These are the best fisheye lenses for travel photography when you want pocketable wow-factor—alley-to-sky arches, cathedral domes, markets at arm’s length, and playful selfies—plus strong flare control, close minimum focus, and lightweight builds that won’t slow you down—and here’s what to look for as you buy: favor diagonal fisheyes on full-frame for edge-to-edge frames you can partially de-fish (keeps people and buildings believable), circular options for graphic hero frames, fast or near-hyperfocal focus you can tape, coatings that shrug off sunlines and night neon, and compact barrels that balance on small bodies and gimbals; front filters are rarely usable—run a slim hood/hand flag to tame flare, keep glass immaculate, and build a simple de-fish preset (Lensfun/DxO/PTGui/Fisheye-Hemi) for consistent lines across a trip. Full-frame travel heroes: Canon EF 8–15mm ƒ4L Fisheye USM and Nikon AF-S 8–15mm ƒ3.5–4.5E (benchmark circular→diagonal zooms—park near 14–15 mm for de-fishable city/landscape frames and spin to circular for playful plazas and murals; excellent sharpness and ghost resistance; adapt EF cleanly to RF/E/Z), Samyang/Rokinon 12mm ƒ2.8 diagonal (fast, featherweight, budget star for blue hour/indoors), Sigma 15mm ƒ2.8 EX diagonal (compact classic—edges tidy by ƒ5.6), and Nikon 16mm ƒ2.8 (ultralight used gem). APS-C standouts for ultralight kits: Tokina AT-X 10–17mm ƒ3.5–4.5 DX and Pentax DA 10–17mm ƒ3.5–4.5 (close-focus champs—perfect in tight alleys, souks, and subways); the Canon/Nikon 8–15s behave as diagonal fisheyes across much of their range on crop if you already own one. Micro Four Thirds winners for carry-all-day ease: Olympus M.Zuiko 8mm ƒ1.8 PRO (fast, sealed, superb into-the-sun behavior—great for dawn street and dim interiors) and Panasonic Lumix G 8mm ƒ3.5 (tiny, sharp, cost-effective). Practical traveler tips: pack one fisheye + one rectilinear wide and a fast normal, standardize to one compact lens cap/hood, and choose rigid EF→RF/E/Z adapters with zero play; save two zoom stops on 8–15s—(a) circular “postcard fun” and (b) diagonal “no-vignette” for architecture—then apply a repeatable partial de-fish so galleries look cohesive; carry a microfiber and rocket blower (haze, sea spray, dust), a slim wrist strap for low-angle shots, and a small pouch so the bulbous front doesn’t get scuffed in bags; avoid CPLs (uneven skies), use rear/clip-in NDs only if your system allows, and keep a lightweight mini-tripod for night scenes. Travel-shooting tips: level the camera for clean verticals (tilt deliberately for energy), work around ƒ5.6–ƒ8 (ƒ9–ƒ11 on high-res bodies) for edge discipline, expose for highlights and bracket near bright windows; place bold foregrounds 6–24 in from the lens for scale and let backgrounds sit 2–5 m back for airy separation; for crowds, center faces to avoid distortion and let lines bend at edges for dynamism, for domes/ceilings lie flat and shoot straight up, and for reflections use puddles/windows without a CPL; for night, start ƒ2.8–ƒ3.5, 10–20 s, ISO 3200–6400, focus via magnification on a bright star or neon, and add a slight stop-down if corners need cleaning; for video, lock a 180° shutter with internal/clip-in ND, set a fixed zoom stop before the take, and move slowly—tiny wobbles read big at 180°; whether you’re bending medieval lanes, wrapping deserts and coasts into graphic bowls, squeezing palace halls and markets, or framing playful group selfies, the best travel fisheye choices—8–15 zooms on full-frame, Tokina/Pentax 10–17 on APS-C, and Olympus/Panasonic 8 mm on MFT—deliver adjustable 180° drama, manageable flare, and post-friendly projection so your horizons stay intentional, your bags stay light, and your images land bold, lively, and unmistakably you.