Famous Landmarks

Around the world, there are many man-made constructions that are considered famous landmarks. Some, like the Great Wall of China, are leftovers from the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Others, like Big Ben in London, are more modern than the wall, but still of significant historic importance. Most designate something about their country of origin that the world wants to remember. In France, with a rich history of culture and art, among the most famous landmarks are The Louvre art museum and the Eiffel Tower.

Marvels of ancient science including the pyramids in Egypt and the Great Sphinx as well as the aqueducts and Great Coliseum are among the most famous landmarks in the world. Other historical and famous landmarks include the Parthenon in Greece, Red Square in Moscow, and Westminster Abbey in London.

In recent years, sites have also become famous landmarks because they remind the world of the atrocities that occurred there including Tienamen Square in China and Auschwitz in Germany.

Famous landmarks across the world sometimes become famous because of the developments to international society that occur there, as with the United Nations Building in New York City. Or, it becomes a landmark because society never wants to forget the tragedy and horror of a location, like many battlefields, Ground Zero in New York City and the Nazi prison camps in Germany.

Other famous landmarks are famous simply because they exist and are different from other parts of the world. The Grand Canyon, redwood forests in California, the La Brea Tar pits and various meteor craters around the world fall into this category. These sites are world-famous landmarks because they represent an element of nature not seen often in the remainder of the world.

In the United States, famous landmarks also include monuments made to the nation’s history and progress. Among the most famous are those surrounding Washington D.C., the Vietnam wall, the Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson memorials, Arlington National Cemetery, the National Cathedral and, of course, the government buildings including the White House, the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon.

Outside of Washington, D.C., landmarks tend to be tied to the history of the region more so than the entire nation, with some notable exceptions including the Statue of Liberty in New York.

For example, one of the most famous national landmarks in the Midwest is the Arch in St. Louis. The Arch was constructed in the 20th century to commemorate the nation’s movement toward westward expansion and the role of the Mississippi River and St. Louis as the gateway to the West.