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About This Quiz
Before the globe was organized by countries and borders, it was defined by landmarks. The earliest humans had little idea where they were and had no clue where they were going, but they knew how to follow the stars and recognize landmarks. If it weren't for landmarks, exploration would've been nearly impossible. The tallest mountains, longest canyons, widest rivers, and plainest plains allowed people to discover new lands and spread humanity all over the globe. By the time society popped up, people were already creating their own landmarks.
Today the world is filled with human-made and natural landmarks. The Eiffel Tower, Mt. Everest and the Great Pyramid of Giza are some of the most famous ones, but landmarks are literally everywhere. Any fixed point used to establish location is a landmark. It can be the tallest building in your city or the crooked mailbox on your street. It doesn't matter, but some landmarks are more popular than others.
Landmarks are one of the main reasons people travel. It's fun to sit on the beach and soak up the sun, but it's just as fun to climb the country's tallest building, surf along the ocean's longest reef and visit the world's holiest site. Millions of people around the world spend billions of dollars visiting the most famous landmarks every year. Do you know what they are?
South America
Africa
Europe
Australia
More than 1 million people attend a show at Sydney Harbor each year. The building's most striking feature is the shell-like design that creates the roof. The Opera House was completed in 1973, and the structure has several music rooms that can seat more than 5,700 people in total.
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Luxembourg Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace was built in the early 1700s and has been the home of the British monarchy since Queen Victoria began living there in 1837. The building has nearly 200 bedrooms just for staff, plus a post office, movie theater and a doctor's office.
Windsor Castle
Palace of Versailles
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The Louvre
Notre-Dame Cathedral
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is named after its engineer and architect, Gustave Eiffel. It was built for the entrance to Exposition Universelle of 1889 and has become one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world.
Arc de Triomphe
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India
Emperor of the Mogul Empire, Shah Jahan, built the Taj Mahal as a tomb for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It was completed in 1643 and was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007. More than 7 million people visit the building each year.
Japan
China
Russia
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India
China
The Great Wall of China is often considered the greatest architectural and engineering feat in the history of humankind. Some astronauts have claimed to see the structure from space, but others say it's no more visible from space than other human-made objects.
Berlin
Russia
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Luxor Temple
Parthenon
Pantheon
Colosseum
The Colosseum could hold as many as 80,000 spectators when it was at the center of live entertainment in ancient Rome. The Roman amphitheater held a variety of events that ranged from executions to plays.
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Barcelona
Rio de Janeiro
Christ the Redeemer is 98-feet tall and stands atop a 26-foot tall pedestal that sits atop Corcovado mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro. The statue is one of the most famous Jesus statues in the world. It was completed in 1931 and was named a New Seven Wonder of the World in 2007.
Cape Town
Tel Aviv
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Angkor Wat
Acropolis of Athens
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu was built in the 15th century and is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. The complex was built for an Inca ruler but was abandoned less than a century after it was completed. More than 750 people lived in the complex during its peak.
Luxor Temple
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Tower Bridge
Charles Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
The official color of the Golden Gate Bridge is "international orange." It spans nearly 9,000 feet across the Golden Gate strait in California. The bridge was actually built ahead of schedule and under budget. It was opened in 1937.
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Texas
Arizona
The Grand Canyon became an official national park in 1919, and it recently celebrated its 100th birthday. It's been on Earth for millions of years and is one of the world's most famous natural landmarks.
Utah
New Mexico
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Rome
Athens
The Parthenon sits atop the Athenian Acropolis and was built back in 438 BC. It stood for 2,000 years until it was partially destroyed in 1687. The structure has been restored several times and is one of the most significant ancient structures in the world.
Cairo
Jerusalem
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Beijing
The Forbidden City consists of nearly 1,000 buildings and is hardly a palace. The complex has 9,999 and a half rooms in honor of the god Yu Huang, who had 10,000 rooms in his palace. The Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest is the world's largest single palace.
Rome
Jerusalem
Athens
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South Dakota
Mount Rushmore depicts presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. It's located in the Black Hills of Keystone, South Dakota, and more than 2 million people visit the monument each year.
Wyoming
North Dakota
Montana
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Germany
Italy
Spain
France
The Palace of Versailles is one of the most famous palaces in the world and dates back to 1632. It served as the official residence of the king of France for about a century, and today is a historical monument. More than 7 million people visit the palace each year.
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The Himalayas
The border of Nepal and China runs right across Mt. Everest, putting the mountain in both countries. It's the world's highest peak above sea level, but Ecuador's Mount Chimborazo is closest to the moon due to its location on the equator's bulge.
The Rockies
The Andes
The Alps
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Amazon Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef can be found off the coast of Australia and runs for more the 1,400 miles. The reef is made up of nearly 3,000 small reefs, and every square centimeter is a battleground for life. Billions and billions of organisms, plants and animals survive off the reef.
Apo Reef
Belize Barrier Reef
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Old Faithful
Paddy's Wigwam
Big Ben
Big Ben's real name is the Great Bell, and the clock tower has been known as Elizabeth Tower since 2012. The tower has five bells, and Big Ben is the biggest of them all. The four small bells ring every 15 minutes except at the top of the hour when Big Ben rings.
The Pringle
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London
Tokyo
Mount Fuji is Japan's tallest volcano and features one of the most famous snowcaps in the world. Fuji is an active volcano, but the last time it erupted was the early 1700s. It's not at risk of erupting any time soon.
Athens
Cairo
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St. Patrick's Cathedral
Duomo di Milano
Sistine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel features one of the most famous paintings in the world. The nine frescoes depict scenes from the "Book of Genesis," and Michelangelo spent four years completing the project. He later painted the "Last Judgement" above the altar.
Notre-Dame Cathedral
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Rome
Barcelona
Berlin
Paris
The Louvre's glass pyramid is one of the most famous museum entrances in the world. The museum holds the world's largest collection of art, and nearly 10 million people walk its halls to view the 40,000 artifacts each year.
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Temple of Artemis
Colossus of Rhodes
Lighthouse of Alexandria
The Great Pyramid of Giza
The Great Pyramid of Giza dates back to 2500 BC, and it's the oldest and only-standing Wonder of the Ancient World. It was the tallest human-made structure in the world for about 4,000 years. It consists of more than 2 million bricks weighing up to 80 tons each.
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China
South Korea
Cambodia
Angkor Wat roughly translates to "City of Temples," and the complex sits on more than 400 acres of land. It's surrounded by a 3-mile long moat that's more than 600-feet wide. The complex was built in the 12th century and is considered the world's largest religious site.
Thailand
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George Washington Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge isn't the only bridge that connects the island of Manhattan with Brooklyn, but it's the most famous. The bridge features neo-Gothic architecture and was completed in 1883. It has been toll-free ever since it opened.
Sunshine Skyway Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
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Abu Dhabi
Doha
Dubai
The Burj Khalifa stands 2,722 feet tall and has been the world's tallest building since 2009. Even though it is the world's tallest building, it doesn't have the world's highest observation deck. Two skyscrapers in China have higher observation decks than the Burj Khalifa.
Qatar
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Empty Sky Memorial
Tear of Grief
9/11 Memorial and Museum
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum honors those killed in both the 2001 and 1993 World Trade Center attacks. The memorial was open on the 10th anniversary of the 2001 attacks. The museum opened three years later, and millions visit the site every year.
Tribute in Light
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Scotland
England
Nobody knows exactly what Stonehenge is, but many believe it's a religious structure. Most believe it's associated with Druidism, which is a religious movement that rose out of Britain in the 1700s. Each stone in Stonehenge weighs about 25 tons and stands about 13 feet tall.
Wales
Ireland
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Yellowstone National Park
President Ulysses S. Grant named Yellowstone the country's first national park back in 1872. It's also considered to be the first national park in the world, and it's located in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Old Faithful is in Wyoming.
Grand Teton National Park
Yosemite National Park
Zion National Park
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White House
U.S. Capitol
Everybody can tour the U.S. Capitol, but only members of Congress and their guests can use the secret staircase that goes to the top of the dome. It doesn't go all the way to the top, but it goes as high as safely possible. The wait-list for members can last months.
The Supreme Court Building
Library of Congress
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The Rockies
The Himalayas
The Alps
The Matterhorn isn't the tallest peak in the Alps (that honor goes to Mont Blanc in France), but it's certainly one of the most recognizable. The mountain sits on the border between Italy and Switzerland and soars 14,692 feet high.
The Andes
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Rome
Legend says if you toss one coin into Trevi Fountain, you'll return to Rome. If you toss two coins, you'll return and fall in love. If you toss three coins, you'll return, fall in love and get married. Coins should be tossed with your right hand over your left shoulder.
Paris
Berlin
Vienna
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Syria
Jerusalem
Jordan
Petra is located in modern-day Jordan, and the area was inhabited as far back as 7000 BC. The city of Petra dates back to about 300 BC and was home to about 20,000 residents at its peak. Today it's a New Seven Wonder of the World and one of the country's biggest tourist attractions.
Saudi Arabia
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Sequoia National Park
General Sherman is one of the most popular landmarks in Sequoia National Park. It's located in the Giant Forest, and anyone can visit it. The tallest tree in the world is named Hyperion. It's located in the Redwood National and State Parks, but its exact location is kept secret.
Joshua Tree National Park
Redwood National and State Parks
Olympic National Forest
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Red Square
St. Basil's Cathedral was built in the 16th century, and the Kremlin was built in the 15th century. Both sites can be found near Moscow's Red Square, making it one of the most popular tourist sites in Moscow.
Tiananmen Square
Times Square
Saint Peter's Square
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Statue of Unity
The Statue of Unity opened in 2018 and is almost 600 feet tall, making it the world's tallest statue. It's located in India and depicts the first Deputy Prime Minister of independent India, Sardar Patel. Patel is credited with uniting all of India.
Great Buddha of Thailand
Statue of Liberty
Christ the Redeemer
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Ellis Island
Liberty Island
Liberty Island is in New Jersey waters, but the statue is considered to be located in New York. More than 3 million people ferry out to the island every year to climb the statue. Visitors can climb as high as the crown.
Staten Island
Long Island
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