If you watch old films about the future, they almost always show taxis, buses and cars that do not drive on the road, but fly in the air. And if you think about it, we actually have this type of transport now - it’s funiculars. And although this transport cannot be called new and revolutionary, because the first prototypes appeared back in 1854 in Italy and Austria, but, nevertheless, these carriages floating in the air evoke a feeling of awe. But, over time, their main function changed a little, and instead of delivering their passengers to their destination, despite the difficult and impassable paths, the funicular became one of the indispensable tourist features of the 21st century.
Let's take a virtual tour of the best cable cars in the world and try to find out what is so interesting to see in them.
Venezuela
The longest cable car in the world is located in Venezuela, and not somewhere in Switzerland and America, as one might think. Is it open? funicular I was there quite recently, in the summer of 2014. You can ride it for just 43 cents. Cable car passes at an altitude of 3200 to 4000 meters above sea level! The travel time is 10 minutes, and you can get in this way from the city of La Paz to the city of Alto. During the trip, you can get a good look at these towns, dotted with colorful houses, which from a bird's eye view resemble a goosebump. Passengers will also be able to admire the beautiful and majestic snow-capped mountain peaks Ilmani.
India
The Indian one can also compete for the title of the tallest funicular in the world. Gulmarg. Its trailers take tourists straight to the largest ski resort in the Himalayas. The cable car has been operating since 1998, and can lift its passengers to a height of up to 3100 meters, although its second part was recently opened, which surpassed the Venezuelan funicular with a height of 4114 m. You can ride this funicular for only $2.7, and get colorful emotions for millions, because there are few places where you can see all the beauty of the Himalayas so close and so clearly.
China
It is here that you can find another leader, which differs in the length of the road (7.5 km) and the duration of the trip (40 minutes).
But, if we are talking about panoramic views, then here “ Road to Heaven" (as the Chinese informally call it), the undisputed winner. After all, the funicular ride itself goes through National Park Zhangjiajie, right above the mountains Tianmen.
This cable car got its romantic name due to the fact that as it rises, the funicular from time to time disappears in thick fog and it seems as if it is floating among the clouds.
Brazil
See Rio and statue of Christ the Redeemer and the bay in all its glory is possible precisely thanks to the modern funicular, which is located at an altitude of approximately 400 m above sea level. But no less interesting is another cable car in Rio, located in the most disadvantaged areas of the city (including Alemao), where crowds of bandits and drug addicts live and walk the streets, so it’s not very safe to see these places in any other way.
And, although for now this transport serves more as a means of transportation and not as a tourist attraction, it is worth a ride here, because from above the Brazilian slums look very interesting. By the way, the fare is only $0.5.
Israel
View from the funicular window Masada, somewhat reminiscent of photographs from Mars - yellow earth cracked from the heat and harsh rocks. But this has its own charm; it all looks especially beautiful at sunset. You can see and appreciate all the beauties using the funicular, which takes its tourists directly to the top of the plateau, where the ancient Masada fortress. And although the maximum height of the cable car is 257 meters, this does not prevent you from admiring the endless desert and appreciating the beauty Dead Sea. But the round trip fare is $19, which is a little expensive compared to other funiculars.
France
This is probably the most unusual cable car in the world, because the cars are shaped like huge glass balls, which the French themselves call “bubbles”. The road was opened back in 1934, but it was the most ordinary cable car that served as a means of transportation for the townspeople, but in 1976 the old cars were replaced with these very “bubbles” and the cable car turned into a famous tourist attraction, which makes it possible to admire the city in very comfortable conditions.
You can ride there and back for 6.8 euros.
Malaysia
You can fly over the jungle and watch monkeys climb trees in Malaysia, namely in the city Genting. This is one of the first high-altitude resorts in Malaysia, where the gambling business is also thriving. So there are a lot of tourists here. And in order to surprise and amaze them even more since 1997, it has been working here cable car, which is considered one of the fastest in the world - the speed of the funicular is 6 meters in seconds, and the price of a round trip is only $3.
Ukraine
There are funiculars in Ukraine, of course, they are not the most panoramic, or fast and high, but you don’t have to travel far. quite famous, and you can ride it from Podol to Upper city to admire the old part of the city and the view of the Dnieper. You can also take a ride over the city in Kharkov. Kharkov cable car was opened in 1971 and still remains not only a tourist attraction, but also a means of transportation for city residents.
Maybe this article will inspire you to travel to one of these countries, where, in addition to other attractions, you will also ride a cable car, and then share your impressions and photos with us.
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The cable car over the Moscow River, built for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, will be launched this summer. A 737-meter-long road will connect the observation deck on Vorobyovy Gory with the Luzhniki sports complex. Instead of 20 minutes, in which it was previously possible to cover this distance by car, the journey will take no more than five minutes.
There are three stations on the route: Kosygina, Vorobyovskaya and Luzhniki. The booths will follow two routes: a large circle (all three stations) and a small one (Kosygina - Vorobyovskaya). Open cabins will be launched in the small circle; cabins for eight people are provided for the large circle. It will also be possible to transport strollers or bicycles there.
The fare has not yet been approved, but, according to preliminary data, a round-trip ticket will cost 400-500 rubles. Athletes will be able to purchase season tickets. In the future, it is planned to pay for travel there using a Troika card.
Maxim Grigoriev/TASS
Another cable car is planned to be launched between the metro stations "Skhodnenskaya" and " River Station" It will connect two areas separated by the Khimki Reservoir and will reduce travel time for passengers from 45 to seven minutes. The cable car should relieve congestion on the Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya and Zamoskvoretskaya lines, as well as a number of ground transport routes.
It is expected that this type of transport will be used by about 19 thousand people per day. The road will be integrated into the city public transport system, so you can pay for travel using a Troika card.
The transport facility is supposed to be built on the principles of public-private partnership; the approximate volume of investment is estimated at 4 billion rubles. After completion of construction, the cable car will belong to Moscow, but the investor will be able to operate it for 22 years.
But in Nizhny Novgorod, problems with transport prompted the authorities to build a passenger cable car back in 2010. Residents of the city of Bora, located on the left bank of the Volga, had to spend Nizhny Novgorod few hours. This could be done via the only bridge across the Volga, on which many kilometers of traffic jams lined up every day.
Alexey Filippov/RIA Novosti
The launch of the cable car took place in 2012. This is the longest cable crossing over water in Europe: its length is 861 meters, which is the official Russian record. The carriages cross the Volga in 12 minutes, each cabin is designed for eight seats; on average, about five thousand people use the cable car per day.
The cost of a single ticket is 100 rubles; there are also season tickets for 10-48 trips; there are discounts for students.
The cable car in Svetlogorsk has also become an important part of the city. With its help you can rise from sandy beach to the hills with the main urban infrastructure - the height difference in the city is 40 m. The cable car covers a path of 175 m in one direction in five minutes.
Igor Zarembo/RIA Novosti
Since 2010, the Svetlogorsk cable car was closed for repairs and opened only five years later. Now the updated road, consisting of 20 double closed cabins, works properly every summer season - from April to October. The fare is 25 rubles one way.
France
The only funicular in Paris is an inclined elevator of two cabins that can accommodate up to 60 people at a time. It departs from Rue Cardinal Dubois and ends between Place Saint-Pierre and Place Suzanne Valadon. With its help you can get to the highest point of Paris - Montmartre. The length of the route is only 108 meters, the travel time is no more than two minutes.
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The funicular is subordinate to the Paris metro, so the cost of travel on it is equal to the cost of one metro ticket - 1.7 euros. Almost 2 million people use it every year.
Georgia
There are two cable cars in Tbilisi: Rike Park - Narikala Fortress and Vake Park - Turtle Lake. The length of the first, launched in 2012, is 600 meters. Tourists can reach the observation deck at the very top of the cable car in just two minutes.
The entire system consists of seven glass booths with windows, each with a capacity of eight people. The fare is 2.5 lari (63 rubles) one way. There are discounts for students and pensioners.
Money for travel on the cable car is debited only from the Metromoney card - a universal travel card valid for almost all public transport in the city. The card can be bought at any metro station for two lari (50 rubles).
Kristina Bogacheva/Gazeta.Ru
The Turtle Lake Cable Car was recently renovated and opened late last year. This is the longest cable car in Tbilisi - the journey takes six to seven minutes. The fare costs one lari (25 rubles) per person one way using a Metromoney card.
The Tbilisi funicular is considered a separate attraction. It has three stations: lower, middle (Pantheon) and upper (Mtatsminda). The funicular covers the entire distance, including a stop at an intermediate station, in five minutes. The ticket price is two lari (50 rubles) one way per person until 00:00, after midnight the price rises to three lari (75 rubles).
To travel on the funicular, you need to purchase a special plastic card at the ticket office at the lower station for an additional two lari and put cash on it. Unlike Metromoney, this card cannot be returned.
Portugal
Of course, you can’t do without city ski lifts in Portugal, which is famous for its cities with hilly terrain. Thus, in the capital of the country, this feature of the landscape constantly caused difficulties in the movement of local residents and tourists in areas, for example, from the lower Baixa district to the upper Carmu. Even nearby streets in Lisbon can be connected by steep stairs, which only city dwellers with good physical fitness can climb. For the convenience of residents and ease of movement around Lisbon, there are as many as four funiculars and a cable car.
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The Lisbon cable car is located in the Parc des Nations, along the Tagus River. Its first stop is located near the aquarium, the second - near the tower. The length of the cable car is 1.23 km, the duration of the trip one way is eight minutes. The cost of a one-way trip is 3.95 euros, and 5.90 euros for a round trip. Moreover, throughout Portugal, tickets for cable cars and funiculars are purchased separately; you cannot use a single pass.
Prices for cable cars also average 4 euros. Two of them - Bika and Lavra - are national monuments, and the Santa Justa funicular is the only vertical elevator in the entire city.
Due to its hilly terrain, Porto appears to be on two levels, so the Teleferico de Gaia cable car serves as a means of transporting people from one level to the other. The cabin flies over the historical part of Vila Nova de Gaia for five minutes. The final stop is the Cais de Gaia promenade. A round-trip ticket for an adult is 8 euros, for a child - 4 euros.
Depositphotos
The mountainous terrain of the Portuguese island of Madeira makes a cable car a necessity rather than an amenity. The funicular there was opened in 2005, it consists of 40 closed cabins with eight seats each. Travel time is 15 minutes. A one-way ticket costs 10 euros, a return ticket costs 15 euros. There are discounted tickets for children that can be purchased at half price.
Italy
The cable car in Naples allows everyone to climb from the seashore to the top of Mount Faito in eight minutes. The ascent height is one kilometer. The lower station of the cable car is located in the commune of Castellammare di Stabia at an altitude of nine meters above sea level, the final station is at the top of Monte Faito at an altitude of almost 1.1 km.
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The historic Monte Faito cable car first opened in 1952 and operated intermittently until 1990. In 2012, the cable car was closed due to a lack of funding, but in May 2016 it resumed operation.
Czech
The oldest funicular in the world is located in Prague. It starts near the Uyezd tram stop and is part of the city transport communication along the route Uezd - Nebozizek - Petrin, at the very top of which there is the so-called Hungry Wall.
Two cable car cabins on a 510 m long track cover a height of 130 meters in four minutes. Opening in 1891, the transport line initially operated on gravity (water) power, but was electrified in 1932.
Depositphotos
The funicular belongs to the category of urban public transport, accordingly, standard standards apply there. travel tickets, which cost - translated into Russian money - 90 rubles for a long-term tariff and 67 rubles for a short-term one.
Two large residential areas are cut off from each other by the Khimki Reservoir, and there are simply no convenient ways to get across it. And the cable car will allow people to even just go shopping to the other side, something they couldn’t afford before.”
“In the modification in which cable cars will be made in Moscow, it is still more of an attraction,” says a leading researcher at the Center for Research on Transport Problems of Megacities. — On Vorobyovy Gory the cable car doesn’t even approach the building and ends at the observation deck. On the other hand, it could technically be extended to the MCC station, but this was not done. Now this road will connect purely recreational facilities. Apart from people who hang out there on weekends, no one is interested in this.”
All over the world, cable cars still represent more of an auxiliary transport - either where there is a large difference in elevation, or where it is necessary to overcome some kind of water obstacles. Their carrying capacity is still small, an expert at the Probok.net center is sure: “it is comparable only to one minibus flight.”
At the same time, Trofimenko believes that the state does not have a goal to recoup the cable cars through ticket sales - they are being built rather as a tourist infrastructure facility. “In general, cable cars should be cheaper to operate than traditional public transport", he believes.
“As far as I imagine the concept of cable cars, this is not a mass form of transport at all. Typically it's more tourist routes. Those cable cars that will open in Moscow will probably absorb some of the passenger traffic, but will not carry any global meaning. At least on a metropolitan scale,” notes Ekaterina Reshetova, senior researcher at the Center for Transport Economics at the Higher School of Economics.
A funicular is a rope-traction rail vehicle designed to transport goods or people short distances along a steep route. Here is a list of the ten most famous cable cars in the world.
The Zagreb funicular is located on Tomica Street in the city of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. It was built in 1890 and opened on April 23, 1893. The funicular is included in the list of cultural monuments of the Croatian capital, as it has retained its original appearance, design and most technical characteristics.
The line is only 66 meters long with a height difference of 30.5 m and an inclination angle of 52%, making it not only the shortest, but also one of the steepest passenger funiculars in the world. It has two carriages moving at a speed of 1.5 m/s and designed for 28 passengers each. The entire trip takes 55 seconds.
Montesanto
The Montesanto funicular is located in the city of Naples, Italy. It is part of the Naples metro connecting three stations, Morghen, Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Montesanto. It was opened in 1891. The length of its line is 825 meters, rises to a height of 168 meters, and has an inclination angle of 23%. The cars move from average speed seven meters per second, and the entire route takes four minutes and twenty-five seconds. The funicular carries more than 4 million passengers a year.
Guindais
Guindais funicular - located in the city of Porto, Portugal. It was originally opened on June 4, 1891, but was closed two years later due to a major accident. The reconstructed Guindais funicular began to function again only on February 19, 2004. The line, with a total length of 281 m, rises 61 meters and has two carriages that move at a speed of 5 m/s, with a capacity of 25 people each.
Flying Dutchman
Flying Dutchman funicular - located near the cape Good Hope in the Western Cape, South Africa. It was opened in 1996. The line is 585 meters long and has an inclination of 16%, rising to a height of 87 meters. The capacity of the trailers is 40 passengers each. The trip lasts about 3 minutes. The total capacity of the line is about 450 passengers per hour. The name of the funicular comes from the legend of the ghost ship “The Flying Dutchman”.
Gloria
Sixth place in the list of the most famous cable cars in the world is occupied by the Gloria cable car, which is located in the center of Lisbon, Portugal. It was opened in 1885.
Fløibanen is a funicular railway in Bergen, Norway. It was officially opened on January 15, 1918. The length of its line is 850 m, and the height difference is 300 m. Two carriages with a capacity of 80 passengers each move at an average (depending on workload) speed of 6 m/s, making the entire journey in about seven minutes. The funicular is one of the most basic and popular attractions in Bergen and Norway. Fløibanen carries about 1 million passengers annually.
The Wellington Cable Car is located in the capital of New Zealand, Wellington. Connects the heart of the business district - Lambton Quay and the suburb of Kelburn. It was opened in 1902. The line is 628 meters long and rises 120 meters. The funicular is recognized as a symbol of Wellington.
Victoria Peak Tramway
In third place in the ranking of the most famous funiculars in the world is the Victoria Peak Funicular, located in Hong Kong, China. Designed to transport tourists and residents to the top of Victoria Peak - one of Hong Kong's main tourist attractions, which offers views of the city and nearby islands. The funicular was opened in 1888. The length of its line is 1365 meters.
The funicular is located on the highest Parisian hill, in the north of the city. It connects the foothills of Montmartre with the high point Paris - Sacré-Coeur Basilica. The funicular opened in 1900. And then it was completely rebuilt in 1935 and again in 1991. Today it carries two million passengers a year. The length of its line is 108 meters, along which the trailers rise and descend from a 36-meter height.
Budapest Castle Hill Funicular
Budapest Castle Hill is a funicular railway in the city of Budapest, Hungary. It links Adam Clark Square and the Széchenyi Chain Bridge. It was opened on March 2, 1870, but was completely destroyed during the Second World War. The funicular was reopened only in June 1986. The length of its line is 95 meters, rises to a height of 51 m. The carriages, with a capacity of 24 passengers each, move at a speed of 1.5 m per second, spending approximately 90 seconds on the entire journey. Interesting feature Budapest Castle Hill are two pedestrian bridge that cross it.
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At the beginning of the sixteenth century, a new rope-traction vehicle was built in picturesque Austria. With its help, fresh food was brought to the castle, located on a steep mountain (as any self-respecting castle should). And although this design is suitable for use only on very specific sections of the route, the invention was so successful that it began to be used in other places. This is how the world's first funicular appeared. More than five centuries have passed since then. And in Hohensalzburg Castle the very first funicular continues to function continuously. What is a funicular? Where can you see him today? How practical is its design? Why is it still used today? But why are there relatively few cable cars?
What is a funicular
A funicular is a small rail track located on a steep slope. Its fundamental difference from the railway is the principle of operation. On a railway, the driving force is the locomotive in which the engine is located. The operation of the funicular is based on cable traction. This is where its name comes from - funiculus in Latin, rope or rope.
The rope is rigidly attached to the car, and a winch is installed at the top of the lift, which serves as a lifting mechanism. However, only a person who does not have the slightest idea what a funicular is can confuse a cable car with it. The most obvious difference is the method of transportation. The funicular rides on rails. And the cable car cars hang on a rope.
Practical design
To pull a car with passengers or cargo up a steep slope, you need to apply a lot of force. To make the task easier, the designers attached a second carriage as a counterweight. That is, while one carriage rises, the second one descends. And since the slope is steep, this to some extent compensates for the effort to lift the first car. Essentially, the winch expends force to overcome friction, braking, and the difference in load between cars. Therefore, the funicular is a very economical form of transport. However, it is practical only on steep sections of the road. Where it is impractical to lay a conventional railway.
Attractive attraction
In addition to their practicality, funiculars invariably attract tourists. And this is not surprising. Small, neat trailers move slowly, allowing you to fully enjoy the views from above. Within the city limits, the length of funicular lines, as a rule, does not exceed several hundred meters. And in the mountains, the cable car can stretch for a couple of kilometers.
The capital of Hungary, Budapest, is home to one of the most popular cable cars among tourists. It stretches from the Danube embankment to Buda Castle. It was built back in 1870, and reconstructed after the Second World War. However, during the reconstruction, it was decided to leave the trailers with their ancient appearance. True, the steam engine was nevertheless replaced with an electric one. It’s not a long way to get to the castle on foot, but when the funicular is running there is no end to passengers. Although you often have to spend more time in line than it would take to go up and down on foot.
Funicular in Vladivostok
The Vladivostok funicular is one of the most famous landmarks of the city. This was greatly facilitated by the fact that it is the only one of its kind in Far East. In the sixties of the last century, Nikita Khrushchev, inspired by a visit to San Francisco, decided to turn Vladivostok into an even more beautiful and modern city. He started by building a funicular. Unfortunately, things did not go further than this. But the funicular is still functioning properly to this day. In addition to aesthetic pleasure, it also brings very tangible practical benefits, lifting up to 40 people at a time 180 meters in less than two minutes. This does not seem like such an achievement if you do not take into account the difference in height, which in this short period reaches a full seventy meters.
To understand how much effort this saves pedestrians, imagine a steep staircase with 368 steps. This is exactly the number of them that you have to overcome in order to climb to the top of the hill where the upper station of the funicular is located. But, apparently, this figure seems to be increasing quite significantly, since local residents nicknamed this place the staircase of 1001 steps.
The beauty of cool
A ride on the Swiss Gelmerbahn funicular is not an adventure for the faint of heart. Overcoming steep slopes, when you are literally looking into the abyss spreading nearby, gives unforgettable experience. Those tourists who have been there can proudly say that they know what a funicular is. Initially it was designed exclusively for technical needs. With its help, people and goods were delivered to the local hydroelectric power station. But in 2001 they decided to use it for tourism needs. The one-way journey takes approximately 10 minutes. And the angle of inclination in some areas reaches 106 degrees.
Funiculars are not only one of the most impressive types of transport in terms of panoramic views from the windows, but also allow you to organize the transportation of people and goods along the steepest routes. We will tell you about fourteen of the most amazing lifts.
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1. Duquesne and Monongiela funiculars (Pittsburgh, USA)
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, travel in the Rust Belt area of Pittsburgh was carried out on inclined railroads, which, in the absence of safe regular roads, served to transport goods and residents. Today, only two of Pittsburgh's iconic cable cars are still in service. They both summit on the south side of Mount Washington. This is the super cool 193-meter Monongiela (1870) - the oldest funicular in the USA, as well as the 242-meter Duquesne (1877), which has been restored local residents post closure in early 1960. Both are owned by the city of Pittsburgh, but Duquesne is operated by a nonprofit organization. Both cable cars are listed on the National Register historical places USA. Now these vehicles attract quite a few tourists, especially Duquesne, which leads to a small museum, souvenir shop and observation deck at the very top of Mount Washington. Most Pittsburghers can show you many ways to admire the "Steel City." But to see it in all its glory, you will have to ride an ancient cable car at a speed of 10 kilometers per hour to climb to the top of Mount Washington. Even acrophobes can handle it.
2. Funicular "Artillery" (Valparaiso, Chile)
Those who have been to the colorful Chilean city of Valparaiso can say that without a funicular you will not be able to get to the Paseo 21 de Mayo observation deck. This crazy bohemian paradise by the sea - World Heritage UNESCO since 2003. The city has many inclined railways that go around neighborhoods located on steep slopes. Although Valparaiso has almost 30 funiculars (most dating back to the 1890s and early 1900s), only a small fraction of these famous "asensores" (elevators) are in active use today. Many of them have been declared national treasures. So which one should you choose? Let's look at the Artillery funicular (1893). It is not the oldest (Concepción and Cordillera were the first) and not the longest in the city (the round trip lasts only 80 seconds), but nevertheless it has become the most best place for photos in Valparaiso. Perhaps this popularity is due to its brightly painted wooden carriages, or the fact that Paseo 21 de Mayo offers the most best view to the city. Unfortunately, it seems that Artillery will soon fail, but there are other alternatives besides it.
3. “Flight of Angels” (Los Angeles, USA)
Colorful and artsy, downtown Los Angeles isn't known for its cable cars, except for Angels Flight (1901), the last of the incline railways in a city that once had plenty of them. Built on a steep but short slope, it connected Hill Street and Olive Street in Bunker Hill - central region Los Angeles. In 1969, after 68 years of service, the 90-meter funicular and its two carriages, Sinai and Olivet, were dismantled to make way for the ongoing redevelopment of the area. Almost 30 years later, in 1996, Angels Flight was finally remembered and restored near its original location. And then problems began: in 2001, as a result of an accident on the funicular, a person died and several others were injured. After an investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board determined that this was due to failures in new system transportation In 2010, when Sinai and Olivet repaired and replaced the faulty system, Angels Flight resumed operations. It was briefly taken out of service in 2011 for restoration work, and then closed again indefinitely in September 2013 after one of the carriages derailed (this time no one was killed). Meanwhile, Los Angeles was forced to rebuild the ski lift again, and one can only wonder when the iconic Railway will welcome passengers again. After the latest closure, the Los Angeles Times published an article in which they reported the following: Angels Flight is one of the few remaining cable cars in the country and is a historical landmark in the city. In 1901, people traveled up and down for pennies. Today, a trip of one minute and four seconds is still cheap - 50 cents. As long as it's safe, let's keep driving."
4. “Carmelite” (Haifa, Israel)
Although most of the funiculars on our list open unique species, which can be observed while climbing the mountainside, in the case of “Carmelite” everything is different. This completely underground inclined railway deserves honorary title the smallest metro in the world. Carmelit is the only underground transport in Israel. The tunnel through which traffic goes is built in Mount Carmel. Its construction began in 1956, and the first passengers were accepted in 1959. From 1986 to 1992, a large-scale reconstruction was carried out, after which the funicular was opened again. The line has four cars (two for each train) and six stations. The top station "Gan A-Em" is located at an altitude of 274 meters above sea level. "Kikar-Paris" is the lower station where the depot and repair shops are located. A trip along the Carmelite from top to bottom takes about eight minutes.
5. "Flybanen" (Bergen, Norway)
The 850-metre Fløybanen funicular transports visitors to the top of Fløyen, one of the seven mountains surrounding the Norwegian city of Bergen. Many people would like this short (8 minute) trip up to the heights with three stops along the way to last forever. The views from the panoramic windows of the two carriages (blue and red) with glass ceilings are simply beyond description. If weather permits and you have enough time, be sure to rent a canoe to paddle around Skoemackerdike ("Shoemaker's Ditch"). Bring a map for your hike and stroll along forest paths or enjoy traditional Norwegian seafood dishes at a restaurant 300 meters above sea level.
6. Fourth Street Elevator (Dubuque, Iowa, USA)
The Fourth Street Elevator, also known as the Fenelon Elevator, was built because one rich guy really wanted to go home on his lunch break, but couldn't spend the entire 30 minutes riding in a horse-drawn carriage to get there every time. The home of J. C. Graves (a banker and former senator) was located at the top of a steep cliff, and in 1882 he began traveling back and forth in a kind of cable car. Although fares have increased greatly since then, the funicular is still in operation. In 1978, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
7. Central Funicular (Naples, Italy)
If you are planning to visit Italy's third largest city with its hilly landscape, be sure to take a ride on the Metropolitana di Napoli and one of the four famous funiculars - Chiaia (1889), Montesanto (1891), Central (1928) and "Mergellina" (1931) - or for everyone in turn. Due to the chaotic landscape of the city and constant congestion, most residents prefer to ride the Central Funicular, which connects the four most important stations. This is the busiest and largest (1219 meters) inclined railway. The journey from Piazza Fuga station at Chichi Vomero to Augusteo takes just over 4 minutes. Speaking about the funiculars of Naples, it is worth mentioning the defunct (guess why) Vesuvius funicular, built in 1800.
8. "Johnstown" (Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA)
An hour and a half drive east to Cambria County Airport, you'll find "the world's steepest driveway." With a total length of 273 meters, the system's spacious cable cars lead up the slope of Yoder Hill at an incredibly steep angle (70.9 degrees), reaching an elevation of more than 487 meters. During major floods in 1936 and 1977, the path was used for its intended purpose - for evacuation from the city. The rest of the time it is very popular among tourists - a round trip costs $4.
9. Lookout Mountain (Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA)
Dubbed "America's Most Wonderful Mile," Lookout Mountain (1895) stretches just over a kilometer from Chattanooga's historic St. Elmo neighborhood to the summit of Lookout Mountain. Those with a fear of heights may squint their eyes during the entire 15-minute ride up and down, but this is simply unforgivable given the scenic panoramic view, which opens from the windows of a 42-seater carriage. Considering that a round trip costs $15, only tourists use this technical miracle. The funicular is especially popular among visitors interested in American Civil War who are trying to get to Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Park.
10. Montmartre (Paris, France)
The 108-metre Montmartre funicular in the 18th arrondissement is one of the most recognizable funiculars in the world and carries more than 2 million passengers a year. In 1991, the system became fully automatic and began to attract visitors with its ultra-modernity. The Montmartre funicular is considered part of the Paris metro system and provides an alternative to the 300-step staircase leading to the Sacre Coeur Catholic Church. The current "Montmartre" is no longer a funicular in the traditional sense, but an inclined elevator, given that it now operates independently, without using the inclined technology of lifting with counterweights, as do classic funiculars. The entire trip takes 90 seconds.
11. "Nisenbahn" (Bern, Switzerland)
"Niesenbahn", a cable car in the Oberland region Swiss Alps, connects the village of Melenen with the top of the “Swiss Pyramid”. It is neither the oldest funicular in Switzerland (the oldest is the Giesbach, opened in 1879), nor the steepest (its maximum inclination angle is 68 degrees, while the Helmerbahn reaches 106), but it is the Niesenbahn that is the most long - 2.2 kilometers. Next to this funicular, the longest staircase in the world was built, which consists of 11,767 steps.
12. Funicular tram (Hong Kong)
Taking tourists to Victoria Peak (1364 meters), this funicular tram begins its journey from a site next to Hong Kong Park. It plays the role of an attraction for tourists, the ride on which costs about $5 in both directions. At the final station there is a shopping and entertainment center with many restaurants observation decks. The trip to the Peak Tower - the very top of Victoria Peak - lasts 15 minutes, during which the cable car covers a distance of 3 kilometers at an angle of up to 45 degrees.
13. Wuppertal Cableway (Dresden, Germany)
The 1,448-metre-long Wuppertal Cable Car is a monorail tram system on elevated tracks. This is one of the oldest monorails. Most of it passes over the Wupper River at an altitude of 12 meters, and the train moves along it at a maximum speed of 60 km/h. Nowadays, the entire system has been modernized, but tourists are offered a ride on a real Kaiserwagen - the train that transported the emperor in 1900. Dresden also has a second cable car, but this time it is above ground. It leads from Körnerplatz to the Weißer Hirsch quarter. Along the 547-meter-long route, the funicular passes through two tunnels, and the maximum gradient of this road is only 29 degrees.
