Which architectural marvels have you been fortunate enough to visit in person?

[Blurt]

I've always been a lover of the beauty of buildings, especially religious buildings.

Here's a short list of those I've been lucky enough to appreciate from up close.

- The Eiffel Tower, Paris
- The Taj Mahal, Agra
- The World Trade Center, NYC
- The Basilique du Sacré Coeur, Paris
- The Atomium, Brussels
- The CN Tower, Toronto
- Buckingham Palace, London
- The Chhatrpati Shivaji Terminus, Bombay
- The Église de la Madeleine, Paris
- The Palace of Westminster, London
- The Empire State Building, NYC
- The Musée du Louvre, Paris
- The Basilica Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
- The Guggenheim Museum, NYC
- The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao
- The Cathédrale de Notre-Dame-de-Paris, Paris
- Lal Qila ("The Red Fort"), Delhi
- The 30 St Mary Axe (aka "the Gherkin"), London
- Saint Joseph's Oratory, Montreal
- Toronto City Hall, Toronto


On my "to see" list:

- The Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur (Thailand)
- Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
- The Sydney Opera House, Sydney
- The Parthenon, Athens
- The Bhurj Khalifa, Dubai
- The Giza Necropolis, Cairo
- Angkor Wat, Siem Reap (Cambodia)
...and so many more!

What are some of your own faves and wanna-sees?

 

[Seamajor]

The Anthropological Museum in Mexico City, along with the Pyramids. The Tequila sampling stops were awesome.

 

[Admin.]

For me visiting the Twin Towers before they fell, is a memory I will never forget.

 

[DDT]

I would like to travel to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa one day, to view and touch the only remaining Mercedes-Benz Großer that is confirmed to have been used personally by Hitler, and is also viewable by the public. Surprised the Jews haven't demanded it to be scrapped yet...

I should also visit family I have in Bremerhaven again (been many years ago now), but make sure I also include a visit to The Berghof and the Wolfsschanze too.

Then Blurt and I will take a trip to India for some Hitler brand ice cream cones.

 

[Blurt]

For me visiting the Twin Towers before they fell, is a memory I will never forget.

Wait. You could go outdoors? I was there in 1980 and the observatory was enclosed (all around the 105th or 107th floor, I don't remember which).
I still have the pix somewhere from that tour. It was ingenious what they did: they overlayed some of the windows with vinyl silhouettes of the skyline that perfectly matched your viewing position. The silhouetted buildings were identified. Brilliant!

 

[DDT]

You know what would be neat? Climbing up to the Statue of Liberty's flame... Hasn't been open to the general public since 1916 though... It's a 40 foot tall narrow ladder to get up there.

 

[Blurt]

I agree, although I'm not sure I'd count Lady Liberty as a "building." Maybe, I guess.

 

[Blurt]

For me visiting the Twin Towers before they fell, is a memory I will never forget.

Wait. You could go outdoors? I was there in 1980 and the observatory was enclosed (all around the 105th or 107th floor, I don't remember which).
I still have the pix somewhere from that tour. It was ingenious what they did: they overlayed some of the windows with vinyl silhouettes of the skyline that perfectly matched your viewing position. The silhouetted buildings were identified. Brilliant!

Ah! Bugger!

 

[The Scoundrel]

I've been to all the sites in the OP apart from Agra.

I never consider individual sites more of the total experience of the country.

There are many, many places in the UK of interest as we are a very old civilisation. I live close to a city that was an Anglo Saxon settlement as well as Roman but became a major city in the Middle Ages and has a castle (still open and used as a prison till 2011) which has stood since about 1200. Because we live in a working history book of all these famous sites we get a bit blase about monuments etc. I far prefer to explore my own mind. It's a fascinating place and so vast I've never seen the edges.

I'd like to go to Angkor Wat though.

 

[The Scoundrel]

They had Witch trials and executions at the castle.

Fascinating place.

 

[DDT]

I think visiting the pyramids would be a neat experience, but many reviews state the Muslims ruin it... Beggars that are on you like mosquitos there.

 

[Blurt]

I hear ya, Melski.

I thought that, too, originally. The first time we went to the Taj Mahal, I was steeling myself for a flood of street urchins purporting to be "expert tour guides" of the site but we took a chance on one particularly insistent ragamuffin who, as it later turned out when I checked his "facts" against more official sources, really did know the history, geography, aesthetic value, and politics of the place.

He spent the entire two and a half hours we were there with us, knew the best spots for snapping pix (and obviously knew his way around a camera), and finally pointed out to us the better places to grab some chow nearby, away from the site (and I have little doubt the eatery we/he chose was owned and operated by a close friend or family member who gave him a bonus for every sucker he could bring in).

Negotiated in advance, the boy wanted to charge us 200 rupees (about 4 bucks Canadian at the time). We gave him 500, so impressed were we with his unofficial tour guide skills and knowledge. When we returned there a couple of years later, we spent some time looking for him for an encore but couldn't find him.

Sometimes (often?) the locals know best.

 

[DDT]

I hear ya, Melski.

I thought that, too, originally. The first time we went to the Taj Mahal, I was steeling myself for a flood of street urchins purporting to be "expert tour guides" of the site but we took a chance on one particularly insistent ragamuffin who, as it later turned out when I checked his "facts" against more official sources, really did know the history, geography, aesthetic value, and politics of the place.

He spent the entire two and a half hours we were there with us, knew the best spots for snapping pix (and obviously knew his way around a camera), and finally pointed out to us the better places to grab some chow nearby, away from the site (and I have little doubt the eatery we/he chose was owned and operated by a close friend or family member who gave him a bonus for every sucker he could bring in).

Negotiated in advance, the boy wanted to charge us 200 rupees (about 4 bucks Canadian at the time). We gave him 500, so impressed were we with his unofficial tour guide skills and knowledge. When we returned there a couple of years later, we spent some time looking for him for an encore but couldn't find him.

Sometimes (often?) the locals know best.

Sounds like you got lucky, as there tends to be a a lot of scam artists hovering around any popular tourist attraction in poorer nations... Looking to separate you from your money!

That's one reason I enjoy where I live, as there's much natural beauty around to be explored... And since the population is still low in this region, I can enjoy it without hordes of other people around. People tend to ruin everything, so the fewer the better!

 

[Admin.]

The most memorable thing Architectural Marvel I ever saw, was Christ The Redeemer sitting atop Corcovado watching over Rio and the Bay.

.

I had a "Watch" or something on the boat so my amigos went on ahead of me, we were supposed to meet up at the same Pizza Place on Ipanema Beach we we ate at the day before, and when I got there they weren't so I had a pizza and a couple or three beers "Brahma Chop" as I recall, rumor had it they put formaldehyde in it, I don't know but I kept thinking about that amazing statue almost straight up above me, I just decided well I going up there, fuck those guys! I walked up to the first cab in a row of them, and this crazy friendly Brazilian cab driver and I negotiated him driving me up to the top and then back down....I think his car was some Brazilian version of a Fiat Sedan, pretty decent and fairly fast car and he pushed it to the limit, but was slightly careful enough on a couple tight turns..... Breathtaking view of the city, I took lots of pictures with my pocket sized Kodak Camera....sadly that roll disappeared(wink wink)

And of course Youtube delivers,



Wait for me Jesus, Ima coming as fast as Jao' can drive!

 

[Lily]

I haven't travelled nearly as much as I wanted...but I've seen a very few but interesting architectural sites.

Transamerica Pyramid building (SF)
Grace Cathedral (SF)
Palace of Fine Arts (SF)
City Hall (SF)
Conservatory of Flowers at Golden Gate Park (SF)
Coit Tower (SF)
MOMA (SF)
DeYoung Museum (SF)
Painted Ladies (SF)
Winchester House (San Jose)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
LAX Theme Building
Getty Museum (LA)
White House (DC)
Jefferson, Lincoln, Vietnam and WWII memorials (DC)
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History (DC)
Lake Merritt (Oakland)
Opera House (Sydney)
Queen Victoria Building (Sydney)
Sydney Tower

Not even the tip of the iceberg, imo, but I enjoyed them all.

 

[Cookie Monster]

Well most of the UK famous places including the pet rocks(Stonehenge), Severn Bridge and Brighton Pavillion, I prefer Natural landmarks like also in UK Beachy Head, Seven Sisters.

As Scouse has said weve got to much history, played pooh sticks on pooh bridge so also been through 500 acre wood and grew up on the Enchanted Forest. Also near Brambletye manor ruins which inspired the hound of the baskervilles. All less than 3 miles from me.

Also caught the Mersey Ferry to Isle of Man so saw the "Liver" statue I think its called.,

So been to Paris landmarks, plac de la concorde, Eiffel Tower etc but prefered Mon St Michael.

Also Port Merion, this is the seaside village in Wales where the TV series The Prisoner was filmed.

Would like to see Grande Canyon, Ayers Rock and Rio de janiro.