The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Wikipedia
Height:
73 m
Opened in:
1648

The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Wikipedia
Height:
73 m
Opened in:
1648

The Eiffel Tower is a wrought iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Height:
300 m, 324 m to tip
Construction started:
January 28, 1887
Floors:
3
Architect:
Stephen Sauvestre.

Constructed from 1887–89 as the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair, it was initially criticized by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but it has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognisable structures in the world.[3] The Eiffel Tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world; 6.91 million people ascended it in 2015.

The tower is 324 metres (1,063 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building, and the tallest structure in Paris. Its base is square, measuring 125 metres (410 ft) on each side. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to become the tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York City was finished in 1930. Due to the addition of a broadcasting aerial at the top of the tower in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 5.2 metres (17 ft). Excluding transmitters, the Eiffel Tower is the second-tallest structure in France after the Millau Viaduct.

The tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second levels. The top level's upper platform is 276 m (906 ft) above the ground – the highest observation deck accessible to the public in the European Union. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift (elevator) to the first and second levels. The climb from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the climb from the first level to the second. Although there is a staircase to the top level, it is usually accessible only by lift.

The arrival of the sakura, or cherry blossom, has long been a profound yet simple Japanese lesson about the nature of human existence. For centuries, poets have fired off reams of haiku comparing the brief but blazing lives of the flowers to those of our own – a tragically fragile beauty to be treasured and contemplated.

The Mont St. Michel is France’s second most visited monument, second only after the Eiffel Tower in Paris. With over 3 million visitors each year.
Mont St. Michel has not been changed over the centuries, and the reason for this is that it’s very difficult to change. No flats, no supermarkets, no big hotels … all because the town is built on a rock which is at times an island. During high tides, the whole town becomes an island, at low tide there is a road (causeway) that leads to the island which can be taken. In the last 2 years, work has been done so that the town can be accessed 24 hours per day; tourism rules!
History

Mont St. Michel started in the late 800’s as a monastery, built on the very top of the rock island. Over the centuries and the many wars that followed, Mont St. Michel turned into a heavily fortified monastery and abbey. It had become almost impossible to conquer, because if invaders were at the foot of the fortified walls, they did not have the time to set up their machines to scale the walls since the rapidly rising tides would sweep everything away.

Tide difference can be up to 14 meters, which as surprised many hikers in the area.

And even if the invaders managed to scale the walls, they would need to climb up the rocks to reach the next layers of fortified walls. An impossible feat.

The Egyptian pyramids are ancient pyramid-shaped masonry structures located in Egypt.

As of November 2008, sources cite either 118 or 138 as the number of identified Egyptian pyramids.Most were built as tombs for the country's pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods.

The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are found at Saqqara, northwest of Memphis. The earliest among these is the Pyramid of Djoser (constructed 2630 BC–2611 BC) which was built during the third dynasty. This pyramid and its surrounding complex were designed by the architect Imhotep, and are generally considered to be the world's oldest monumental structures constructed of dressed masonry.

The most famous Egyptian pyramids are those found at Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo. Several of the Giza pyramids are counted among the largest structures ever built.The Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still in existence.

11 Amazing Facts about Grand Canyon

-The Grand Canyon is located in the US state of Arizona and stretches to Colorado.
-The Canyon was created by the Colorado River over a 5.4 million year period.
-The Grand Canyon is about 445 km long and 5000 feet deep.
-It is the third largest canyon in the world.
-The Grand Canyon’’s oldest sedimentary rocks date as far back as 2 billion years.
-Around 3000 million liters of water flow through the Grand Canyon per hour.
-The floor of the Grand Canyon contains fossil footprints of more than 20 species of reptiles and amphibians; however, no fossilised reptile bones or teeth have ever been uncovered.
-It is the site of the rare Brady Pin-cushion cactus, discovered in 1958.
-The different types of rock visible in the Grand Canyon make it an important site for geological research.
-The Grand Canyon became a national park in 1919. The Grand Canyon National Park is one of the world’’s premier natural attractions, attracting about five million visitors per year.
-Around 88 species of mammals, 250–300 species of birds, 25 types of reptiles and five species of amphibians all live in the Grand Canyon.

The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on an extremely rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. Although there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as "The Acropolis" without qualification.
Acropolis, Athens
Location of Athens in Greece
While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as far back as the fourth millennium BC, it was Pericles (c. 495 – 429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the site's most important buildings including the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena NikeThe Parthenon and the other buildings were seriously damaged during the 1687 siege by the Venetians in the Morean War when gunpowder being stored in the Parthenon was hit by a cannonball and exploded.

Cloud Gate
is a public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Sir Anish Kapoor, that is the centerpiece of AT&T Plaza at Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. The sculpture and AT&T Plaza are located on top of Park Grill, between the Chase Promenade and McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink. Constructed between 2004 and 2006, the sculpture is nicknamed The Bean because of its shape. Made up of 168 stainless steel plates welded together, its highly polished exterior has no visible seams. It measures 33 by 66 by 42 feet (10 by 20 by 13 m), and weighs 110
short tons (100 t; 98 long tons).

Location:

Millennium Park, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Kapoor's design was inspired by liquid mercury and the sculpture's surface reflects and distorts the city's skyline. Visitors are able to walk around and under Cloud Gate's 12-foot (3.7 m) high arch. On the underside is the "omphalos" (Greek for "navel"), a concave chamber that warps and multiplies reflections. The sculpture builds upon many of Kapoor's artistic themes, and it is popular with tourists as a photo-taking opportunity for its unique reflective properties.
The sculpture was the result of a design competition. After Kapoor's design was chosen, numerous technological concerns regarding the design's construction and assembly arose, in addition to concerns regarding the sculpture's upkeep and maintenance. Various experts were consulted, some of whom believed the design could not be implemented. Eventually, a feasible method was found, but the sculpture's construction fell behind schedule. It was unveiled in an incomplete form during the Millennium Park grand opening celebration in 2004, before being concealed again while it was completed. Cloud Gate was formally dedicated on May 15, 2006, and has since gained considerable popularity, both domestically and internationally.

Herrenchiemsee is a complex of royal buildings on Herreninsel, an island in the Chiemsee, Bavaria's largest lake, 60 km south east of Munich. Together with the neighbouring island of Frauenchiemsee and the uninhabited Krautinsel it forms the municipality of Chiemsee.

After being purchased by King Ludwig II of Bavaria the former Herrenchiemsee monastery was converted into a royal residence known as the Old Palace (Altes Schloss), while the king built Herrenchiemsee Palace also known as the New Palace (Neues Schloss), the largest of his palaces.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore,Sculptor Gutzon Borglum created the sculpture's design and oversaw the project's execution from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son, Lincoln Borglum. Mount Rushmore features 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of four United States presidents: George Washington(1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865).
South Dakota historian Doane Robinson is credited with conceiving the idea of carving the likenesses of famous people into the Black Hills region of South Dakota in order to promote tourism in the region. Robinson's initial idea was to sculpt the Needles; however, Gutzon Borglum rejected the Needles because of the poor quality of the granite and strong opposition from Native American groups. They settled on Mount Rushmore, which also has the advantage of facing southeast for maximum sun exposure. Robinson wanted it to feature American West heroes like Lewis and Clark, Red Cloud,[7] and Buffalo Bill Cody,[8] but Borglum decided the sculpture should have broader appeal and chose the four presidents.