50 stunning buildings you need to see in your lifetime
AZADI TOWER: This monument is a symbol of Tehran. It hosts a museum, and has been the site of numerous protests over the years in Iran.
BLUE MOSQUE: The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, better known as the Blue Mosque for its vivid domes and hand-painted tiles, is a popular tourist destination in Istanbul.
BRADBURY BUILDING: The interior of the oldest landmarked building in Los Angeles has been featured in several movies, most famously "Blade Runner."
BURJ KHALIFA: This megatall skyscraper towers over Dubai, and at 2,722 feet is the tallest structure in the world.
CCTV Headquarters: This building houses China Central Television in Beijing, and has been given the nickname "dà kùcha," which roughly means "big boxer shorts."
THE CAPITOL BUILDING: The ornate rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington D.C. is an American icon, and exemplary example of the neoclassical style.
CN TOWER: Daredevils can participate in an EdgeWalk near the top of CN Tower, where they're suspended by a harness high above the streets of Toronto.
COLOGNE CATHEDRAL: This Roman Catholic cathedral is a renowned example of Gothic architecture, and is the most-visited landmark in Germany.
DOME OF THE ROCK: The Dome of the Rock is one of the oldest existing examples of Islamic architecture, and is one of many holy sites in Jerusalem's Temple Mount.
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING: Though it's long-since given up its title as the tallest building in the world (or even New York City), the Empire State Building is still the crown jewel of the Big Apple.
GOLDEN TEMPLE: Harmandir Sahib, which is informally known as the Golden Temple for obvious reasons, is located in Amritsar, Punjab, India. It's the most holy site in the Sikhi religion.
THE GREAT MOSQUE OF DJENNÉ: This adobe building in Djenné, Mali, is the largest mud building in the world. The current structure dates back to 1907.
THE GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZA: The oldest and biggest of the three Great Pyramids is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World that's still standing.
THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA: It can't be seen from outer space, but the various sections that make up the massive defensive undertaking span some 13,171 miles.
GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM BILBAO: This Frank Gehry-designed building in Bilbao, Spain, is widely regarded as one of the best and most important works of architecture in the modern age.
F&F TOWER: Previously known as Revolution Tower, this office building is a landmark in Panama City and a critically lauded skyscraper.
FALLINGWATER: Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece is located in rural Pennsylvania, and is one of the most famous and beloved works of American architecture of all time.
FLORENCE CATHEDRAL: The dome atop the Cathedral di Santa Maria del Fiore was the largest in the world until modern construction materials allowed architects to top it, though whether they built anything more beautiful is up for debate.
FORBIDDEN PALACE, This massive complex in Beijing housed Chinese emperors from 1420 to 1912 — the Ming dynasty all the way up to the end of the Qing dynasty.
HAGIA SOPHIA: Over its lifetime, Hagia Sophia has been a Greek Orthodox church, imperial mosque, and modern-day museum in Istanbul.
HARPA: This modern concert hall in Reykjavik, Iceland, is made up of a gorgeous assortment of glass in varying colors and geometric shapes.
HIMEJI CASTLE: This hilltop castle in Japan's Hyogo Prefecture has been called the "White Egret Castle" because of its brilliant white exterior and flying motif.
HIROSHIMA PEACE MEMORIAL: Also called the Atomic Bomb Dome, the ruin was the only building left standing near the center of the U.S. atom bomb that leveled the Japanese city during World War II.
KINKAKU-JI: The Temple of the Golden Pavilion is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan, that's a popular tourist destination because of its magnificent covering and ornate surrounding gardens.
THE LOUVRE: The largest museum in the world houses some of the most famous works of art in all history, but the actual building in Paris and glass pyramid outside it are marvels in their own right.
MARINA CITY: This mixed-use complex along the banks of the Chicago River helped totally reshape the model for urban development when it was finished in 1964.
MONT ST. MICHEL ABBY: This stunning Abby in Normandy, France, can be reached on foot during low tide, but becomes an impenetrable island when the water rises.
NATIONAL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS: Often called the Giant Egg, this titanium dome in Beijing seats 5,452 people and sits on an artificial lake.
NITERÓI CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM: This distinctive Brazilian museum looks like a UFO has just touched down in Rio de Janeiro state.
PARO TAKTSANG: Also known as Tiger's Nest, this Himalayan Buddhist site is built on the side of a cliff in Bhutan's Paro Valley.
PALACE OF VERSAILLES: The opulence of the royal chateau may have been a symptom of excess of the French royals, but the building is still absurdly beautiful.
PALACE OF WESTMINSTER: The meeting place of the British parliament is also the site of an iconic London landmark — Big Ben.
THE PARTHENON: This Greek temple on the Athenian Acropolis was dedicated to Athena, the goddess of wisdom and patron of Athens.
PETRA: This city carved out of solid rock in Jordan is thought to have been built as early as 312 BC by Arab Nabataeans. It also appeared in the film "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."
POTALA PALACE: This palace in Lhasa, Tibet, was the residence of the Dalai Lama until the 1959 Tibetan uprising when the 14th Dalai Lama had to flee the country. Now it's a museum.
RYUGYONG HOTEL: This towering building in Pyongyang started construction in 1987, but it still hasn't been finished. It holds the unique distinction of being the tallest unoccupied building in the world, and is an eerie symbol of North Korea.
SAGRADA FAMILIA: This ornate Roman Catholic basilica towers over Barcelona. Construction on the church began in 1882 and still continues to this day.
SAINT BASIL'S CATHEDRAL: The distinctive domes on top of this Moscow landmark are a truly unique piece of Russian architecture. Despite the cathedral's fame, there aren't any similarly designed buildings.
SAINT PETER'S BASILICA: Catholic tradition states that this church is built atop the burial site of St. Peter in the Holy Vatican City. The pope hosts massive liturgies here.
THE SHARD: This new London icon is the tallest building in the European Union. Of course, once the United Kingdom fully withdraws from the EU that honor will go to the Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt, Germany.
SHWEDAGON PAGODA: Also known as the Great Dragon Pagoda, this awe-inspiring golden structure is one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in Myanmar.
SKY TOWER: The tallest man-made structure in the Southern Hemisphere can be found towering above Auckland City, New Zealand. It's 1,076 feet tall.
SPACE NEEDLE: Perhaps the most famous building in the Pacific Northeast, the Seattle Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair and hosts the rotating SkyCity restaurant.
THE SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM: The other Guggenheim Museum is also an architectural marvel, to the point where some artists feared that building would overshadow their work when the museum first opened in New York City.
SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE: The Sydney Opera House is perhaps the most instantly recognizable building in the world because of the massive white shells that make up the roof.
TAIPEI 101: Until the Burj Khalifa was completed in 2011, Taipei 101 was the tallest building in the world. Its 101 floors were built to withstand earthquakes and typhoon winds that are common in Taiwan.
TAJ MAHAL: This mausoleum in the city of Agra is undoubtedly the most famous example of Indian architecture. The ivory-white marble tomb attracts millions of tourists each year.
TRANSAMERICA PYRAMID: The Transamerica Pyramid ranks right up there with the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz as far as San Francisco landmarks are concerned. It gets its color from a covering of crushed quartz.
WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL: This Los Angeles concert hall was designed by renown architect Frank Gehry, and boasts amazing acoustics. Certain parts of the curved, reflective surface needed to be sanded down to reduce their reflective glare.
WRIGLEY FIELD: What's a list of famous buildings without a good ballpark? The home of the Chicago Cubs is a beloved part of the Windy City, in no small part because of the ivy that covers the outfield wall.
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