I started compiling a list, in no particular order, of famous, man-made structures I've seen. It took a lot of concentration. In fact, I had to resort to thinking of places where I've stood for photographs. Although I've been to many places, quite a number of must-see things are natural. For example, I could not put the Grand Canyon in Arizona on this list. Moreover, I've yet to visit some of the world's most famous such as China's Great Wall. Although not exhaustive, the following list got me started:
The Golden Temple, ThailandIf I were to continue, I noticed that more and more of the must-see locations are only known if one has researched about a particular place. For example, tourist guides will undoubtedly mention Sigiriya as an obligatory tourist destination in Sri Lanka; however, it may not be know to those who've never visited. Even famous sites like Alhambra Palace in Granada might only make the lists of people who have visited Spain.
Ruins of Pompeii, Italy
Sears Tower, IL, USA
Statue of Liberty, NY, USA
Eiffel Tower, France
Charles Bridge, Czech Republic
Taj Mahal, India
Hoover Dam, Nevada USA
Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Leaning Tower Of Piza, Italy
Palace of Westminster, England
The Blue Mosque, Turkey
Venice's Plaza San Marco, Italy
Fes Madina, Morocco
Durbar Square, Nepal
The Hollywood sign, CA, USA
Sigiriya Rock, Sri Lanka
Alhambra Palace, Spain
Windmills at Kinderdijk, Holland
Sagrada Família, Spain
Bank of China Building, Hong Kong
Empire State Bulding, NY, USA
Borobudur Temple, Indonesia
I am looking online for a fairly famous, but perhaps unknown to many, tourist site. I am reading up on Tikal, the Mayan ruins in northern Guatemala. It seems as if we might be headed to Costa Rica in April for three weeks. If we do, we will certainly want to travel around a little in Central America. Although a relatively small geographic area, I'm not sure what we'll have time for. That's why it's crucial to do homework regarding the places we'll try to see.
Picture by Shuwi found on Flickr.