The Top 10 Modern Wonders
Built in roughly the last hundred and fifty years. Ranked by what they took to build and what they are like to visit.
The top 10 modern wonders are Sagrada Família, Hoover Dam, Gateway Arch, then Golden Gate Bridge, Cathedral of Brasília, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Millau Viaduct, Lotus Temple, Sydney Opera House, Eiffel Tower. They are ranked by what they do to a person standing in front of them, how reachable they are, and whether people come away glad they went.
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Sagrada Família
Spain · EuropeThe interior light and forest of stone columns make you feel small in a way photos cannot capture.
Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, or simply Sagrada Família, is a Catholic church under construction in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, it is the tallest church in the world.
BestMayJunSepOct - 2
Hoover Dam
United States · North AmericaStanding on the wall makes the sheer scale of the concrete and the drop feel physically heavy.
The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the boundary between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona.
BestMarAprOctNov - 3
Gateway Arch
United States · North AmericaThe curve is much larger than expected and the tram ride to the top is genuinely strange.
The Gateway Arch is a 630-foot-tall (192 m) monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States.
BestMayJunSepOct - 4
Golden Gate Bridge
United States · North AmericaWalking across it reveals the immense power of the wind and the cold water below the deck.
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula—to Marin County, carrying both U.S.
BestMayJunSepOct - 5
Cathedral of Brasília
Brazil · South AmericaThe glass roof creates a bright open space that feels entirely different from traditional dark stone churches.
The Cathedral of Brasília (Portuguese: Catedral Metropolitana de Brasília, "Metropolitan Cathedral of Brasília") is the Roman Catholic cathedral serving Brasília, Brazil, and serves as the seat of the Archdiocese of Brasília. It was designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and engineered by Brazilian structural engineer Joaquim Cardozo, and was completed and dedicated on May 31, 1970..
BestMayJunJulAug - 6
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Spain · EuropeThe metal exterior changes color with the clouds and the building feels like a living metallic creature.
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art in Bilbao, Biscay, Spain. It is one of several museums affiliated to the Solomon R.
BestMayJunSepOct - 7
Millau Viaduct
France · EuropeDriving across the bridge above the clouds is a surreal experience that feels like floating in air.
The Millau Viaduct (French: Viaduc de Millau [vja.dyk də mi.jo]) is a multispan cable-stayed bridge completed in 2004 across the gorge valley of the Tarn near (west of) Millau in the Aveyron department in the Occitanie Region, in Southern France. The design team was led by engineer Michel Virlogeux and English architect Norman Foster.
BestMayJunSepOct - 8
Lotus Temple
India · AsiaThe silence inside the hall is heavy and provides a rare moment of calm in a busy city.
The Lotus Temple is a Baháʼí House of Worship in Delhi, India. It was completed in December 1986.
BestOctNovDecJanFeb - 9
Sydney Opera House
Australia · OceaniaThe ceramic tiles have a tactile texture that makes the building feel organic rather than just concrete.
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings, and a masterpiece of 20th-century architecture.
BestFebMarAprOctNov - 10
Eiffel Tower
France · EuropeThe iron lattice structure is surprisingly industrial and raw when you stand directly underneath the center.
The Eiffel Tower ( EYE-fəl; French: Tour Eiffel [tuʁ ɛfɛl] ) is a 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 from 1887 to 1889.
BestMayJunSepOct
Questions people ask
What is the number one of the modern wonders?
Sagrada Família in Spain. The interior light and forest of stone columns make you feel small in a way photos cannot capture.
How many modern wonders are there on this list?
Ten are ranked, and 12 more are listed below them. They sit across 6 countries.
How were these modern wonders ranked?
On three things together: how much each one does to a person standing in front of it, whether an ordinary person can realistically get there, and whether people come away glad they went. Not on how famous they are.
When is the best time to visit the modern wonders?
Each one has its own months, shown against it in the list. The same place is not the same place in July and January, so the month matters as much as the choice.
The rest of the modern wonders
Worth the trip, just outside the ten
