Cities: Skylines Observation Tower Unlock Guide

Observation Tower
Cost to Build	₡120,000
Upkeep	₡560/week
Level / Category	Level 5
Milestone Required	Big Town
Tourism Value	N/A
Entertainment Value	100
Noise Pollution	75

The Observation Tower is a level 5 unique building that you can build with the Cities: Skylines Parklife DLC.

To unlock it, you need to reach 300 weekly tourist visits. You’ll also need to have reached the Big Town population milestone (1,800 to 7,500 population, depending on the map).

Once these requirements are fulfilled, you’ll be able to build the Observation Tower from the level 5 tab of the Unique Buildings menu for ₡120,000. Until then, you can hover over its silhouette to see your progress towards the unlock.

Note: The Observation Tower is a requirement for the Castle of Lord Chirpwick monument, which is also only available with the Parklife DLC.

And below are some tips for getting 300 weekly tourist visits.

Give Tourists Somewhere To Visit

The following will attract tourists to your city:

#1: Unique Buildings

Each unique building increases your city’s attractiveness score, making it more attractive to tourists.

Look for buildings that offer the biggest increases in your city’s attractiveness.

#2: Parks and Plazas

Ploppable parks and plazas from the base game (and from the Steam Workshop), as well as custom park areas from the Parklife DLC, attract lots of tourists.

#3: Commercial Zones

Tourists come to your businesses to spend money just like your citizens do. Commercial zones with the Tourism specialization applied will draw more tourists.

#4 Football Stadium (Match Day DLC)

Although the football stadium counts as a unique building, it bears mentioning as it draws a massive crowd around match days.

A massive crowd of spectators coming out of the football stadium (Match Day DLC).

Make It Easier For Tourists To Come To Your City

At the start of the game, tourists can only come into your city through the highway connection (i.e., by driving in individually).

The first way you can facilitate tourists coming into your city is by building an intercity bus stop near your highways. Each intercity bus can bring up to 30 passengers at a time.

As you progress in your game, the other outside connections open up to you:

Railway
Ship
Air

Building the appropriate public transport hubs (train station, harbor, and airports) will also significantly increase the number of tourists coming in.

A large group of passengers, mostly tourists, emerging from this train station.

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Liz Villegas

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Liz is a writer and photographer with a love for building and strategy games. Her spare time is often split between lifting, reading, drawing, annoying her dog Mr. Porky Butt, and squinting at stat tables on the wiki pages of whatever game she's currently playing.

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