Instead of the Statue of Liberty, I’d have put either the Brooklyn Bridge (the first and still most beautiful of the great suspension bridges, and a true technological wonder of its time) or the Empire State Building (the most perfect tall building in the world).
I also must say that the Hagia Sophia definitely belongs on the list, as anyone who’s seen it would tell you.
Chichen Itza seems to be a token choice. Tikal (Guatemala), Copan (Honduras) or Teotihuacan (also Mexico but not Mayan) could be said to be more impressive. I agree that the Panama Canal should be included as well, and would nominate the Chrysler building in the NYC section!
I’ve visited six out of the list - the Alhambra, Chichen Itza, the Eiffel Tower, Hagia Sophia, Machu Picchu and Stonehenge, and seen one other - the Statue of Liberty - from a distance.
What exactly is so great about Neuschwanstein? It may be nice to look at, but it’s not inherently special in any way. There are better castles even in Bavaria, let alone in the rest of Europe. If Neuschwanstein’s eligible, what about Versailles, the Escorial, Sanssouci, the Winter Palace, Eilean Donan and a thousand others, any one of them just as “wonderful”?
I think it was specifically the Pyramid of Cheops on the Ancient Wonder list. So these would be different pyramids on the new list (which still irks me, personally).
Really? I’ve been to dozens and Neuschwanstein was the only one that made my jaw drop. The thing is amazing in it’s size and location and simply gorgeous. It’s what most of the non-european world envisions when they think “castle”.
Hmm… I think the US’s shot for a wonder of the world might be that bit of a flag we left up there on the moon. I think the legacy and artifacts of the Apollo space program are far more impressive and important than the Statue of Liberty, the Pentagon or Mt. Rushmore.
When it was first built, though, they never intended to leave the Eiffel Tower standing. It was built for the World’s Fair and was supposed to be torn down after Eiffel had recouped his construction costs (after 20 years). They left it standing because it was valuable for communication purposes.
Haiti’s Citadelle should be on that list.
I visited one of these nominees last Friday.
The first six are easy to pick. In alphabetical order:
Easter Island Statues
Great Wall of China
Machu Picchu
Pyramids of Giza
Stonehenge
Taj Mahal
The last slot is tougher to fill. Right now, I’m leaning ever so slightly to the Sydney Opera House. Had I seen this poll yesterday or tomorrow, I could have gone with Chichen Itza, Angkor Wat, the Acropolis, the Kremlin, the Alhambra, or the Eiffel Tower. As for the structures that failed to make the cut, how about the Chunnel, Hoover Dam, or the Trans-Siberian Railroad?
I would think modern wonders would include some more amazing engineering feats. Where is the Panama Canal for example, the Hoover Dam (maybe not the best example, but it was quite an amzing accomplishment at the time).
I think the group might be looking for sites that have “cultural” significance.
The Panama Canal, Hoover Dam, Chunnel, etc. don’t really fit.
They weren’t including natural wonders on this list, presumably because the original list didn’t have any.
Also, there was originally 77 entries of which they picked these 21 (the Golden Gate Bridge was one of the 77).
As for my picks
04 Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico
05 Christ Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
07 Easter Island Statues, Chile
09 Great Wall, China
13 Machu Picchu, Peru
16 Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
18 Stonehenge, Amesbury, United Kingdom
Sadly, Chichen Itza is the only one on the list I’ve personally visited (I saw the Statue of Liberty from the Empire State Building, but not up close) and with my health problems it will probably be the only one I ever see 
. So that had to go on the list.
I’ve been to six of those on the list, but I don’t think much of the list.
The Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, should be on the list. Definitely.
The Kyomizu Temple (which I’ve been to) is great, but I would nominate the Golden Pavilion (also in Kyoto) instead. Way more stunning to look at.
The Hoover Dam should also be on there. And that relatively new bridge in France somewhere that spans a really vast ‘valley’.
The Saturn V Vehicle Assembly Building at Nasa?
And I think some natural wonders should be on there, especially Ayer’s Rock (or Uluru, if you will) and the Grand Canyon.
I’m curious about why most of the OP’s list are religious structures. Is there such a link between agape and wonder?
What about massive projects, in addition to massive structures? The Tennessee Valley Authority was pretty wondrous in terms of what it accomplished for the American south and the country in general.
I’m sure other projects could be named as well. The TVA is just one I happen to know about.
I mostly agree with those choices; I think part of it is that religious structures tend to be expressions of faith and loyalty, and done in a big scale are usually awesome displays, and true labors of love and devotion.
I’m an atheist, but I am still moved by highly religious places.
Ireally am a dumbass. That was supposed to be in reply to AskNott’s question.
No mention of the Palm Islands in Dubai?
