Landmarks

Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower in Paris was built for the 1889 World's Fair and was long the tallest structure in the world. Riveted from 18,000 iron parts, it weighs over 10,000 tonnes.

💡 Did you know? It was meant to be dismantled after 20 years: it survived as a radio mast.

Colosseum

The Colosseum in Rome held around 50,000 spectators and hosted gladiator fights. It is the largest amphitheatre ever built.

💡 Did you know? Through clever passages and lifts, animals and scenery could be raised into the arena from below.

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty in New York was a gift from France (1886). The sculptor Bartholdi designed it; the internal framework is by Gustave Eiffel.

💡 Did you know? Its green colour is weathered copper: originally it gleamed coppery brown.

Big Ben

'Big Ben' is really the name of the bell in the clock tower of the British Parliament; the tower itself is the 'Elizabeth Tower'. The clock is one of the most accurate tower clocks in the world.

💡 Did you know? To fine-tune it, old penny coins are placed on the pendulum.

Brandenburg Gate

The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin was built around 1790 as a city gate and is today the symbol of Germany. During the division it stood unreachable in the restricted zone by the Wall.

💡 Did you know? The statue on top (the 'Quadriga') was stolen by Napoleon and brought back years later.

Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge in London opened in 1894. Its two roadway halves can be raised so large ships can pass along the Thames.

💡 Did you know? It is often confused with the plainer 'London Bridge'.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

The tower leans because it stands on soft ground: it began to tip during construction. In the late 20th century it was extensively secured.

💡 Did you know? Before the work the lean was over five degrees: today a little less.

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal in India is a marble mausoleum that Emperor Shah Jahan had built for his late wife. It is regarded as one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.

💡 Did you know? Over 20,000 workers and elephants are said to have built it over decades.

Great Wall of China

The Great Wall was built over centuries by different dynasties to protect China from horse peoples. Taken together it runs thousands of kilometres.

💡 Did you know? Contrary to the popular myth, it cannot be seen from space with the naked eye.

Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is a well-preserved Inca city high in the Peruvian Andes, built around 1450. It lies at about 2400 m among the peaks.

💡 Did you know? It became known to the wider world only in 1911, through explorer Hiram Bingham.

Christ the Redeemer

The 'Christ the Redeemer' statue towers over Rio de Janeiro on Corcovado mountain. With outstretched arms it is 30 m tall and was inaugurated in 1931.

💡 Did you know? It is one of the 'new seven wonders of the world'.

Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House with its white 'sails' is one of the most famous buildings of the 20th century and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It opened in 1973.

💡 Did you know? The Danish architect Jørn Utzon resigned amid disputes during construction and never saw the finished building.

Great Pyramid of Giza

The Great Pyramid is the largest of the Giza pyramids and served a pharaoh around 2500 BC as a tomb. It consists of around 2.3 million stone blocks.

💡 Did you know? It is the only one of the Seven Ancient Wonders still standing.

Great Sphinx of Giza

The Great Sphinx is a huge figure with a lion's body and a human head, carved from the rock around 2500 BC. It guards the pyramids of Giza.

💡 Did you know? The Sphinx's nose is missing: there are many legends about why, but no certain explanation.

Acropolis of Athens

The Acropolis of Athens is a temple hill above the city, crowned by the Parthenon of the 5th century BC. It is seen as a cradle of Western culture.

💡 Did you know? The Parthenon was a temple, a church and a mosque for centuries before an explosion badly damaged it in 1687.

Sagrada Família

Antoni Gaudí's Sagrada Família in Barcelona has been under construction since 1882 and is still unfinished. Its towers and forms are modelled on nature.

💡 Did you know? It is financed solely by donations and entrance fees: which is why it takes so long.

St. Peter's Basilica

St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is one of the largest churches in the world and the centre of the Catholic Church. Michelangelo contributed to its dome.

💡 Did you know? St Peter's Square in front holds over 100,000 people on big occasions.

Neuschwanstein Castle

The fairy-tale Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria was built for King Ludwig II from 1869. He lived in it only briefly and died before it was finished.

💡 Did you know? It is said to have inspired the Sleeping Beauty castle of Disney.

Cologne Cathedral

Cologne Cathedral is a vast Gothic cathedral. Its construction began in 1248, was interrupted for centuries and completed only in 1880.

💡 Did you know? For more than 400 years, until 1868, a wooden crane stood on the unfinished south tower because building had stopped.

Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco spans the entrance to the bay. When it opened in 1937 it was the longest suspension bridge in the world.

💡 Did you know? Its striking colour is called 'International Orange': chosen to be visible in the fog.

Empire State Building

The Empire State Building in New York was built in just over a year in 1931 and was the world's tallest building for 40 years.

💡 Did you know? In the 1933 film classic 'King Kong' the giant ape climbs it.

Burj Khalifa

The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is, at 828 m, the tallest building in the world, with over 160 floors. It opened in 2010.

💡 Did you know? At its top the sun sets a few minutes later than at the base.

Stonehenge

Stonehenge in England is a prehistoric stone circle, erected around 5000 years ago. Its exact purpose is still not certain.

💡 Did you know? At the summer solstice the sun rises exactly over a particular stone.

Moai

The Moai are huge stone figures on remote Easter Island in the Pacific, made by the native Rapa Nui. Many face inland, away from the sea.

💡 Did you know? Most of the 'heads' actually have bodies too, buried over the centuries.

Petra

Petra in Jordan is an ancient city whose facades are carved directly into reddish rock. It was once a rich trading hub.

💡 Did you know? It became widely known as a backdrop in an 'Indiana Jones' film.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat in Cambodia is the largest religious monument in the world, built in the 12th century as a Hindu temple. Later it became Buddhist.

💡 Did you know? Its silhouette appears on Cambodia's national flag.

Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore in the USA has the heads of four US presidents carved into it: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Each head is about 18 m tall.

💡 Did you know? The work took 14 years and was done largely with dynamite.

Atomium

The Atomium in Brussels was built for the 1958 World's Fair and represents the unit cell of an iron crystal, magnified billions of times. Its nine spheres are linked by tubes.

💡 Did you know? Escalators and a lift run through the connecting tubes from sphere to sphere.