# 100 Wonders to see before you die. How many have you seen? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 3, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197 "2010-03-03T22:59:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/41 "2010-03-04T06:13:47Z")
4.1 Golden Pavilion NYC Skyline Niagara Falls The Met The San Fransisco Airport (0.1 points awarded) ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/42 "2010-03-04T06:28:12Z")
17 or 18 depending on how you count\* (most of them in one trip to London, Paris, and Italy). Grand Canyon Colliseum St. Peter’s Sistine Chapel Louvre Venice Versailles Pompeii Uffizi St. Mark’s Florence Yellowstone NYC Eiffel Tower Niagara Falls Yosemite San Francisco Terra Cotta Warriers\* \*Only saw some of them at a traveling museum exhibition in Baltimore-but I did see them! ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/43 "2010-03-04T06:33:01Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Bali is not a country. It is an island and belongs to Indonesia. (I’ve spent time there ;).) :smack: D’oh! You’re right. Why did I think it was a country? I suppose it’s because I’ve always learned about it first and Indonesia second…I guess I just didn’t connect the two in my head. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/44 "2010-03-04T06:35:08Z")
> [@Autolycus](#): > > The San Fransisco Airport (0.1 points awarded) Funny. I was having an internal debate about whether I should count the New York Skyline since I saw it while transferring through Newark International Airport. I wouldn’t consider it if the wonder was simply “New York”, but I definitely saw the skyline! ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/45 "2010-03-04T07:48:00Z")
The spread, as I toodle off to bed, is 0 to 48. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/46 "2010-03-04T08:07:00Z")
> [@](#): > > 100 Places to See Before You Die > > #45. Mecca For most of the world’s population, I’m thinking that should be #100 on the list. I’ve been to Borobudur, but only 8 others. Surprised Japan gets short shrift. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/47 "2010-03-04T08:21:09Z")
I smell a tourist industry trap here. A blatant commercial. And I feel that the usual way to see such stuff doesn’t allow for more of an experience then seeing it on a movie. Being bussed in, or driven in, herded across parking lots and ticket booths, herded by the sight for an hour, much of which is passes either posing in front of the sight or peering through a camera at it…I would say that those spending more time at a few places have more experiences to take home then those blitz-visiting a whole list. And I’ve been to my share of stuff on that list. (14) ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/48 "2010-03-04T08:54:29Z")
1. Great Wall of China 2. Grand Canyon 3. Angkor Wat 4. Forbidden City 5. Petra 6. Nile River Cruise (in Sudan, not Egypt) 7. Cappadocia 8. Hong Kong 9. Burj Khalifa (I used to live 2 miles from it) 10. Louvre 11. Venice 12. Versailles 13. Hagia Sofia 14. Prague Old Town (I live a 5 minute walk from it) 15. Chartres 16. Damascus Old City 17. St. basils Cathedral 18. St. Mark’s Basilica 19. Kremlin 20. Sahara Desert (in Tunisia and Sudan) 21. Baalbek 22. Mont St. Michel 23. Topkapi Palace 24. Yellowstone 25. Matterhorn 26. NYC 27. Eiffel Tower 28. Burj Al Arab (I used to live a few miles from it) 29. Yosemite 30. Chambord 31. San Francisco No tours involved. I do think this list focuses on things I would not consider important and excludes others (Burj Khalifa over Isfahan and Monument Valley??) ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/49 "2010-03-04T09:07:22Z")
Who says anyone is blitz touring? I’ve spent a year and a half at the start of the Yangtze river. The first time I tried to go to the Kathmandu Valley, I got stuck in a war. I returned years later and ended up staying an extra week because I was so enchanted. I spent three days on a boat manned by slaves on the way to Timbuktu, sleeping at night on the sand dunes at the banks. When I got there, I ended up going deep into the desert where I spent an uncomfortable night being felt up by nomads. I spent a week at the Meenakshi temple, probably one of my favorite places on earth, listening to the bells on people’s feet and smelling jasmine and incense. San Francisco, of course, was my old stomping grounds. Used to know a great French bakery that would throw out delicious cakes and pies every night- which we would salvage and feast on. Life is adventure! ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/50 "2010-03-04T09:36:52Z")
1. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/51 "2010-03-04T09:44:13Z")
It’s a good list. I’ve been to 26 of the “wonders”, and they’ve left lasting memories. I figure that I can hit at least 20 more before I shuffle off this mortal coil. 2 Great Wall of China 5 Galapagos Islands 6 Grand Canyon 31 Colosseum of Rome 81 Yellowstone NP 7 Machu Picchu 33 St Peter’s Basilica 84 New York Skyline 86 Eiffel Tower 37 Hong Kong 38 Sistine Chapel 89 British Museum 15 Victoria Falls 65 St. Basils Cathedral 16 Forbidden City 41 Louvre Museum 42 Canals of Venice 67 St Mark’s Basilica 92 Yosemite NP 43 Versailles 68 Florence Cityscape 71 Li River Cruise 98 Banff NP 74 Leaning Tower Pisa 99 San Francisco 25 TerraCotta Warriors ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/52 "2010-03-04T11:06:24Z")
Ayers Rock? Although it has dual names I haven’t heard it called anything but Uluru for years. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/53 "2010-03-04T11:45:19Z")
Annoying list to copy and paste from as it’s in columns, but here goes: 14 Angkor Wat 15 Victoria Falls 19 Teotihuacan 31 Colosseum of Rome 32 Fjords of Norway 33 St Peter’s Basilica 38 Sistine Chapel 41 Louvre Museum 42 Canals of Venice 43 Versailles 49 Temple of the Emerald Buddha 51 Pompeii 53 Prague Old Town 55 Amalfi Drive 60 Dubrovnik 67 St Mark’s Basilica 74 Leaning Tower of Pisa 76 Mont St Michel 79 Stonehenge 84 New York Skyline 85 Marrakesh 86 Eiffel Tower 89 British Museum 99 San Francisco I make that 24. I saw the Acropolis out of the window of a plane as I changed flights in Athens, but I don’t think that counts… ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/54 "2010-03-04T12:12:22Z")
Pyramids of Egypt Nile River Cruise Stonehenge Grand Canyon Yellowstone NP Matterhorn Egyptian Museum New York Skyline Valley of the Kings Eiffel Tower Niagara Falls British Museum Louvre Museum Yosemite NP Versailles Carlsbad Caverns Metropolitan Museum of Art Sahara Desert Jerusalem Old City Leaning Tower Pisa San Francisco TerraCotta Warriors Twenty-odd. I need to get to Asia more. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/55 "2010-03-04T12:28:31Z")
Just two for me: Chichen Itza and Niagara Falls ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/56 "2010-03-04T12:39:33Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > One > It would have been two if the grand Canyon hadn’t had a flash flood during my vacation. > > How did the Corn Palace not make the list?😉 I don’t know, but I will stack up the Badlands of South Dakota and the Needle Eye highway up against some of those. I also think the Cathedral at Cologne should make the top 100, not just the top 1000. I am also ticked that the Stave Church in Rapid City doesn’t count on the top 1000, but the ones in Europe do. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/57 "2010-03-04T13:19:34Z")
Only nine ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/58 "2010-03-04T14:13:21Z")
> [@GilaB](#): > > Well, I did, dude. My husband thought I was very weird for insisting that our next big international trip be New Zealand, but the fjords were beautiful. I’d go to New Zealand, I’m just not sure I could a-fjord it. _rim shot_ ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/59 "2010-03-04T15:08:32Z")
I’m a native New Yorker and I’ve been to all the places in Italy and France but Mont St. Michel. I would put [Chenonceau](http://www.chenonceau.com/media/gb/index_gb.php) over Chambord as a place to visit. Much, much, much prettier IMO. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197/60 "2010-03-04T15:24:54Z")
**24** , and the list doesn’t impress me as being very well thought-out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-wonders-to-see-before-you-die-how-many-have-you-seen/531197.md?page=4)