The 25 Most Iconic Landmarks in the World

Some of these are older than writing in their own countries, others went up within living memory, and all of them sell postcards.

1. 1
   Moai of Easter Island

   Giant stone figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Chichén Itzá

   Maya city in Yucatán dominated by the stepped pyramid of El Castillo.
   926pts
3. 3
   Colosseum

   Rome's great amphitheatre, opened in AD 80 for gladiator fights and public shows.
   926pts
4. 4
   Great Wall of China

   Chain of fortifications across northern China, most of the visible stretches built under the Ming.
   884pts
5. 5
   Neuschwanstein Castle

   Ludwig II's fairy-tale castle on a crag in the Bavarian Alps.
   762pts
6. 6
   Mount Rushmore

   Granite mountainside in South Dakota carved with the faces of four US presidents.
   707pts
7. 7
   Angkor Wat

   Twelfth-century Khmer temple in Cambodia, the largest religious monument in the world.
   707pts
8. 8
   Stonehenge

   Prehistoric ring of standing stones on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England.
   647pts
9. 9
   Hagia Sophia

   Sixth-century domed basilica in Istanbul, later a mosque, museum and mosque again.
   579pts
10. 10
    Sydney Opera House

    Jørn Utzon's shell-roofed performing arts centre on Sydney Harbour.
    579pts
11. 11
    Forbidden City

    Imperial palace complex in the heart of Beijing, home to Ming and Qing emperors.
    502pts
12. 12
    Pyramids of Giza

    Three royal pyramids on the edge of Cairo, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing.
    502pts
13. 13
    Taj Mahal

    White marble mausoleum in Agra built by Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
    502pts
14. 14
    Acropolis of Athens

    Rocky hill above Athens crowned by the Parthenon and other temples of the fifth century BC.
    502pts
15. 15
    Statue of Liberty

    Copper statue given by France to the United States, standing in New York Harbor since 1886.
    502pts
16. 16
    Leaning Tower of Pisa

    Bell tower of Pisa Cathedral that began to tilt while it was still being built.
    502pts
17. 17
    Petra

    Nabataean city carved into rose-red sandstone cliffs in southern Jordan.
    502pts
18. 18
    Big Ben

    The great bell and clock tower at the Palace of Westminster in London.
    413pts
19. 19
    Sagrada Família

    Antoni Gaudí's basilica in Barcelona, under construction since 1882.
    413pts
20. 20
    Golden Gate Bridge

    Suspension bridge in International Orange spanning the entrance to San Francisco Bay.
    413pts
21. 21
    Machu Picchu

    Fifteenth-century Inca citadel on a ridge above Peru's Urubamba valley.
    312pts
22. 22
    Christ the Redeemer

    Art Deco statue of Jesus with open arms on Corcovado mountain above Rio de Janeiro.
    193pts
23. 23
    Burj Khalifa

    Dubai skyscraper that has been the tallest building in the world since 2010.
    193pts
24. 24
    Eiffel Tower

    Gustave Eiffel's wrought-iron tower, built for the 1889 World's Fair in Paris.
    193pts
25. 25
    Tower Bridge

    Victorian bascule bridge over the Thames beside the Tower of London.
    0pts

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