Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): El destino final será la colina donde se ve toda la ciudad. - The final destination will be the hill where you can see the whole city.

Destino final literally translates to final destination.
The word final adds emphasis that this is the last or ultimate stop.
In many contexts you can simply say destino, but destino final clarifies that there are no further stops beyond that point.

Why is será used here instead of the present tense es or another verb like estará?

Será is the future tense of ser (“will be”), indicating that the decision or event is still to happen.
If you used es, you’d be stating it as a current fact: “El destino final es la colina…” (“The final destination is the hill…”).
Using estará (“will be located”) shifts the meaning to the hill’s future location or condition, which sounds less natural in this context.

Why do we use ser here and not estar when talking about where something is?

Ser in será expresses “will be [identified as]” rather than physical location.
If you wanted to talk about the hill’s physical location, you’d use estar:
• La colina estará al norte de la ciudad.
But here the sentence is assigning the role of final destination to the hill, so ser is appropriate.

What function does donde serve in this sentence? Could you use en la que or desde la cual instead?

Donde is a relative pronoun meaning where (“the hill where…”).
You could rephrase with more formal relative pronouns:
• la colina en la que se ve toda la ciudad
• la colina desde la cual se ve toda la ciudad
However, donde is shorter and more idiomatic in everyday Spanish.

What type of se is in se ve? Is it reflexive or something else?

This se is the impersonal/passive se.
It doesn’t refer to a specific subject. You could translate it as “one sees” or “can be seen.”
It’s not reflexive; it’s a way to express passive voice without mentioning who is doing the seeing.

Why use se ve instead of telling someone puedes ver toda la ciudad?

Se ve is impersonal, more descriptive: “the whole city can be seen.”
Puedes ver (“you can see”) addresses the listener directly (second person), making it more conversational or instructional.
Both are correct; choice depends on tone:
• Descriptive: La colina donde se ve toda la ciudad.
• Directive: La colina donde puedes ver toda la ciudad.

Why is it toda la ciudad instead of toda ciudad or todas las ciudades?

Ciudad is feminine singular, so you need toda (fem. sing.) and the article la: toda la ciudad = “the whole city.”
Toda ciudad (without article) sounds like “every city” in a general sense.
Todas las ciudades means “all the cities” (plural).

Could you change the word order to la colina donde toda la ciudad se ve, and would that sound natural?

Spanish word order is somewhat flexible.
Putting toda la ciudad before se ve (…donde toda la ciudad se ve) is grammatically correct.
However, the more common, neutral order is donde se ve toda la ciudad, since the verb often comes before its object in descriptive clauses.

Are there regional synonyms for colina in Latin American Spanish?

Yes. Depending on the country, you might also hear:

Cerro (very common in Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America)
Loma (used in Colombia)
Montículo (small hill, more formal)
Choose the term that fits the regional variety you’re studying.