Built wonders
Twenty famous structures from around the world, among them towers, bridges, palaces, churches and a museum. Each entry says what it is and where it stands, with a source link.
The card game to explore these worlds is coming online soon. Until then, you can read every card here with its source.
Empire State Building
Empire State Building: skyscraper. Location: New York.
It has 102 floors and opened in 1931.
Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge: suspension bridge. Location: San Francisco.
Opened in 1937; its colour is called ‘International Orange’.
Louvre
Louvre: art museum. Location: Paris.
The most visited museum in the world; it began as a royal fortress and palace.
Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House: performing arts centre. Location: Sydney.
Designed by the Danish architect Jørn Utzon and opened in 1973.
Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge: bridge over the East River. Location: New York.
When it opened in 1883, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world.
Palace of Versailles
Palace of Versailles: historic palace. Location: Versailles.
The king and his court lived here from 1682 until 1789.
Sagrada Família
Sagrada Família: church designed by Antoni Gaudí. Location: Barcelona.
Construction began in 1882 and is still not finished.
Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris: medieval cathedral. Location: Paris.
A fire destroyed its spire and roof in 2019; it reopened in December 2024.
Neuschwanstein Castle
Neuschwanstein Castle: nineteenth-century palace. Location: Bavaria.
Built for King Ludwig II of Bavaria; it inspired Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Flatiron Building
Flatiron Building: triangular building. Location: New York.
Its triangular plot gives it the shape of an old clothes iron, hence the name.
Alhambra
Alhambra: palace and fortress complex. Location: Granada.
Its name comes from the Arabic for ‘the red one’, after the colour of its walls.
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia: mosque, built as a church in 537. Location: Istanbul.
For more than 500 years it was the largest church in the world.
St. Peter’s Basilica
St. Peter’s Basilica: Renaissance church. Location: Vatican City.
One of the largest churches in the world; Michelangelo designed its dome.
Atomium
Atomium: building constructed for Expo 58. Location: Brussels.
102 metres tall; its nine spheres form an iron crystal enlarged 165 billion times.
Brandenburg Gate
Brandenburg Gate: neoclassical monument. Location: Berlin.
Built from 1788 to 1791; on top stands a chariot drawn by four horses, the Quadriga.
Reichstag building
Reichstag building: historic parliament building. Location: Berlin.
Since 1999 it has housed the German parliament; visitors can walk up inside its glass dome.
Mont-Saint-Michel
Mont-Saint-Michel: tidal island. Location: Normandy.
The tide here can rise and fall by about 14 metres.
Burj Khalifa
Burj Khalifa: skyscraper. Location: Dubai.
About 828 metres tall: the tallest building in the world.
Alcázar of Seville
Alcázar of Seville: royal palace. Location: Seville.
The Spanish royal family still uses its upper floors when visiting Seville.
Belfry of Bruges
Belfry of Bruges: medieval bell tower. Location: Bruges.
366 steps lead to the top of the 83-metre tower, which holds 47 bells.