Kassel was made for grand views. There's of course the stunning vista from the Hercules monument down across the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe towards the city centre. Also look up the spots by the Löwenburg right behind the maze or beside the Schloss Wilhelmshöhe for dazzling vistas from the park. Downtown, genteel views of the Karlsaue park can be had from from the street so aptly named Schöne Aussicht, or 'pretty view'; on Friedrichsplatz in 1977 a documenta 6 artist even went so far as to provide a frame, the Rahmenbau, to admire the park view and to challenge your way or perceiving reality. Inside the park, the Siebenbergen flower island is a lovely spot to kick back and look back at the views towards the Schloss Orangerie at the other end of the immaculately landscaped park.
For something more urban, take the elevator from inside the Galeria Kaufhof department store to the top open-air parking deck for good views over Friedrichsplatz and the city centre. Occasionally, it's possible to join tours up the narrow spiral staircase to the viewing balcony of the Lutherkirchturm, the 76 metre-high freestanding tower of the destroyed Lutherkirche church on Lutherplatz (call tel. +49 561 287 60 16 or see www.kirche-kassel-mitte.de for details).