The world has so many exciting places to visit that making a list of the best tourist sites is difficult, however, we did it.
The following are the 10 best tourist places in the world that are visited by millions of people annually, making them special and unique. Let’s get to know them.
1. Great Wall, China
This 212,000 km fortification, of which approximately 1/3 has been preserved, is the largest construction of its kind in the world and one of China’s tourist icons.
The work linked the Sino-Korean border with the Gobi desert and was built as a protection against hostile Chinese peoples and foreign enemies, between the 5th century B.C. and XVI.
Its height is between 6 and 7 meters and its maximum width is 5 meters, so it cannot be seen from the Moon, much less from Mars.
For its construction, the materials that were at hand throughout the long journey were used. It has sectors of limestone, crushed gravel, fired bricks, and granite.
The watchtowers and barracks were located to take advantage of the strategic advantages of the topography.
The Great Wall of China was included among the New Seven Wonders of the Modern World and is a World Heritage Site.
2. Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt
In the Giza Necropolis, 14 km southwest of Cairo, you will find the Menkaure, Khafre, and Cheops pyramids, the latter the most attractive for tourists as it is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that remains standing. In addition, it is the largest of the Egyptian pyramids and was the tallest construction on the planet for almost 4 millennia.
Cheops has a height of 136.9 meters and each of its sides measures 230 meters and is a fraction. It was built by the pharaoh, Cheops, around the year 2570 BC. and how the ancient Egyptians mined, transported, carved, lifted, and assembled their more than 2 million blocks of stones, in one of the most colossal engineering works in the history of humanity, never ceases to amaze.
Its chambers, galleries, and interior passages are spaces full of mystery.
3. The Alhambra, Granada, Spain
The most visited Spanish monument after the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia.
This Andalusian citadel, a World Heritage Site and where the Nasrid king and his court lived, is made up of palaces, beautiful gardens, and a fortress.
Among its buildings, the citadel, several palaces and Nasrid buildings (Palacio de Comares, Palace of the Lions, the Emperor’s rooms, El Portal and Paseo de las Torres), the Palace of Carlos V (Renaissance building), the Convent of San Francisco (a former 14th-century palace built by Muhammad III) and the Generalife, a resting village for Muslim kings.
The architectural ensemble was wisely inserted into the surrounding nature and the decoration of its interiors is one of the peaks of Hispano-Muslim art.
In the buildings, there are about 10,000 inscriptions written in classical Arabic, most of them texts from the Koran, verses from poems of the time, and sentences.
4. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
The most famous tower in the world has an architectural height of 300 meters, rising to 324 meters when including its antenna. It has 3 floors located respectively at 57.6, 115.7, and 276.1 meters from the base, which you can reach by climbing its more than 1600 steps or by elevator.
The structure was erected for the Universal Exposition of 1889 and described by the French art community as an iron monstrosity, with little suspecting that it would become the most visited paid-admission monument in the world.
At night it is illuminated with thousands of bulbs and flashes, also the nocturnal emblem of Paris.
Its most famous restaurant is Le Jules Verne, whose haute cuisine stoves are run by celebrity chef, Alain Ducasse.
Hardly anyone knows who Maurice Koechlin, Émile Nouguier, and Stephen Sauvestre were, designers of the famous tower, but everyone has heard of its builder, Gustave Eiffel.
5. Hollywood Sign, Los Angeles, USA
What began in 1923 as a huge commercial advertisement promoting a real estate development, became the main tourist postcard for Los Angeles, California.
Real estate businessman H.J. Whitley, also known as the “Father of Hollywood,” used mules to climb the original 50-foot-tall, 30-foot-wide letters. Since 1978 they measure 13.7 meters high.
The Hollywood sign has been the scene of suicides, car accidents, acts of vandalism, and film and television filming. Few tourists, perhaps none, will have left Los Angeles without taking a photo.
The letters are on Mount Lee in Griffith Park. They have a perimeter fence with cameras and motion detectors to prevent acts of vandalism and unauthorized access.
The original letter H was semi-destroyed in 1940 by a drunk driver. In 2005 it was auctioned by eBay.
6. Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain
The masterpiece of the 19th-century Spanish architect, Antoni Gaudí, the great master of modernism, is one of the most photographed cathedrals in the world.
The Catalan artist began the monumental church in 1882 and despite more than 130 years have passed, the most visited temple in Europe after Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, it is still unfinished.
Gaudí achieved with the Sagrada Familia a perfect harmony between the structural and decorative elements.
The cathedral is an artistic compendium of the experiences of his works that he carried out in Barcelona, among which Park Güell stands out.
The temple consists of 5 central naves and 3 facades dedicated to the Birth, Passion, Death, and the Resurrection of Jesus. When it is finished it will have 18 towers, one for each apostle, 4 for the evangelists, one for the Virgin, and one for Jesus.
Before Gaudí’s death, run over by a tram, the façade dedicated to the Nativity (partially), the apse, and the crypt had been completed.
7. Tower of Pisa, Italy
Among the tourist places in the world, this is the one that has demanded the most attention to avoid collapse.
It is a jewel of Romanesque art that began to lean as soon as its construction began in 1173. Since then, it has leaned in micro movements, which warranted its closure and reinforcement in 1990.
It was reopened in 2011 after more than 20 years of work and it is believed that it will stop moving for at least 200 years.
The tower has a length of 56.7 meters on its highest side and 55.9 meters on its shortest side, for an inclination of 4 degrees and 3.9 meters from the vertical. It weighs 14,700 tons and is located in Duomo square in the Tuscan city of Pisa.
There is a legend that Galileo went up to the highest level to launch 2 cannonballs of different masses and thus demonstrate that the rate of descent was independent of them.
8. Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand
The most important architectural monument in Thailand was ordered to be built in the 1790s by the King of Siam, Rama I the Great. It is protected on one side by the Chao Phraya River and the other by a channel built for defensive purposes, so it appears to be on an island.
The palace complex was the royal residence until the middle of the 20th century. It is now used for ceremonies such as coronations, weddings, state banquets, and royal funerals.
Its most famous site is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most revered Buddha figure in the country. It was brought from Vientiane (now the capital of Laos) when this city was occupied by Rama I in 1779. Lao people claim that the true home of the Emerald Buddha is Vientiane.
The figure, which is not made of emerald but of green jade, measures 45 cm. It is believed that it was made in India in the year 43 B.C.
9. Mount Fuji, Japan
The main Japanese geographic symbol visible from Tokyo is clear weather. Its 3,776 meters above sea level make it the highest peak in Japan, a sacred place, and an entertainment center.
It is a volcano considered active but with low eruptive risk. Its last activity was recorded in 1707.
Along the way, there are stations with shelters, Buddhist temples, and other attractions.
The climb to Fuji is relatively comfortable since the trails have a little slope. A road reaches 2300 m.s.n.m. at the fifth station and there are 4 ascent routes. It is usual to go up one route and down another to learn more about the mountain and admire the landscape.
The most popular climbing season is July and August when there are more tourist services, including the opening of refuges and bus transportation to the fifth station.
10. Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany
The most photographed site in Germany was ordered to be built in 1869 by the feverish mind of King Ludwig II of Bavaria when castles had lost their strategic utility as defense bulwarks.
It is a combination of towers, naves, and courtyards in harmony with the mountains.
