Santorini was voted the top place in the world to watch a sunset. Photo / Kyler Boone, Unsplash
Liquid gold. Candyfloss clouds. Crimson glow.
There are many ways to describe a beautiful sunset, but few do it justice. And some places just do a better job of putting the sun to bed.
A new survey of travel journalists from around the world has revealed the top 100 sunset-viewing spots worldwide.
Coming out at the top of the list is Santorini, Greece, as the most nominated place to view a sunset.
Rounding out the top three were Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, USA, and Mykonos, Greece.
The survey was commissioned by eyewear specialists Lensbest to collate and determine the best spots around the world to watch a sunset.
As the best sunset-viewing experience is often a subjective one, the company decided to ask those who had the most knowledge gained by visiting numerous spectacular locations around the world: travel journalists.
Three New Zealand spots made the cut in the Top 100, including Sunset Beach in Port Waikato (52), Mt Eden in Auckland (72) and Piha Beach in West Auckland (73).
Travel journalists from 46 countries around the world responded to the survey, nominated 600 spots across the globe.
"Long before social media influencers became popular, holidaymakers were looking to travel journalists for inspiration when comprising their travel bucket lists," says Ling Fan-Montzka, Managing Director of Lensbest.
"Travel writers have the breadth of knowledge and experience that goes way beyond what the average nomad can boast, so it felt like a natural decision to defer to them when searching for the best places to watch a sunset.
"By collating the opinions of the world's foremost travel experts for the first time, we hope that this list can be used as the ultimate must-see guide for those looking to see the best sunsets of their lives."
While there's little science on the exact benefits of watching a sunset, there are plenty of studies proving the importance of being linked to nature for our emotional wellbeing.
According to Psychology Today, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, found that connectedness with nature only predicted well-being in people who were attuned to the beauty of nature.
Image 1 of 6: Instagram photo of the sunset tonight. Photo / Greg Bowker
Other studies in environmental psychology suggest being in the presence of something you find beautiful, can make yourself feel both more connected to yourself and more emotionally aware.
Lensbest also compiled an 'honourable mentions' list for each country.
New Zealand's top eight were: Ngawi near Cape Palliser, Mt Eden, Piha Beach, Bendemeer Cottage at Lake Hayes, Lion Rock at Piha, Woody Bay on Rakino Island, Sunset Beach at Port Waikato and Punakaiki on the South Island's West Coast.
The survey also asked which time of year was best for sunsets, with 46 percent of respondents saying summer, followed by autumn, spring and finally winter.
"While it's unsurprising that most people recommended summer as the ideal season to view a sunset in their chosen locations, it was also nice to see some examples of places that are beautiful sunset-periods in other seasons. Like the journalist who chose autumn for Uluru, Australia, or another who recommended winter as the ideal time to see a sunset in Key West, Florida," says Fan-Montzka.
"It goes to show that there is beauty to be found in every season, and that visiting these places off-peak can be just as worthwhile."
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