Ten world-famous landmarks, from the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty and the Taj Mahal to Burj Khalifa, the Sydney Opera House, Christ the Redeemer, the Louvre and the legendary Orient Express.
Some buildings become symbols of entire countries. This collection gathers ten of the world's most recognisable landmarks: the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre in Paris, the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, India's Taj Mahal and the record-breaking Statue of Unity, Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the Sydney Opera House, Prague's Charles Bridge, Christ the Redeemer above Rio de Janeiro and, on the move across Europe, the legendary Orient Express.
Many of them were controversial before they were loved. The Eiffel Tower was meant to be demolished after 20 years, the Sydney Opera House went more than 1,300 percent over budget and its architect never saw it finished, and the Louvre's glass pyramid was branded an eyesore. The Statue of Liberty only got her pedestal thanks to Joseph Pulitzer's crowdfunding campaign, and Christ the Redeemer was paid for by public donations rather than the Brazilian government.
Their engineering is just as remarkable. The Eiffel Tower grows by up to 15 centimetres in summer, Burj Khalifa collects 15 million gallons of condensation a year, the Statue of Unity stands 182 metres tall, and Charles Bridge's foundation stone was laid at a carefully chosen palindromic moment in 1357. The Taj Mahal's minarets lean outward on purpose, and a single Orient Express dining car hosted surrenders in both world wars.
From secret apartments and con men to snowbound trains and hidden prayers, each landmark below has fifteen facts to discover.
Every item on this page, with the one fact most people get wrong about it.
| Name | Where you'll meet it | The fact worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Eiffel Tower | Paris, France | A con man sold it for scrap metal - twice. |
| Statue of Liberty | New York Harbor, USA | She crossed the Atlantic packed in 214 wooden crates. |
| Statue of Unity | Gujarat, India | At 182 metres, it is the world's tallest statue. |
| Burj Khalifa | Dubai, UAE | You can watch the sunset twice from it in one evening. |
| Sydney Opera House | Sydney, Australia | Its roof geometry was solved by peeling an orange. |
| Taj Mahal | Agra, India | Its minarets lean outward so they would fall away from the tomb. |
| Charles Bridge | Prague, Czechia | Its foundation stone was laid at a palindromic moment: 1357, 9 July, 5:31. |
| The Louvre | Paris, France | Seeing everything in its collection would take more than three months. |
| Orient Express | Paris to Constantinople, from 1883 | A single dining car hosted surrenders in both world wars. |
| Christ the Redeemer | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Millions of secret messages are hidden behind its tiles. |
Tallest Building
828 m
Burj Khalifa is three times taller than the Eiffel Tower and nearly twice as tall as the Empire State Building. Burj Khalifa
Tallest Statue
182 m
The Statue of Unity in Gujarat is the world's tallest statue, nearly twice as high as the Statue of Liberty. Statue of Unity
Biggest Budget Overrun
Over 1,300%
The Sydney Opera House was estimated at 7 million Australian dollars and ended up costing 102 million. Sydney Opera House
Longest Construction
45 years
Charles Bridge was begun in 1357 and not completed until 1402. Charles Bridge
Paris, France
The Eiffel Tower grows by up to 15 centimetres in summer and was meant to be torn down after 20 years. Gustave Eiffel kept a secret apartment near the top and engraved the names of 72 French scientists on its iron. Resistance saboteurs cut its lift cables so Hitler would have to take the stairs.
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New York Harbor, USA
Lady Liberty was once shiny copper, and Gustave Eiffel designed her hidden flexible framework. Broken shackles lie at her feet, her torch has been closed since a 1916 sabotage attack, and Joseph Pulitzer's crowdfunding paid for her pedestal. Thomas Edison even proposed making her speak.
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Gujarat, India
The Statue of Unity honours Sardar Patel, who united 562 princely states, and its height matches the seats of Gujarat's legislative assembly. Farmers donated old tools for its iron, and its sculptor was 93 years old. Dinosaur fossils were found in the Narmada valley nearby.
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Dubai, UAE
Burj Khalifa stands 828 metres tall, and its design is based on a desert spider lily. Residents above the 80th floor break their Ramadan fast later, cleaning its windows takes up to four months, and its spire is visible from 95 kilometres away. It was renamed only at its opening.
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Sydney, Australia
Eero Saarinen rescued Jørn Utzon's design from the rejection pile, but Utzon resigned and never saw the finished building. Lotteries covered costs that overran by more than 1,300 percent. Arnold Schwarzenegger won a bodybuilding title on its stage, and a falling chicken led to orchestra-pit netting.
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Agra, India
The Taj Mahal's marble gets mud-pack facials, and its timber foundations need river water to survive. It was camouflaged with bamboo in World War II, and British soldiers gouged gems from its walls in 1857. The famous cenotaphs inside are empty, and Shah Jahan's larger cenotaph is the complex's one asymmetrical element.
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Prague, Czechia
Charles Bridge was called simply the Stone Bridge for centuries, and legend says eggs were mixed into its mortar. Its students defended Prague against the Swedish army in 1648, and severed heads of executed nobles were displayed on its tower. Most of its statues today are replicas.
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Paris, France
The Louvre began as a medieval fortress whose remains lie beneath the palace. The 1911 theft made the Mona Lisa famous, Napoleon renamed the museum after himself, and government officials occupied a wing until 1993. It holds the Code of Hammurabi, and falconers keep the pigeons away.
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Paris to Constantinople, from 1883
A Belgian banker inspired by American sleeping cars launched the Orient Express in 1883, cutting the journey to the edge of Asia to 80 hours. René Lalique glass panels decorated its carriages, and spies used it as a rolling embassy. A real 1929 snowstorm inspired Agatha Christie.
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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The original design was mocked as "Christ with a ball", and the head and hands were sculpted in France. A stone heart and time capsule sit inside the chest, and a chapel is hidden in the pedestal. The statue was crowdfunded, is regularly struck by lightning, and got escalators only in 2003.
Read the full article →8 questions, every answer is somewhere above.
1. How many times did con man Victor Lustig sell the Eiffel Tower?
2. What colour was the Statue of Liberty when she arrived in New York?
3. What desert flower inspired the shape of Burj Khalifa?
4. Which bodybuilder won his final Mr. Olympia title at the Sydney Opera House?
5. Why do the Taj Mahal's minarets lean slightly outward?
6. What was secretly added to Charles Bridge's mortar, according to legend?
7. Which real event inspired Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express?
8. When were escalators and elevators added to Christ the Redeemer?
Yes. Paris granted Gustave Eiffel a 20-year permit after the 1889 Exposition Universelle, after which the tower was due to be demolished. Its value for scientific and radio experiments helped save it.
She was originally the shiny colour of new copper. Over the years, exposure to air and seawater formed a green patina that protects the metal underneath.
Only commercially. Tourists can take personal photos freely, but the light show is protected by copyright, so commercial images of the illuminated tower need permission.
No. The Danish architect resigned during the project after a bitter dispute with the government and never returned to Australia to see the completed building before his death in 2008.
No. At 30 metres without its pedestal, it is outsized by several other statues of Christ. Its fame comes from its dramatic setting on Mount Corcovado, and in 2007 it was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
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