Sky-High Dining: 15 Restaurants With Great Altitude

There's something about enjoying a world-class meal from the top of a very tall building that has major appeal. Maybe it's the sense of superiority that we get while relaxing on a perch high above it all. Maybe it's the fact that a great view of the world below is complemented by a great view of a plate of food. Either way, restaurateurs and deep-pocketed diners are drawn to eateries high in the sky, and we've found the 15 highest restaurants in the world.

Sky-High Dining: 15 Restaurants with Great Altitude Slideshow

Since the days of the earliest humans, we've looked up toward the sky with a sense of wonder, astonishment, and ambition; our history is littered with intrepid pioneers looking to "slip the surly bonds of Earth." There's a reason the highest points in the world, like Mount Everest and Mount McKinley, continue to be tenaciously sought out by explorers: the allure of the prestige of being higher than most people will ever be has a hypnotic appeal to many.

Fortunately for us, we live in a time when all you need to do to feel like you've just climbed a mountain is hop on the elevator in a tall building. Of course, working your way up to the top of a skyscraper is enough to make anyone hungry, and while there aren't as many sky-high dining rooms as there were back during the '30s and '40s, when even New York's Chrysler Building had a restaurant in its upper stories, there are still plenty of skyscraper restaurants around the world offering bird's-eye views.

So if you're looking to pair your love of heights with an affection for culinary delights, there is no shortage of places for you to indulge both cravings. However, if you're seeking to dine at the top of some of the world's tallest buildings, it might help if you also have a fondness for traveling. While our list of highest restaurants spans the globe, they are largely concentrated in destinations across the Pacific (China has seven of our 15). Look at it as a good chance to rack up some frequent flyer miles in the name of culinary curiosity.

To find the loftiest eateries across the globe we got our information from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (its website has great facts about towers and buildings all over the world). While you might not ever get a chance to visit all of these places, you can learn all about them by clicking here.