Top 25 “Travelers’ Choice” Landmarks – How Many Have You Seen?

July 2, 2013 by
Bellagio Fountains, Las Vegas, Nevada

Bellagio Fountains, Las Vegas, Nevada

TripAdvisor recently announced their 2013 “Travelers’ Choice” Top 25 World Landmarks list. I was surprised in viewing the list that I have had the privilege of traveling to seven of the top sites listed. The landmarks I marked “yes, I’ve seen that” include:

#7 Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood – St. Petersburg, Russia
#8 St. Peter’s Basilica – Vatican City, Italy
#12 Bellagio Fountains – Las Vegas, Nevada
#15 Gettysburg National Military Park – Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
#19 USS Arizona Memorial – Honolulu, Hawaii
#21 Top of the Rock Observation Tower – New York City, New York
#23 Golden Gate Bridge – San Francisco, California

I’ve had near misses with a few of the landmarks — places I should have gone had I been more in tune to my surroundings. I was frankly also surprised by a few of the inclusions (the Bellagio Fountains?) and the omissions (the Cliffs of Moher, the Grand Canyon, or even my beloved Yosemite National Park).

My favorite thing about studying this list was seeing the many spiritual destinations among travelers’ favorites. Clearly tourism provides an excellent opportunity to learn about (or perhaps even discover) faith and its blessings. How many tourists have ventured into a spot such as St. Peter’s Basilica simply out of curiosity and then been moved towards belief by the beauty surrounding them?

Because I’m a goal-oriented person who loves travel, my mind is now sort of set on crossing the eighteen remaining unseen landmarks off my list. Obviously, I’m not planning to be in Cambodia, Peru or India any time soon, but a girl can dream, right?

Your turn: How many of the landmarks on this list of 25 have you personally visited? What landmarks would you add to the list?

Filed Under: Destinations Tagged With: , ,
About Lisa M. Hendey

As a Catholic who loves her faith and a frequent adventurer who’s always up for a new journey, Lisa is a wife and mom, a writer, a speaker and an impassioned traveler. Visit her at LisaHendey.com to keep up with her comings and goings.

  • Tim Prince

    #8,9,12,14,15,16,19,21,22,23,25. I saw the Cliffs of Moher this spring!

    • lisahendey

      Tim you’re so well traveled! If you ever want to write a guest article about some of your favorite places, I’d love to have it. Also, would you like to be one of our “faith on the move” interviewees? If you have a bit of time to do that, let me know and I’ll send you the questions. Thanks!

      • Tim Prince

        I would be happy to be an interviewee.

        • lisahendey

          awesome – just emailed you the questions.

  • roughplacesplain

    I travel a lot, but I must say the list was looking a little bleak for me until the very end, when I found several I’ve seen: # 20, 22, 23, 24 (and maybe #15 + 21 when I was much younger.)
    – nancyo

    • lisahendey

      Nancy, have you done the Camino?? I’d love to do that some day! I also really need to go see that Church in Georgia!

      • roughplacesplain

        Yes, my husband and I rode our bicycles for 300 miles of the Camino in 2011 – it was a life-changing experience and I’m dying to get back!
        -nancyo

  • Deborah Jane Schaben

    only 4 or 5 spots.. I’m surprised to see the Savannah church on the list. Very nice church.

    • lisahendey

      But you’ve been to the cool Spain landmarks!