Games

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: Best Places To Visit First

Published

4 weeks ago

December 1, 2024

Christoph Rediske

flight sim 2024 new york city pena palace golden gate bridge

Key Takeaways

Flight Simulator 2024 recreates global landmarks for a true immersive experience.
Players can explore iconic locations like Mount Everest and New York City.
Capture stunning images of locations like Pyramids of Giza and Paris using photography mode.

Flight Simulator 2024 is the latest game in the Flight Simulator series and ambitiously aims to recreate the world with all of its natural and man-made landmarks. It is an immersive flight simulation that appeals to both fans of airplane simulation titles, and gamers who simply want to explore detailed and faithful renderings of locations around the world.

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With such a vast rendering of the earth, and a lifetime’s worth of monuments and detailed environments to explore, alongside other challenges and simulation activities in the game. Players should be aware of some of the key locations they can visit in order to have the true Flight Simulator 2024 experience.

8 Matekane Airstrip

Nerve-wracking and Picturesque

The Matekane Airstrip is an airstrip located in Matekane, an area found within the African country, Lesotho. It is a massively high-elevation airstrip, both high above a mountain region and small in size. It is narrow and measures at only 1,903ft or 590m in length.

The Matekane Airstrip is known as one of the scariest runways in the world. Players can get a feel of how intimidating and scary the runway truly is in Flight Simulator 2024, wherein they can attempt to take off and land safely. Whilst the runway itself is the main attraction, the surrounding mountain range looks great in-game and is a great example of some lesser-known peaks in Africa.

7 Golden Gate Bridge

An American Icon

The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most iconic and well-known bridges in the world. It is a suspension bridge found within San Francisco and has acted as an icon in many forms of media that can be found within other video games, notably, Watch Dogs 2.

The Golden Gate Bridge is an incredibly well-constructed sight to behold, leaving no surprise as to why it is a highly visited tourist spot. Players can fly freely around the bridge and should make sure to see it as the sun is setting, wherein the red coloring of the bridge compliments the orange of the sun.

6 Itsukushima Shrine

The Floating Torii Gate

The Itsukushima Shrine is one of the most popular tourist locations in Japan. Where Tokyo offers the technologically advanced cityscape often associated with Japan, The Itsukushima Shrine represents the cultural core of the nation. It is located just off the island of Itsukushima, also known as Miyajima, and is backdropped by excellent views.

Flight Simulator 2024 players are in for a treat when traveling to see the Itsukushima Shrine, as it is surrounded by picturesque mountain ranges and a vast body of water. It is this water that gives it the nickname, the floating torii gate. Players should ensure they see the whole area, including the landscape and associated buildings, to truly understand the beauty of the Itsukushima Shrine.

5 Mount Everest

A Stunning Snow-capped Peak

Mount Everest is one of the most famous and largest mountain peaks in the world and has become the target of many avid climbers who wish to tackle the harsh climate and daring heights. It is located in the Himalayas, technically on the border between Nepal and China.

All Flight Simulator 2024 players should strive to fly above the peaks of the Himalayas in-game, ensuring they witness the famous Mount Everest and its many surrounding mountains that make up one of the most iconic mountain ranges in the world. Players can truly feel the sense of scale of Mount Everest in-game, especially when slowly climbing to its height in a smaller plane.

4 New York City

The Big Apple

New York City is potentially the most famous city in the world. It is a sprawling city, subdivided into many boroughs that span a great distance. New York is also famously home to the Hudson River, a sight that can be seen running around the city. New York is the setting of many forms of media, housing a plethora of other video games, but none capture its scale quite like Flight Simulator 2024.

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The city consists of many landmarks, all of which can be seen rendered in-game. The city even has its own photography mode objectives, tasking players with capturing famous tourist spots such as the Empire State Building and The Statue of Liberty. New York City alone provides plenty of exploration for players of Flight Simulator 2024, and is another must-see first sight.

3 Pena Palace

Colorful and Gothic

Pena Palace is a historic Gothic palace found in the town of Sintra, located in the Lisboa region of Portugal. It has an incredibly striking design, blending Gothic architecture with bright, vibrant colors that create a truly unique design.

Not only is the general Lisboa region of Portugal an incredibly picturesque locale, but the area is prime for exploring in Flight Simulator 2024, with Sintra alone being home to multiple castles and palaces aside from Pena. Players should travel to Pena Palace at night, so that they can see how the palace is lit up, perfect for taking photos of the European Palace photography objectives.

2 Paris

The Iconic City of France

Paris is an iconic city, home to many historic and storied buildings, monuments, and landmarks. The city is another that has been home to many video games, such as Assassins Creed Unity, but as with New York, no game has covered the whole city in the way Flight Simulator 2024 has.

Players can complete the Paris photography objectives in-game in order to have the most complete look at the city. There they will see monuments such as the Eiffel Tower, the Arc De Triumph, and Notre Dame. Players could spend a long time flying over Paris, exploring each detail and monument, as there are so many famous and historically significant French landmarks in Paris alone.

1 Pyramids of Giza

A Marvel Of Ancient Engineering

The Pyramids of Giza are potentially the most famous wonder of the world and one of the most recognizable historical locations in history. They are located in Egypt, just outside of Giza and in the Greater Cairo Metropolis. The area is famous, appearing in many films and video games throughout history.

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Players can, again, use the photography objectives in order to capture great images of the Pyramids and of the famous Sphinx statue. One such objective sees players framing the sunlight behind the Sphinx, accentuating the natural beauty of the area in conjunction to the man-made structures on display. The Pyramids of Giza are marvels of human engineering, and unparalleled to this day. Thus, Flight Simulator 2024 players should visit these first in order to see how the game simulates them and for the opportunity to fly over and around one of the most famous structures on earth.