American architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen once said, “When you look at a city, it’s like reading the hopes, aspirations, and pride of everyone who built it”.
Landscapes can be beautiful, and 3D printed versions can look pretty impressive, but 3D printed cities make especially evocative and interesting works of art. Many makers around the world have created their own 3D printed cityscapes, and several companies make and sell them commercially. But printing your own isn’t difficult, and there are many free STLs as well as a large choice of commercial models, covering most major cities, for you to download and make.
Here, we’ve highlighted some brilliant models that showcase what’s possible when printing a cityscape, both real and fictional. Most of these aren’t hard to print, though fused deposition modeling (FDM) printers will require attention to retraction and other settings (to avoid stringing) and good part cooling. Depending on your desired size, some models may look best printed with a small nozzle or in resin.
If you’re excited to print your home city but don’t have the setup to get it perfect, try a printing service like Craftcloud by All3DP! You can choose the material and color that best suit your city, and it will be delivered straight to you before you can say “there’s no place like home”.
Real
To start with, let’s go over some of our favorite real cityscapes. Whether you live in one and can’t get enough of it, you want to 3D print a reminder from a great trip, or you want to keep it to manifest future adventures, these can be great additions to your decor.
Boston
This Boston cityscape covers the northeastern city’s coastal landscape, featuring the famous harbor and surrounding buildings. According to the designer, this super-detailed model measures 100 x 100 mm and is designed at 1:10,000 scale to the true topography of Boston. However, it can also be scaled up without any issues.
If you’re interested in printing this model, note that the maker listed that they used a 0.2-mm layer height with four top layers and two bottom layers. They also adjusted their retraction settings to prevent stringing between buildings.
- Who designed it? minicityart
- How printable/popular is it? This cityscape has 1 recorded make and the file is nearing 200 downloads.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
London
“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life,” said Samuel Johnson, and this is one model we never tire of.
This model focuses on the famous “Square Mile” that is the actual city of London (rather than Westminster, where you’ll find Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament). It’s just one of several great, and very popular, cityscapes created by talented designer robertbriac.
- Who designed it? robertbriac
- How printable/popular is it? This impressive scale model has over 1,700 downloads and has been viewed over 23,200 times.
- Where to find it? Cults
Lower Manhattan
New York, New York, so good they named it twice – and downloaded the STL over a thousand times!
The iconic shore and skyline of Lower Manhattan give this detailed model a real sculptural quality, and the vertical height of the buildings is exaggerated by a factor of three to make it really pop.
Designer Matthew Toro has even published an article on how it was created if you’re interested in having a go yourself. Otherwise, you can download the free STL from Cults.
- Who designed it? MToro003
- How printable/popular is it? The design has been downloaded over 7,200 times and 2 makes have been shared. It should be a reasonably straightforward print, just make sure your part cooling is working.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Dubai
Next, we feature another robertbriac design, centered on the area around the world’s tallest building – the stunning Burj Khalifa. The towering height of the Burj makes this a slightly more challenging print, but it’s certainly possible! The model above was printed with a 0.08-mm layer height and a 0.2-mm nozzle.
Get this right, and it will look amazing! It may even inspire a visit to see the real thing.
- Who designed it? robertbriac
- How printable/popular is it? This model has been downloaded over 1,400 times and one other maker has shared their print.
- Where to find it? Cults
Sydney
Sydney Harbor is one of the world’s most iconic and recognizable cityscapes, and this stunning model is one of the best examples we’ve found.
The model is divided into separate, square sections, and therefore has the potential to be printed on a very large scale – which can look seriously impressive when hung vertically on a wall.
Unlike the other models on our list, this design is downloadable for a fee, but it’s just one of many designs by 3dcityframes and, considering the detail, the STL models are reasonably priced.
- Who designed it? 3dcityframes
- How printable/popular is it? There have only been 19 downloads of this impressive design, but the scale is unmatched!
- Where to find it? Cults
Paris
Sometimes a cityscape can be less defined by its topographical outline or street layout and more by a few classic, iconic buildings. This is especially true of cities like Paris that contain wide variety of architectural styles and famous structures.
Available on Thingiverse, this great collection of models features the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Pyramid, Madeleine Church, Arc de Triomphe, Sacré-Cœur Basilica, and Notre-Dame Cathedral. Each is well detailed and yet not hard to print. Placing them together can result in striking, semi-abstract, cityscapes.
And if you like this idea, you can find many more famous buildings from around the world, free to download from Thingiverse. We just love them!
- Who designed it? LeFabShop
- How printable/popular is it? There have been almost 200 makes and remixes of these models. By all accounts, they print well on both FDM and resin printers.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Dallas
Home to the famous NFL team, the Cowboys, the city of Dallas presents an imposing and impressive cityscape.
There are two versions of this detailed model, one with the famous Dallas ball and another without – the choice is yours.
And if Texas is your thing, you can find designs for Houston and Fort Worth from the same designer, too.
- Who designed it? brandonw
- How printable/popular is it? There have been at least 15 builds, including a scaled-up version. No particular printing issues were reported so it should be a successful print for you, too.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Prague
With history, a castle, a river, and a real sense of character, Prague provides the raw ingredients for a very impressive cityscape.
Prague also happens to be the HQ city of Prusa Research, one of the world’s most successful and well-respected manufacturers of 3D printers. They created these stunning models – on three different scales – and also shared the design process so that you can follow the steps for your own city using CADMapper software. What’s not to love?
- Who designed it? OndřejStříteský
- How printable/popular is it? This trio of cityscapes has been downloaded over 400 times with a handful of great-looking builds shared.
- Where to find it? Printables
Chicago
Chicago’s skyline is stunning, from Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower – once the world’s tallest building) to the unique diamond-shaped roof of the Crain building.
This is a great model of the city center, and we really like the way it has evolved to keep up with changes. The design is based on individual building data, painstakingly pieced together. The whole model typically needs to be printed at only 15% scale for most printers. Alternatively, you can print each block separately for a larger-scale model.
- Who designed it? Koodoo25
- How printable/popular is it? There are several very creative builds posted so far, with plenty of positive comments.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Rome (250 AD)
If you’re a fan of ancient history, this 250 AD Rome cityscape will make for the perfect 3D printing project or desk accessory. Compared to some of the other options on this list, this cityscape is pretty expansive, covering the entire city of Rome and the surrounding terrain, according to the designer. Some of the notable features of this model include the famous city walls, aqueducts, the river Tiber, Palatine Hill, and even the Colosseum.
As for printing this model, the designer suggests carefully leveling your 3D printer’s bed before starting the print job. This is due to the wide base area of the model, which can make bed adhesion difficult. The creator of this project also recommends printing slowly, tuning your retraction settings, and not using support structures.
- Who designed it? MiniWorld3D
- How printable/popular is it? This ancient Rome city landscape has over 1,500 views with more than 70 downloads.
- Where to find it? Cults
Fictional
While you won’t be able to visit the following cities, they’re too popular or noteworthy to keep out of the list so you might just want to 3D print the cityscapes – arguably the next best thing.
Moon City
This 3D printable moon city is a great way to highlight the capabilities of your 3D printer. The cityscape isn’t full of futuristic skyscrapers, but rather archaic-looking structures that look like they could be from a scene on Tattooine from Star Wars. All of the features on this model, from the watch tower to the crater-like background, contain intricate details that make the city look realistic.
On that note, the linked model is the designer’s second version of the moon city, made to include even more detail than the original while also being easier to print. According to the designer, while there are some overhangs on the model, no supports are needed. They also noted that they successfully printed the model on both an FDM and a resin 3D printer.
- Who designed it? kijai
- How printable/popular is it? Combined from both sites, this futuristic moon city model has over 600 community prints, over 288,000 views, as well as close to 70,000 downloads! With so many successful prints, it’s safe to say that this model is very printable.
- Where to find it? MyMiniFactory, Printables
Hogwarts
Mythical cityscapes are cool too! There are many examples to be found, often inspired by well-known board or role-playing games. We’re especially impressed by this detailed rendition of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It looks stunning, especially the dynamic lighting.
Is it technically a cityscape? No, but the school’s grounds are so large, that they definitely feel like one for students and all the magical creatures that inhabit it.
- Who designed it? leoworm
- How printable/popular is it? In total, there are nine posted makes so far. It lends itself to resin prints, but there are many good makes posted from FDM printers.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Atlantis
Another mythical cityscape that you can 3D print is the Lost City of Atlantis. Designed after the city featured in the sci-fi TV show Stargate Atlantis, this cityscape features a jam-packed city center with six protruding wings.
The detail on this mock-up is immaculate. It’s worth noting that the model wasn’t designed specifically for 3D printing, but the recorded makes on Thingiverse prove that successful prints are possible. On that note, to best print the model, some users split it into multiple pieces, while others used a small layer height of 0.1 mm.
- Who designed it? EoxKoullik
- How printable/popular is it? This Atlantis cityscape design has 13 recorded makes, 3 remixes, as well as close to 24,000 downloads! So many people have successfully printed this architectural model, and so can you!
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Sim City Set
Next, if you’re making your own cityscape, whether for a film project or to add to a tabletop game, then this Sim City set is perfect for you. Designed completely in SketchUp, this project contains a handful of different generic city items, such as a capital building, fire station, industrial facility, and more. The 15+ building options available on the project page allow you to fully customize the look and size of your cityscape.
While the creator of this Sim City set didn’t provide any printing settings, a handful of makers shared the parameters they used to achieve a successful print. For instance, one recorded maker noted that they used a 0.1-mm layer height, with a 10% infill density, and no supports or a raft.
- Who designed it? skimbal
- How printable/popular is it? This modular Sim City set has 35 recorded makes, 9 remixes, and over 24,000 downloads!
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Wall Art
This isn’t a 3D topographical cityscape but an inspiring 2D take on the idea based on “little planet” geometry. Designed as an imposing piece of wall art, it looks fantastic and is much more interesting than an equivalent black and white print.
- Who designed it? UnpredictableLab
- How printable/popular is it? Only one maker has shared their successful version, but given the flat shape, it shouldn’t cause any issues when printing.
- Where to find it? Thingiverse
Bonus: Jewelry
And lastly, to really stretch your imagination and provide inspiration, how about a cityscape styled as a ring? These are 3D printed in metal, although they might look equally good in a nice resin.
As far as we can see, these featured designs can only be purchased as a finished product. However, similar designs are offered by several makers on Etsy and elsewhere.
- Who designed it? Cityscape Rings
- How printable/popular is it? Unless you have a metal 3D printing setup, these are best purchased from the professionals.
- Where to find it? Cityscape Rings
License: The text of "3D Printed Cities: The Coolest 3D Cityscapes to Print" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.