The most famous man-made monuments in the world
Here are our Top 10 famous landmarks in the world. These man-made landmarks and monuments are well known for their special locations, interesting architecture and important roles in history. They are also exciting places that are great to visit with your family.
We chose the following landmarks because they are found on six of the seven continents on Earth: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Australia/ Oceania. Every year, millions of people from all over the world visit these famous places, making them some of the most popular tourist attractions on our planet.
Top 10 Famous Landmarks
This famous metal tower with three floors stands in the city centre of Paris/ France. It was built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle (also referred to as Paris World Fair or Paris Exposition) to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution.
The Eiffel Tower is 330 metres/ 1,083 feet tall and was designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel and his team of engineers. If you would like to take the steps up to the tower viewing platform on the second floor, you better know that there are 704 steps to climb! However, luckily there are also lifts in the four pillars which means in each of the tower’s legs lifts lead up to the second floor.
Since it opened, more than 250 million people have visited the Eiffel Tower. Every year over 7 million visitors reach the tower’s top platform! More info about the Eiffel Tower and the most famous French tourist attractions here.
The Great Wall of China is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It stretches in sections across a very long distance in northern China.
The wall is also referred to as the “Long Wall” because it is over 21,196 kilometres/ 13,171 miles long in total. It was built using stone, bricks, tiles, earth and even wood. Although the wall was completed in 1644, it took more than 2,000 years to build it!
There are more than 20,000 watchtowers along the wall. These were used to protect the country from invasions by nomadic groups and enemies, and to help collect duty for goods that were transported along the famous Silk Road.
Today, the Great Wall is the most popular tourist attraction in China with more than 10 million visitors per year.
The Grand Kremlin Palace is part of the Kremlin complex and is located next to Red Square and Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, the capital city of Russia.
The Kremlin is a large fortress surrounded by high walls and is built along the Moskva River. The word “Kremlin” means “fortress within a city.” More than 500 years old, the Kremlin includes its famous walls with 20 towers as well as four churches and five palaces inside the complex.
The Kremlin was once the residence of the Russian tsars. Today, it is the official residence of the President of Russia. The Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed, usually referred to as Saint Basil’s Cathedral, is easily recognised due to its nine brightly coloured onion-shaped domes.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of Italy’s most famous tourist attractions. This freestanding bell tower of Pisa Cathedral was built over almost 200 years and was completed in 1399.
The tower’s original height was about 60 metres/ 196 feet. Because the tower leans, however, the lowest side is now less than 56 metres/ 184 feet tall. Problems began during construction because the ground beneath the tower was soft, sandy and unstable. Even while it was being built, the tower started to tilt. Builders tried to correct the lean by adding extra columns on one side, but the tower continued to lean – like several other buildings in the area.
In 2000, the tower was stabilised by strengthening the soil beneath it. Today, visitors can climb the 251 steps to the viewing platform at the top of the tower, which is quite an amazing experience. And of course, many people enjoy taking a fun photo from the lawn next to the tower, pretending to “hold up” the Leaning Tower of Pisa!
The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one of these ancient world wonders which still exists today. The pyramids are made of stone and bricks and stand near Cairo which is the capital of Egypt.
The Egyptian pyramids were built long before machines existed, when there was only human (manual) labour but no heavy machinery for lifting huge rocks or stones. The pyramids were built to serve as tombs for the pharaohs who ruled in ancient Egypt. Next to the Giza pyramids stands the Sphinx, a famous monument with the body of a lion and the head of a pharaoh.
The Giza pyramids are about 4,500 years old and are considered some of the largest structures ever built.
See also our page about Landmarks in Africa here.
The Sydney Opera House, in Australia’s largest city, is famous for its roof’s architecture resembling shells or sails. The opera house was designed by the Danish architect Jørn Utzon and was built between 1959 and 1973.
The roof is covered with more than 1 million tiles, all were manufactured in Sweden and transported down-under! The opera house has several performance halls, theatres and exhibition spaces.
More than 40 shows are staged here every week. Over 8 million visitors come to see this famous Australian landmark every year. In the evenings, the roof lights up in a colourful display that makes this building even more spectacular. Find more info on the opera house here.
The Statue of Liberty is 92 meters/ 305 ft high and is made of an iron frame covered with copper.
Lady Liberty, as the statue is often referred to, was designed by French sculpture Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi. The massive iron skeleton of the lady was designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the engineer who also built the Eiffel Tower.
The statue was built and completed in France in 1884. The huge monument was then disassembled into 350 pieces and packed into 214 crates and shipped to New York. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France to the American people to celebrate America’s Centennial in 1886. The torch’s flame is covered with 24-carat gold and the crown has seven rays that represent the seven continents.
The Statue of Liberty stands on Liberty Island in the Hudson River facing New York City. You can climb the 154 steps from the pedestal to the head of the statue where you can enjoy the fantastic views of the “Big Apple” as New York is often lovingly called.
The Taj Mahal, which means “crown of palaces” in the Persian language, stands on the riverbanks of the Yamuna River in Agra in northern India.
In 1632, the emperor Shah Jahan ordered to build a tomb for his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal houses her tomb as well as a mosque and a guesthouse.
The Taj Mahal has been built with white marble and the finest material was sourced from all over Asia. It is decorated with precious and semi-precious stones. Lines from the Quran are depicted on many walls. The main dome of the Taj Mahal is 35 metres/ 115 feet tall and the minarets are each 40 metres/ 130 feet high.
It is said that more than 20,000 workers helped build the monument and over 1,000 elephants were used to help with the transport of the heavy material during the construction. The mausoleum attracts more than 8 million visitors every year.
The Moai are huge statues on the Polynesian island Rapa Nui. The island is commonly called Easter Island and belongs to Chile. Easter Island is more than 2,200 miles away from mainland Chile and sits in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
The islanders created and carved more than 900 carved stone figures between 1250 and 1500. Most of the stone figures with the oversized heads were made from tuff stone, a volcanic rock of compressed volcanic ash.
On average, each of the figures weighs about 14 tons which is as much as two elephants! However, the size of the statues varies, some are smaller and some are really big. The heaviest stone figure weighs 82 tons and is 10 metres/ 33 feet long! Most Moai are about 4 metres/ 13 feet tall. Many islanders believe the huge Moai represent their ancestors.
There are more than 900 monumental statues and 300 ceremonial stone platforms, called ahu, which are sacred to the Rapa Nui people. More info here.
Machu Picchu means “Old Mountain” in the local Quechua language and is a famous site in Peru. It is also referred to as “The Lost City of the Incas.”
The ruins of the lost city are located high in the mountains, at more than 2,400 metres/ 8,000 feet above sea level. This site contains over 200 buildings and structures. The ruins were never discovered by the European conquistadors but only became widely known in 1911 when an American archeologist was led to the site by local people.
While some people believe that Machu Picchu was built as a sacred site, others think it once was the summer retreat of an Inca emperor. It was built during the 14th century and more than 1,000 people might have lived there. The site sits on a mountain ridge and thus always would be in danger of sliding down the slopes during the rainy season. To prevent this, the Incas built over 600 terraces and a well laid-out drainage system around the city.
The city is a magical place and a great example of Inca engineering, as the structures and buildings of the city were built without using wheels! More info on Machu Picchu here.
Top 10 Famous Landmarks
How about our Landmark Quizzes now?
Quiz 1:
Landmark Quiz (1): Can you name the six famous landmarks shown in the image below?
Quiz 2
Landmarks Quiz (2): Which landmarks are shown in the image below?
Landmarks Quiz (1): Statue of Liberty, Taj Mahal, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Pyramids, St Basil’s Cathedral, Eiffel Tower
Landmarks Quiz (2): These famous landmarks are shown in the image above (from top left): Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italy) | Taj Mahal (India) | Christ the Redeemer (Brazil) | St Basil’s Cathedral (Russia) | Brahma Statue (Thailand) | London Eye (UK) | Big Ben (UK) | Hagia Sophia (Turkey) | Arc de Triomphe (France) | Achlumer Mole (Netherlands) | Colosseum (Italy) | SacreCoeur (France) | Statue of Liberty (USA) | Rajabai Tower (India) | Eiffel Tower (France)
Did you get them all?
More popular pages
Ready for another Geo Quiz?
Images on Continent Facts: Wikimedia Commons, Shutterstock.com – San Francisco image by Dirk Beyer
Go back from Top 10 Landmarks to Geography Facts
Return to Kids-World-Travel-Guide Homepage