Forget pricey tours: Nine cities where you can see the sights on public transport

Forget pricey tours. In many major cities across the world, sublime views can be had for as little as a one-way ticket on the local public transport. And you’ll get the added bonus of spending time with actual residents, avoiding those pesky other tourists. If you too want the real local experience, hop on a city bus, take a tram, board a ferry or discover a unique form of public transport in one of these nine cities.

Hong Kong

The skyline of central Hong Kong, with closely packed skyscrapers rising in front of lush hills, is stunningly reflected in Victoria Harbour. Moving passengers between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island is the Star Ferry, which has provided commuters and tourists alike with jaw-slackening vistas for more than 120 years. The cost for this mind-blowing view? Just $2.70 Hong Kong dollars (€0.31).

Lisbon

In Lisbon, everyone, especially those wanting to avoid a workout on the city's steep hills, should purchase a one-day metro card. For less than €11, you will get access to the various canary-yellow trams, as well as Lisbon's bus and metro system. Pile onto the popular tram 28 and lurch past ornate churches and tile-covered dwellings, or take one of the other, less busy lines and savour the ride. Your metro card also will get you access to the Santa Justa Elevator, an ingenious lift that opened in 1902 and connects the lower town to the jacarandas and earthquake-ruined convent of Carmo Square.

London

You also can find a good mix of scenery and commuter life on city buses and trains all over the world. In London, bus route 11 (£1.50, or €1.65) rolls past the Bank of England, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Millennium Bridge, Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey, an ideal route for basic sightseeing.

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Los Angeles

The Expo Line light rail rises over Jefferson Boulevard for a clear-day panorama of the the city's downtown skyline, the San Gabriel mountains, the Griffith Observatory and the famous Hollywood sign, all punctuated by power lines and palm trees. Cruise all the way from downtown to Santa Monica for $1.75 (€1.59).

Medellín

If you associate cable cars with ski resorts and amusement parks, chances are you have never been to Medellín in Colombia, where the gondolas of the Metrocable system connect residents of the mountainside favelas with the main city down below. Part of a growing trend in Latin American public transportation, Medellín's Metrocable route opened in 2004 as a lifeline for low-income commuters. A one-way fare costs tourists and locals alike 2,255 Colombian pesos (€0.60). You haven't really experienced this city until you've queued up with locals and dangled over red-brick buildings while the morning sun pours into the valley below.

Paris

It can be difficult to decide which is more confounding: the view from the Pont de Bir-Hakeim on Line 6 of the metro or the way Parisians seem utterly unimpressed by it. The train zooms across the River Seine and offers an outstanding vista of the Eiffel Tower. Not a bad deal for €1.90.

Salvador

Outdoor elevators are rarities in public transportation, but Lisbon isn't the only place where you can find one. Ride the Lacerda Elevator in Salvador in Brazil. The apparatus travels up a steep escarpment, connecting Tomé De Souza Square with the waterfront down below. The queues can be long, but the experience is easily worth 15 Brazilian centavos (€0.03). From the top of the Art Deco tower, you'll see the Bay of All Saints spread out in all its azure glory.

Sydney

To gaze out at Sydney's awe-inspiring waterscape, there's no need to shell out for a private tour of Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River. Instead, put $16.10 Australian dollars (€9.92) on an Opal card and get a full day of local travel, including the ferries departing from Circular Quay. The F8 ferry cruises along the Opera House and under the Harbour Bridge on its way to Balmain and Cockatoo Island, with guaranteed greenery and maybe even a few dolphins along the way.

Venice

When in Venice, simply board a vaporetto, one of the water buses that serve as the main form of public transport, and marvel at gothic palaces that hark back to the city’s 14th- and 15th-century grandeur. A 24-hour travel card costs €20, which might seem steep but is worth it if you plan more than two trips.

– New York Times