The World’s Most Iconic Landmarks

Certain landmarks are so iconic that they consistently feature on travel itineraries, whether you’re a seasoned world traveller or are planning a dream bucket list trip for when you retire. But with countless natural wonders, and impressive man-made feats of engineering and architecture making their way onto bucket lists worldwide, we wanted to know: which of the world’s landmarks have made the biggest impression on us?

To find out, we surveyed a diverse group of participants from all across the globe, asking them to name 50 of the world’s most talked about landmarks. So, pack your bags, secure your travel insurance and join us as we uncover which of the world’s landmarks have earned their place as the most iconic destinations of all time.

Which Landmarks Are the Most Iconic?

We surveyed a global pool of participants, from South America all the way through Europe to Oceania, presenting them with images of 50 famous landmarks that they had to identify. Each landmark had multiple choice answers, as well as an option to say ‘I don’t know’ to avoid any guesswork. We then averaged the results from all six continents we surveyed, to ensure a balanced perspective on which global landmarks are truly the most iconic.

The landmark that people from all over the world can correctly identify the most is Lady Liberty herself, the emblem of New York City taking the literal crown and being named the most iconic landmark of all time. Following closely behind is the Eiffel Tower, synonymous with its home city of Paris, and the Taj Mahal, often celebrated as one of the world’s most spectacular feats of architecture.

Interestingly, Big Ben – our very own British icon – ranked seventh. The rankings named it less iconic than Rome’s breathtaking Colosseum and Sydney’s spectacular Opera House, but it outshone Egypt’s famed pyramids and even NYC’s Empire State Building to land itself a spot in the top ten.

2. Eiffel Tower – Paris, France

In second place is the Eiffel Tower, popular for its hourly sparkle and regularly featuring in the social media posts of any visitor to the City of Love. Over 97% of people worldwide can recognise its wrought-iron structure, which has become a symbol of France and sees over 7 million visitors per year stepping up to get a picture in front of the iconic tower.

3. Taj Mahal – Agra, India

With 92.25% of people able to recognise the Taj Mahal in India, it completes our top three most iconic landmarks of all time. Famous for its intricate architecture, historical significance and the fact it has become a symbol of enduring love, this popular landmark was named the number one World Wonder in one of our previous studies, which looked at which of the world’s tourist attractions get the most page views on Wikipedia.

4. Colosseum – Rome, Italy

Rich in history and previously used for public spectacles, including gladiator contests, animal hunts and mock naval battles, this iconic Italian landmark ranks in fourth place with over 91% of respondents able to correctly identify it. The Colosseum is also one of the world’s most visited tourist attractions and though people marvel at just how massive the structure is, it took just eight years to build.

5. The White House – Washington DC, USA

Completing the top five most iconic landmarks of all time is none other than the world-famous White House, located in Washington DC. Home to the American president, nine in ten people worldwide can correctly identify this building, with the landmark itself a frequent feature in popular TV shows and movies, as well as being regularly used as a backdrop on news channels around the world – making it one of the most photographed and filmed buildings of all time too.

Which Landmarks Are the Least Recognisable?

Our study also revealed which landmarks are the least recognisable, with only a small number of participants able to accurately identify them from the images provided.

Interestingly, some of these landmarks – such as the Forbidden City in China – rank among the most visited tourist attractions worldwide. Many also boast remarkable, distinctive characteristics, like the vibrant colours of Pena Palace, or the intricate architecture of the Hungarian Parliament Building, making them surprising entries into our study’s top 10 least recognisable landmarks.

2. Sugarloaf Mountain – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Reaching heights of nearly 1,300 feet, Brazil’s Sugarloaf Mountain is the second least identifiable landmark in our study – just 12% of respondents correctly identifying it. Though many tourists make a point of visiting the mountain, either climbing the tricky routes up or taking the cable car, it is perhaps overshadowed by Rio’s prominent tourist attraction, Christ the Redeemer, making it less identifiable, many misidentified it as Gibraltar Rock, a similarly shaped, large and rounded peak.

3. Pena Palace – Sintra, Portugal

Completing the top three least identifiable landmarks is Pena Palace, a boldly coloured fairytale-esque castle found atop the Sintra Mountains and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. While it might not get the same global recognition as the Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty, it’s well worth a visit if you find yourself in Portugal, offering panoramic views of the Sintra countryside as well as enchanting gardens to wander around.

4. Forbidden City – Beijing, China

Perhaps the most surprising entry in the least identifiable landmarks list is Beijing’s Forbidden City, which was only correctly identified by 13% of people. Bearing a unique resemblance to Changdeokgung Palace, which many misidentified it as, the Forbidden City regularly tops the rankings as one of the world’s most visited tourist attractions. Perhaps its traditional architectural style, used across China, and its complex layout compared to landmarks with simpler silhouettes (like Rome’s Colosseum) contribute to the difficulty participants had identifying it.

5. Piopiotahi / Milford Sound – Fiordland, New Zealand

Milford Sound, known as Piopiotahi in Māori, is one of New Zealand’s most famous landmarks, and is often referred to as the eighth wonder of the world. With just 6% of Europeans able to name it, compared to 50% of people based in Australia or New Zealand, perhaps this stunning natural landmark is simply too far away from many tourists to be as well-known as it deserves to be. In fact, many respondents either simply said they didn’t know what it was or believed it to be various other Fjords found all over the world, like Sognefjord in Norway or the Kenai Fjords in Alaska.

Tower Bridge in London is the most misidentified landmark in the world, with over three in five people mistakenly labelling it as London Bridge. Following closely behind is the Sagrada Família, a spectacular feat of engineering that, despite being unfinished after 140 years, attracts over 4 million visitors per year.

Perhaps due to its ongoing construction, over 60% of respondents misidentified it as Milan Cathedral, Cologne Cathedral, or the Basilica di San Marco.

Other notably misidentified landmarks include the Parthenon in Greece, which many people confuse with Rome’s Pantheon – perhaps due to their iconic columned designs – and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, often mistaken for Paris’s Arc de Triomphe because of their similar arch structures.

If this study has left you itching to go and see some of these iconic landmarks yourself, don’t forget to make sure you’ve got comprehensive travel insurance in place before you touch down.

Methodology:
We compiled a list of the world’s most famous landmarks, sourced from various news articles, and surveyed 2,000 people globally to find which attraction people collectively recognised the most. This was achieved by providing respondents images of each landmark and corresponding multiple-choice answer options, including the correct answer and incorrect answers of similar landmarks. For fairness and so that respondents didn’t just select an option at random, a ‘I don’t know’ option was also included for each landmark. The results were then averaged out across each continent to create the final ranking.

Data correct as of October 2024.