Skateboarding
Skateboarding
10 of the best skate spots in the world
With skateboarding now a global phenomenon, let's check out some of the best spots in the world to ply the trade.
Many things can make a place legendary: it can be the architecture, the quality of the surface, perfect ledge height and so on. They all have one thing in common however. There's always a skater we associate with them.
Andrew Reynolds and the Bercy five, Chris Miller at the Combi Pool, Tom Penny at Radlands or Flo Marfaing at Le Dôme. It's always about a group of skaters and photographers who made the place famous.
Here's our list of the best skate spots from around the world.. Different terrains that will leave a mark on you...
01
Kona, Florida
Taylor Bingaman – Backside Noseblunt
© Joe Hammeke
Kona has 40 years of history
© Joe Hammeke
David Gravette – Footplant
© Joe Hammeke
Darren Navarette – Lipslide
© Joe Hammeke
You may recognise Kona skatepark from seeing it in the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 video game. Kona is the oldest privately owned skatepark in the world, something we owe to the Ramos family, and it just celebrated its 40th anniversary. This skatepark has everything and has been home to different generations of skaters, often from the same families. It's a place that you cannot miss, no matter what generation you belong to.
02
Southbank, London
John Rattray – Frontside Bluntslide
© Wig Worland
Jeremy Jones – Wallie
© Mark Kendrick
Southbank, London
© Rich West
This spot near the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London has been famous since the 1960s and through which generations of skaters have passed. The iconic site has been instrumental in the evolution of skateboarding in the UK. A few years ago it was going to be moved, but local skaters managed to petition against it, the mayor of London sided with them and the grimy undercroft was saved for future generations to continue to enjoy.
03
Pink Motel, LA
Loveshack
© Dave Swift
Lance Mountain – Hippie Jump
© Dave Swift
Steve Caballero – Invert
© Dave Swift
The Pink Motel pool
© Dave Swift
The Pink Motel was made famous in Powell-Peralta's 1987 video The Search for Animal Chin and its fish-shaped bowl has perfect, deep transitions. The hotel was built in 1946 and has appeared in many movies. Once it stopped being used as a motel, the pool was emptied and it became a perfect place for skateboarding. Recently resurfaced, the Pink Motel Pool Party is held here every year ans if you go to California you can rent the pool for a session!
04
Le Dôme, Paris
Eniz Faliov – Frontside 50-50
© Jelle Keppens
Le Dôme
© Jelle Keppens
Eniz Fazliov – Frontside Bluntslide
© Jelle Keppens
Right now, Paris is a great place to skate following the renovation of the Place de la République. However, Le Dôme – or Le Palais de Tokyo to give it its official name – is a place not to be missed. The first person who skated here was Marc Haziza, many moons ago. The height of the ledges in this spot are incredible and athletes like Florentin Marfaing and Eniz Fazliov have made their mark here. You can also take the opportunity to visit the museum of modern art while you're there.
05
MACBA, Barcelona
Madars Apse – Pushing
© Gaston Francisco
Chris Pfanner – Nosegrind
© Gaston Francisco
Javier Paredes – Backside Nosebluntslide
© Gaston Francisco
MACBA had to be on this list. The edges, the blocks and the smooth surface have become iconic throughout the skateboarding world. It's become the foremost spot in the European capital of skateboarding and a place at which skaters from around the world come to try and leave their mark. The space can be dangerous after nightfall, though, so be smart.
06
Landhausplatz, Innsbruck
Landhausplatz: transition-tastic!
© Vincent Coupeau
Jake Collins – Frontside 5-0
© Vincent Coupeau
Fernando Bramsmark and Jake Collins doubles
© Vincent Coupeau
Alex Hallford – Front Smith
© Vincent Coupeau
When you see the Landhausplatz you instantly assume that it was designed by an architect who skateboarded. Located in the heart of Innsbruck, Austria, the square was renovated a few years ago and it mixes old buildings with modern, fluid forms. The result is a perfect spot for transitions, something skaters quickly discovered, although later skateboarding was prohibited.
The city council and skaters (led by Manuel Magreiter) met on several occasions to reach an agreement satisfactory to all. Now, you can skate in some parts of the square, but not in the historic buildings. There's even a map which explains everything!
07
NDK, Sofia
Vladimir Ivanov – Back Tail
© Veliko Balabanov
Yavor Stoyanov – Backside Kickflip
© Teodor Peevski
NDK Ledges
© Rich West
Vladimir Ivanov, Backside Flip
© Dolores Alvarado
Yavor Stoyanov – Spanish Grind
© Veliko Balabanov
Sofia's National Palace Of Culture (or more accurately, the plaza that spills down multiple levels from the front of that building) is one of the best skate spots in the world, hands down. A vast plaza around which the populace of the city take strolls and socialise of an evening, the banks have been made famous by Kingpin magazine and the many skate tours that followed their pioneering coverage of this unknown European mega-spot. Patrick O'Dell memorably described it in Thrasher as the 'best skate spot in the world'.
08
Burnside, Portland
David Gravette – One Footed Ollie
© Joe Hammeke
Chris Russell – Footy Grind
© Dave Swift
Mark Scott – Frontside Air
© Dave Swift
Ben Raybourn – Frontside Wall Bash
© Joe Hammeke
In 1990, Mark 'Red' Scott, Sage Bolyard, Bret Taylor and the rest of their crew began building a site under the Burnside Bridge in Portland, Oregon. The important thing was to have a dry place for rainy days. In Portland it rains a lot! Nowadays, Burnside is a DIY icon made famous by Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video game
09
Big O, Montreal
Soli Rojas – Lien to Tail
© Dan Mathieu
Pipe moving at Big O
© Dan Mathieu
Barry Walsh – Judo Air
© Dan Mathieu
Another place with an epic story: in 1976, the city of Montreal in Canada was going to host the Olympics and for that it needed a new stadium. They built an entrance tunnel that would eventually become an iconic skate spot. Locals Barry Walsh and Marc Tison haven't stopped skating there since. A book (Pipe Friends) was even written about this alternative Canadian landmark.
In 2011, the city had to renovate the stadium and the tunnel was to be demolished. However, Walsh and Tison were hell-bent on saving Montreal's best skate spot and after showing the book to the mayor, the tunnel was moved 25m further away so that it could continue to be enjoyed by future generations.
10
Blu Enigma, Greece
Brad McClain - Nosegrind
© Sam McGuire
Alex Hallford - Sweeper
© Sam McGuire
Andros from the water
© Sam McGuire
Alex Hallford - Tuck Knee Fakie
© Sam McGuire
The Blu Enigma is a little hotel on the Greek Cycladean island of Andros, just off the coast of Athens. There, the owner has built one of the most unusual and challenging bowls within the footprint of the compound for the use of any rippers who may pass through. Nikos Garyfallos, who owns the Blu Enigma is one of the Stockwell BMX crew from London in the 1990s, who inherited his grandfather's little hotel and turned it into something mind-blowing. So there you have it: a skate paradise on an unknown Greek island. Who could say no?
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