compelling visual case for Miami having the USA's most impressive skyline.  Shot with a DJI Mavic 2 Pro, the video opens with a stunning shot from over Miami Beach, looking west at the downtown Miami skyline over the Bay of Biscayne.  From there it transitions to some incredible shots of the Brickell Avenue skyscrapers (just south of the core downtown), followed by more aerials of South Beach at the southern end of Miami Beach.  

For a <1 minute tour of the ultramodern Toronto skyline, it's hard to beat this drone video by Sukoon2Fly.  This city on Lake Ontario has one of the most impressive skylines in North America.  Part of the reason is the concentrated nature of the Canadian financial industry: the so-called Big 5 banks are all based in Toronto, and their headquarters towers dominate the city's skyline.  The tallest of these is the nearly 300 meter (978 ft.) First Canadian Place, headquarters of the Bank of Montreal.   

Banpo Hangang Park is situated on the Han River in Seoul, the great metropolis which is both the capital of and the and largest city in South Korea.  AirVuz contributor Roam with John created an amazing video by flying his drone over this park during the day and also at night.  You'll get a splendid view of the park as well as the gleaming skyline of Seoul.  Having been thrust on the world stage as host of the 1988 Summer Olympics, Seoul is now the center of one of the world's largest metropolitan areas.    

Prepared to be amazed by these stunning drone views of Frankfurt, Germany, compliments of former Drone Video of the Week Winner haussmannvisuals.  Most of the video was shot over and around the city's Financial District, which is located on the right (northern) bank of the Main River and which is considered the most important financial hub on the European Mainland.  Including the nearby headquarters tower for the European Central Bank, it's home to all of Germany's ten tallest buildings (as of 2022) and 18 of its 20 tallest.  

Contributor Mavicgrapher used a DJI Mavic Pro drone to create this amazing aerial video of downtown Jakarta, Indonesia.  Like many large cities in Southeast Asia (and indeed the world), the Indonesian capital city has seen a boom in skyscraper construction in recent decades.  As of 2018, there were over 50 buildings in the city of over 200 meters (about 650 ft.) in height, almost all of which are less than ten years old.  In this video, you will see this skyline up close, both during the day and at night.

This drone video of Istanbul, Turkey by contributor and pilot cemsaner opens with an excellent shot of one of the city's mosques. Then you'll get a sweeping shot of the Golden Horn, the main inlet off the Bosphorus Strait, followed by shots of the Bosphorus itself including Leander's Tower.  Other highlights include shots of the magnificent Rumeli Fortress, the mosque of Hagia Sophia, the three bridges over the Bosphorus, and other sites around one of the world's largest cities.  The video was shot with a DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone.  

See the Dutch city of Amsterdam in a new light in this fantastic drone video from Passport_Aerial.  It's the capital of the country and its largest city, the center of an urban area of about 2.5 million.  Originating from a dam on the Amstel River, Amsterdam was one of the 2-3 most important cities in the world in the 17th century.  It's still an important business and financial center, known around the world for its canals and cafes as well as for historical sites like the house where Anne Frank hid during World War II.