The 100 Foods and Drinks We’re Excited To Sample

The process we went through to make these top 100 lists was to start by creating a long list of finalists and then working through them together to choose and rank those we were most excited about. For both this list and the top sights list, that meant leaving an awful lost of tasty options off the final list.

What remains below covers many kinds of food and drink from breakfast to late night snacks and everything in between. Some familiar items that we are excited to try at their most authentic and many unfamiliar that we are looking forward to sampling for the first time.

As before we’d love to hear your feedback – what would be your #1 choice and what have we missed? Leave us a comment. We hope this list will whet your appetite as much as it has ours. Here are our top 100:

#100 Century Egg –  also known thousand-year egg, millennium egg, skin egg and black egg. A Chinese preserved food product and delicacy made by preserving duck, chicken or quail eggs in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, quicklime, and rice hulls for several weeks to several months, depending on the method of processing.

#99 Bakpao –  type of filled bun or bread-like dumpling in various Chinese cuisines. There are many variations in fillings and preparations. Very similar to the traditional Chinese mantou.

#98 Blue Wine – fermented from a combination of red grapes and white grapes, with two plant pigments and sweeteners being added. … The name of blue wine is from its colour, which is an electric blue. The first Blue Wine originated in a Spanish Winery called Gik in 2016.

#97 Iskendar Kebab – one of the most well-known dishes of northwestern Turkey. It takes its name from its inventor, İskender Efendi, who lived in Bursa in the late 19th century Ottoman Empire.

#96 Malang Tod  – Thai for ‘fried insects.’ Typically fried in pepper and soy or fish sauce, crickets, worms, and grasshoppers are usually eaten as a snack in the afternoon, or paired with beer or liquor as a crunchy and crispy night time treat.

#95 Vodka – a clear distilled alcoholic beverage that originates from Poland and Russia. It is composed primarily of water and ethanol, but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavorings.

#94 Lamingtons – an Australian cake, made from squares of butter cake or sponge cake coated in an outer layer of chocolate sauce and rolled in desiccated coconut. The thin mixture is absorbed into the outside of the sponge cake and left to set, giving the cake a distinctive texture.

#93 Patatas Bravas –  a dish native to Spain, often served as a tapa in bars. It typically consists of white potatoes that have been cut into irregular cubes of about two centimetres, then fried in oil and served warm with a sauce such as a spicy tomato sauce.

#92 Trdelnik –  a kind of spit cake popular in Hungary and Slovakia. It is made from rolled dough that is wrapped around a stick, then grilled and topped with sugar and walnut mix.

#91 Sahlab –  a popular beverage in the lands of the Ottoman Empire. Its consumption spread beyond there to England and Germany before the rise of coffee and tea and it was later offered as an alternative beverage in coffee houses.

#90 Svickova – a Czech meat dish and one of the most popular Czech meals. It is sirloin steak prepared with vegetables, spiced with black pepper, allspice, bay leaf and thyme, and boiled with double cream.

#89 Kottbullar – known all over the world as Swedish meatballs. The traditional way to prepare kottbullar is köttbullar med gräddsås or meatballs with cream sauce.

#88 Almdudler –   a sweetened carbonated beverage made of herbal extracts. Almdudler has been called the “national drink of Austria”. Its popularity in Austria is second only to Coca-Cola. About 80 million litres of the beverage are produced per year.

#87 Soutzoukakia me Hilopitakia  – a form of meatballs served on top of egg pasta with tomato sauce. Think of it as the Greek version of spaghetti and meatballs.

#86 Hawawshi –  a traditional Egyptian dish. It is a pita stuffed with minced meat and spiced with onions, pepper, parsley, and occasionally chilies. The major variants of hawawshi are “baladi” and Alexandrian.

#85 Aigua de Valencia – a cocktail made from a base of cava or champagne, orange juice, vodka … it was made for the first time in 1959 Constante Gil in the bar Cafe Madrid de Valencia, in Valencia, Spain.

#84 Bircher Muesli – a cold Swiss breakfast cereal dish based on rolled oats and ingredients like grains, nuts, seeds and fresh or dried fruits. This mix may be combined with one or more liquids and left for a time to soften the oats before being consumed.

#83 Ais Kasang –  a Malaysian dessert which is also common in Singapore and Brunei. Traditionally, an ice shaving machine is used to churn out the shaved ice used in the dessert, originally hand cranked but now more often motorised.

#82 Nan Gyi Thohk – a thoke salad dish in Burmese cuisine, made with thick round rice noodles mixed with specifically prepared chicken curry. It has been equated as a Burmese version of spaghetti.

#81 Kaiserschmarrn  – a sweet dessert that takes its name from the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I, who was very fond of this kind of fluffy shredded pancake.

#80 – Dhokla – a vegetarian food item that originates from the Indian state of Gujarat. It is made with a fermented batter derived from rice and split chickpeas. Dhokla can be eaten for breakfast, as a main course, as a side dish, or as a snack.

#79 Blejska Kremna Rezina – a custard and chantilly cream cream cake dessert popular in Slovenia. There are many regional variations, but they all include a puff pastry base and custard cream.

#78 Geysztenyepure – puréed, sweetened chestnuts topped with whipped cream, popular in Hungary.

#77 Maizes Zupa – a Latvian dessert made out of sweetened dark rye bread, dried fruit, water and whipped cream.

#76 Powidtascherl – eaten mainly in Austria and the Czech Republic . The word Powidl comes from the Czech and means something like plum jam.

#75 Picarones – a Peruvian dessert that originated in Lima during the viceroyalty. It is somewhat similar to buñuelos, a type of doughnut brought to the colonies by Spanish conquistadors. Its principal ingredients are squash and sweet potato. It is served in a doughnut form and covered with syrup, made from chancaca.

#74 Som Tum  –  a spicy salad made from shredded unripe papaya. Probably originating from ethnic Lao people, it is also eaten throughout Southeast Asia.

#73 Granizados –  an icy beverage of Spain, Central and South America. It varies regionally. In Colombia it consists of crushed or shaved ice with semi-sweet milk, fruit syrup or chocolate syrup dripped on top.

#72 Falooda  – a cold dessert with origins in the Indian subcontinent. It is a version of the Iranian faloodeh. Traditionally it is made from mixing rose syrup, vermicelli, sweet basil seeds with milk, often served with ice cream..

#71 Blini – a Russian pancake traditionally made from wheat or buckwheat flour and served with smetana, tvorog, butter, caviar, vodka and other garnishes.. They are also known as blintzes, crepes or palatschinke.

#70 Bacalhaus a Bras – made from shreds of salted cod, onions and thinly chopped fried potatoes, all bound with scrambled eggs. It is said to have originated in Bairro Alto, an old quarter of Lisbon.

#69 Pavlova – a meringue-based cake named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. It is a meringue dessert with a crisp crust and soft, light inside, usually topped with fruit and whipped cream and very popular in Australia.

#68 Leche Frita – a Spanish sweet typical of northern Spain. It is made by cooking flour with milk and sugar until it thickens to a firm dough which is then portioned, fried and served with a sugar glaze and cinnamon powder.

#67 Kulfi –  a frozen dairy dessert originating from the Indian subcontinent in the 16th century. It is often described as “traditional South Asian ice cream.

#66 Kai Jeow Pak -one of the simplest Thai dishes but is a great protein-rich quick meal on the go or accompanying dish. Kai jeow is usually served on rice and served with sweet chilli sauce. Ask for “kai jeow pak” if you would like some vegetables added to your Thai omelette.

#65 Iles Flottante – The classic French childhood treat of sticky poached meringues in a pool of sweet custard.

#64 Hagelslag – In the Netherlands, hagelslag refers to small pieces of confectionery, similar to sprinkles, which are used as a sandwich topping. Bread is first smeared with butter and then sprinkled with hagelslag.

#63 Dondurma – a Turkish mastic ice cream. It is similar to the Syrian dessert booza. Dondurma typically includes the ingredients cream, whipped cream, salep, mastic, and sugar. It is believed to originate from the city and region of Maraş and hence also known as Maraş ice cream.

#62 Balut – a developing bird embryo that is boiled and eaten from the shell. It originated from and is commonly sold as street food in Vietnam. The Tagalog and Malay word balot means “wrapped”. Popular as an eating challenge in ‘Survivor’.

#61 Quiche Lorraine – a savoury dish consisting of pastry crust filled with eggs, milk or cream, and gruyere cheese, bacon and onions. Quiche can be served hot or cold. It is part of French cuisine but is also popular in other countries, particularly as party food.

#60 Peking Duck – a dish from Beijing that has been prepared since the imperial era. The meat is characterized by its thin, crisp skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the diners by the cook.

#59 Polse –  a type of brightly red, boiled pork sausage very common in Denmark. Since hot dog stands are ubiquitous in Denmark, some people regard røde pølser as one of the national dishes. They are made of the Vienna type and the skin is colored with a traditional red dye.

#58 Rababergrod – a rhubarb compote that’s a popular summer dessert in Denmark. The rhubarb stalks are boiled and made into a sugary syrup.

#57 Pisco Sour – an alcoholic cocktail of Peruvian origin that is typical of the cuisines from Chile and Peru. The drink’s name comes from pisco, which is its base liquor, and the cocktail term sour, in reference to sour citrus juice and sweetener components.

#56 Kofola –  a carbonated soft drink produced by Czech company Kofola, headquartered in Krnov, Czech Republic. It is the principal rival of Coca-Cola and Pepsi in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

#55 Asado – the techniques and the social event of having or attending a barbecue in various South American countries, where it is also a traditional event. An asado usually consists of beef, pork, chicken, chorizo, and morcilla which are cooked on a grill, called a parrilla, or an open fire.

#54 Port –  a Portuguese fortified wine produced with distilled grape spirits exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, though it also comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties.

#53 Tula Pryanik – a famous type of imprinted Russian gingerbread from the city of Tula. Usually, Tula pryanik looks like a rectangular tile or a flat figure. Making stamped pryanik is considered an art form. The imprints could include different patterns, symbols, images of the Tula Kremlin, names, etc.

#52 Pizza Frita –  an Italian dish consisting of a pizza that instead of being baked in an oven is deep-fried, resulting in a different flavor and nutritional profile

#51 Rouladen – a German meat dish, usually consisting of bacon, onions, mustard and pickles wrapped in thinly sliced beef which is then cooked.

#50 Fondue – a Swiss melted cheese dish served in a communal pot over a portable stove heated with a candle or spirit lamp, and eaten by dipping bread into the cheese using long-stemmed forks.

#49 Tartufo – an Italian ice cream dessert originating from Pizzo, Calabria. It is usually composed of two or more flavors of ice cream, often with either fruit syrup or frozen fruit — typically raspberry, strawberry, or cherry — in the center.

#48 Somloi Galuska – one of the best known Hungarian confectionery products. It is made of sponge cake with chocolate sauce and whipped cream decoration.

#47 Cuy – one of Peru’s most famous dishes, is possibly not for the faint of heart; it’s fried or roasted guinea pig, and it’s a Peruvian delicacy.

#46 Smorgasbord – a type of Scandinavian meal, originating in Sweden, served buffet-style with multiple hot and cold dishes of various foods on a table.

#45 Gulab Jamun – a milk-solid-based sweet from the Indian subcontinent, popular in India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Maldives, and Bangladesh, as well as Myanmar.

#44 Berliner Pfannkuchen –  a traditional German pastry similar to a doughnut with no central hole, made from sweet yeast dough fried in fat or oil, with a marmalade or jam filling and usually icing, powdered sugar or conventional sugar on top.

#43 Pie Floater – traditional Australian-style meat pie, usually sitting, but sometimes submerged (sometimes upside down) in a bowl of thick pea soup made from blue boiler peas.

#42 Alfajores – a traditional confection found in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Southern France, Ecuador, Andorra, Spain, Paraguay, Venezuela, Southern Brazil and the Philippines. The archetypal alfajor entered Iberia during the period of al-Andalus.

#41 Poke – a traditional Cook Islands recipe for a classic dessert of cooked bananas mixed with milk, thickened with arrowroot, and sweetened with sugar that’s baked and served in coconut milk.

#40 Speculoos – a type of spiced shortcrust biscuit, traditionally baked for consumption on or just before St Nicholas’ day in the Netherlands, Belgium, and around Christmas in Germany and Austria.

#39 Apfelstrudel – a traditional Viennese strudel, a popular pastry in Austria and in many countries in Europe that once belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

#38 Tortilla Espanola – literally Spanish tortilla. It is an omelette made with eggs and potatoes, sometimes also with onion; cooked in oil and often served at room temperature as an appetizer. It is part of the cuisine of Spain.

#37 Hokey Pokey Ice Cream – a flavour of ice cream in New Zealand, consisting of plain vanilla ice cream with small, solid lumps of honeycomb toffee. Hokey pokey is the New Zealand term for honeycomb toffee.

#36 Falafel –  deep-fried ball, or a flat or doughnut-shaped patty, made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both. Herbs, spices, and onion relatives are commonly added to the dough. It is an Egyptian dish as well as a very famous, pseudo-national, Middle Eastern dish, that most likely originated in Egypt.

#35 Spaghetti on Toast – Canned spaghetti (often the Wattie’s brand) served over toast. Why? Not clear. But it’s a standard diner comfort food in New Zealand, and it’s even served as breakfast.

#34 Mocochinchi  – a Bolivian beverage. It is made with peaches that have been peeled and dried. The fruits are left in water overnight, then boiled with sugar and cinnamon. The drink is served cold.

#33 Bitterballen – Dutch meat-based snack, typically containing a mixture of beef or veal, beef broth, butter, flour for thickening, parsley, salt and pepper, resulting in a thick roux. Most recipes include nutmeg and there are also variations using curry powder or that add in finely chopped vegetables such as carrot.

#32 Wali wa Nazi – a Tanzanian dish prepared by soaking white rice in coconut milk or cooking it with coconut flakes.

#31 Romeu e Julieta  – salty, soft cheese and sweet, guava paste combine in this unique and simple dish, which can be served as a dessert or appetizer in Brazil.

#30 Loukoumades – little bite-sized fluffy sweet honey puffs which are deep fried to golden and crispy perfection. Greek donuts (loukoumades) are traditionally served soaked in hot honey syrup, sprinkled with cinnamon and garnished with chopped walnuts or toasted sesame seeds.

#29 Paczki– Polish doughnuts. Usually full of jelly or some kind of sweet filling.  traditional paczki contain a splash of Polish vodka called Spiritus in addition to the flour, eggs, milk, sugar, yeast, and sometimes butter.

#28 Gallo Pinto – traditional dish from Central America. Various countries share the same dish but are prepared differently, such as Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Consisting of rice and beans as a base; Gallo pinto has a long history and is important to various Latin American cultures.

#27 Shawarma –  a Middle Eastern meat preparation based on the döner kebab of Ottoman Turkey. Originally made of lamb or mutton, today’s shawarma may also be chicken, turkey, beef, or veal, cut in thin slices and stacked in a cone-like shape on a vertical rotisserie.

#26 Kranjska Klobasa – a Slovenian sausage most similar to what is known as kielbasa or Polish sausage in North America.

#25 Makaronialaatikko – a staple in northern European home cooking. It is a dish of cooked macaroni and a mixture of egg and milk with additional ingredients like meats, vegetables or fish. It is commonly made with cheese and/or breadcrumbs sprinkled on top.

#24 Babi Guling – an Indonesian event or gathering which involves the barbecuing of a whole pig.

#23 Tiramisu – a coffee-flavoured Italian dessert. It is made of ladyfingers dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar, and mascarpone cheese, flavoured with cocoa.

#22 Teh Tarik – a hot milk tea beverage which can be commonly found in restaurants, outdoor stalls and kopi tiams within the Southeast Asian country of Malaysia. Its name is derived from the pouring process of “pulling” the drink during preparation. It is made from a strong brew of black tea blended with condensed milk.

#21 Snag on the Dag –  involves grilled sausages served on a slice of white sandwich bread with tomato sauce, fried onions and beer. Aussies have a nickname for everything, and this one’s called a snag on the dag (snag=sausage, dag=diagonal, how it’s laid on the bread).

#20 Raggmunk with Lingonberry Jam – the name for a Swedish potato pancake. The pancakes are fried in butter and served with fried pork and jam made from lingonberries, a popular local berry.

#19 Zapiekanka -an open-face sandwich made of half of a baguette or other long roll of bread, topped with sautéed white mushrooms, cheese and sometimes other ingredients, and toasted until the cheese melts. Served hot with ketchup, it is a popular street food in Poland.

#18 Inca Kola – a soft drink that was created in Peru in 1935 by British immigrant Joseph Robinson Lindley using lemon verbena. The soda has a sweet, fruity flavor that somewhat resembles its main ingredient, lemon verbena. Americans compare its flavor to bubblegum or cream soda.

#17 Sachertorte – a specific type of chocolate cake, or torte, invented by Austrian Franz Sacher in 1832 for Prince Wenzel von Metternich in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most famous Viennese culinary specialties.

#16 Xiaolongbao – type of Chinese steamed bun from the Jiangnan region, especially associated with Shanghai and Wuxi.

#15 Pierogi – filled dumplings of Central and Eastern European origin, made by wrapping unleavened dough around a savory or sweet filling and cooking in boiling water, or pan-frying.

#14 Stroopwafel – a wafer made from two thin layers of baked dough with a caramel syrup filling in the middle. Stroopwafels are popular in the Netherlands, and were first made in the Dutch city of Gouda.

#13 Korvapuusti – a sweet roll served commonly in Finland. It is a form of wienerbrød. Its main ingredients are flour, cinnamon, sugar, and butter, which provide a robust and sweet flavor.

#12 Saltibarsciai – an authentic Lithuanian cold beet soup made with cucumber eggs and dill.

#11 Currywurst – a fast food dish of German origin consisting of steamed, then fried pork sausage typically cut into bite-sized chunks and seasoned with curry ketchup, a sauce based on spiced ketchup or tomato paste, itself topped with curry powder, or a ready-made ketchup seasoned with curry and other spices.

#10 Kanefeh –  traditional Middle Eastern dessert made with thin noodle-like pastry, or alternatively fine semolina dough, soaked in sweet, sugar-based syrup, and typically layered with cheese, or with other ingredients such as clotted cream or nuts, depending on the region.

#9 Maultaschen – a traditional German dish that originated in the region of Swabia. It consists of an outer-layer of pasta dough which encloses a filling traditionally consisting of minced meat, smoked meat, spinach, bread crumbs and onions and flavoured with various herbs and spices.

#8 Limonana – a type of lemonade made from freshly-squeezed lemon juice and spearmint leaves that forms a popular summer drink in Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria.

#7 Soufflé au Chocolat – a baked egg-based dish which originated in early eighteenth century France. It is made with egg yolks and beaten egg whites combined with chocolate as a dessert.

#6 Weinerbrod – A Danish pastry, sometimes shortened to just Danish, is a multilayered, laminated sweet pastry in the viennoiserie tradition. The concept was brought to Denmark by Austrian bakers, and has since developed into a Danish specialty.

#5 Nalesniki – crepe-like pancakes that can be made as a thin or as a thick Polish crepe. They can be enjoyed with either sweet or savory fillings.

And, lastly, the final 4!

#4 Australian Meat Pies – Bakeries throughout Australia serve up a variety of meat pies, typically made with a mince beef filling with some variations on offer, such as with mushrooms or onions, a cheesy pie lid, or perhaps with chunks of beef for something wonderful like a steak and pepper pie.

#3 Carbonara – an Italian pasta dish from Rome made with egg, hard cheese, guanciale, and black pepper. The dish arrived at its modern form, with its current name, in the middle of the 20th century. The cheese is usually Pecorino Romano, Parmigiano-Reggiano, or a combination of the two.

#2 Sfogliatella –  sometimes called a lobster tail in English, sfogliatella is a shell-shaped filled Italian pastry native to Campania. Sfogliatella means “small, thin leaf/layer”, as the pastry’s texture resembles stacked leaves.

#1 Belgian Waffles – a variety of waffle with a lighter batter, larger squares, and deeper pockets than ordinary American waffles. Belgian waffles were originally leavened with yeast, but baking powder is now often used.

Hungry yet? Let us know what you think!!!

 

The 100 Sights We’re Most Excited About

Researching parts of the world we haven’t yet traveled to is one of the many fun parts of preparing for our family sabbatical. There’s so much to see and do across the World and so much diversity it can be difficult at times to give the kids of good sense of what to expect. To help make the experience a little more concrete we’ve been assembling over the last few months some lists of the things we’re most excited about. Sharing these lists and ranking them as a family has been an entertaining past time. We thought it would be fun, in addition, to shares these lists here as a pre-trip snapshot of the things we think will be highlights of our travels.

We’d love to hear your feedback as you scroll through this list. Which of these would be your top choice? What have we missed, or what have we included that you think might be a disappointment – leave us a comment!

Without any further ado – here are the top #100 sights we are looking forward to seeing in person, as ranked by the four of us.

#100 – Cementario de la Recoleta

A cemetery located in the Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Perón, presidents of Argentina, Nobel Prize winners, the founder of the Argentine Navy, and a granddaughter of Napoleon.

#99 – Grossglockner High Alpine Road

The highest surfaced mountain pass road in Austria. It connects Bruck in the state of Salzburg with Heiligenblut in Carinthia via Fuscher Törl and Hochtor Pass at 2,504 m (8,215 ft). The road is named after the Grossglockner, Austria’s highest mountain.

#98 – Palace of Versaille

The principal royal residence of France from 1682, under Louis XIV, until the start of the French Revolution in 1789, under Louis XVI. It is located in the department of Yvelines, in the region of Île-de-France, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) southwest of the centre of Paris.

#97 – Vinicunca

Also called Montaña de Colores or Rainbow Mountain, Vinicunca is a mountain in Peru with an altitude of 5,200 meters above sea level. It is located in the Andes of Peru, in the Cusco Region.

#96 – The Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus

Designed by Polykleitos the Younger in the 4th century BC. The theatre is admired for its exceptional acoustics, which permit almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken words from the proscenium or skēnē to all 14,000 spectators, regardless of their seating. Famously, tour guides have their groups scattered in the stands and show them how they can easily hear the sound of a match struck at center-stage.

#95 – Florialis Generica

A sculpture made of steel and aluminum located in Plaza de las Naciones Unidas, Avenida Figueroa Alcorta, Buenos Aires, a gift to the city by the Argentine architect Eduardo Catalano.

#94 – Kronborg Slot

A castle and stronghold in the town of Helsingør, Denmark. Immortalized as Elsinore in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe and has been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites list (2000).

#93 – Ubud Sacred Monkey Forest

The sanctuary or natural habitat of Balinese long tailed Monkey, located at Padangtegal Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. About 749 monkeys live in this sanctuary. Sacred Monkey Forest is the most popular tourist attraction in Ubud with about 120,000 visitors every month.

#92 – Cité de Carcassonne

A medieval citadel located in the French city of Carcassonne, in the department of Aude, Occitanie region. It is located on a hill on the right bank of the River Aude, in the south-east part of the city proper.

#91 – Český Krumlov Castle

Castle located in the city of Český Krumlov in the Czech Republic. It dates back to 1240 when the first castle was built by the Witigonen family, the main branch of the powerful Rosenberg family.

#90 – Gion District

A district of Kyoto, Japan, originally developed in the Sengoku period, in front of Yasaka Shrine(Gion Shrine). The district was built to accommodate the needs of travelers and visitors to the shrine. It eventually evolved to become one of the most exclusive and well-known geisha districts in all of Japan.

#89 – Reed Flute Cave

Also known as “the Palace of Natural Arts”. The cave is a landmark and tourist attraction in Guilin, Guangxi, China. It is a natural limestone cave with multicolored lighting and has been one of Guilin’s most interesting attractions for over 1200 years. It is over 180 million years old.

#88 – Książ Castle

The largest castle in the Silesia region, located in northern Wałbrzych in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland. It lies within Książ Landscape Park, a protected area located in the Wałbrzyski Foothills. The castle overlooks the gorge of the Pełcznica river and is one of the Wałbrzych’s main tourist attractions.

#87 – Kilwa Kisiwani

A community on an Indian Ocean island off the southern coast of present-day Tanzania in eastern Africa. Historically, it was the center of the Kilwa Sultanate, a medieval sultanate whose authority at its height in the 13th-15th centuries CE stretched the entire length of the Swahili Coast. Kilwa Kisiwani has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site along with the nearby stonetown Songo Mnara.

#86 – Priekistolen

A tourist attraction in the municipality of Forsand in Rogaland county, Norway. Preikestolen is a steep cliff which rises 604 metres above the Lysefjorden. Atop the cliff, there is an almost flat top of approximately 25 by 25 metres.

#85 – Valley of the Kings

The valley stands on the west bank of the Nile, opposite Thebes (modern Luxor), within the heart of the Theban Necropolis in Egypt. The royal tombs are decorated with scenes from Egyptian mythology and give clues as to the beliefs and funerary rituals of the period. Almost all of the tombs seem to have been opened and robbed in antiquity, but they still give an idea of the opulence and power of the pharaohs.

#84 – Alexander Palace

A former imperial residence near the town of Tsarskoye Selo, on a plateau about 30 miles south (around 30 minutes by train) from the imperial capital city of St. Petersburg. It is known as the favourite residence of the last Russian Czar, Nicholas II (reigned 1894–1917), and his imperial family, and served as their initial place of imprisonment after the first of two of Russian Revolutions.

 

#83 – Monastery of Saint Simon

Also known as the Cave Church, is located in the Mokattam mountain in southeastern Cairo, Egypt, in an area that is known as ‘garbage city’ because of the large population of garbage collectors or Zabbaleen that live there. It is own of the largest Christian Churches in the Middle East.

#82 – Temppeliaukio Kirkko

A Lutheran church in the Töölö neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland. The church was designed by architects and brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened in 1969. Built directly into solid rock, it is also known as the Church of the Rock and Rock Church.

#81 – Spiš Castle

The ruins of Spiš Castle  in eastern Slovakia form one of the largest castle sites in Central Europe. The castle is situated above the town of Spišské Podhradie and the village of Žehra. It was included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1993 and is one of the biggest European castles by area (41 426 m²).

#80 – St. Nicholas Church

The Gothic Revival Church of St. Nicholas ( was formerly one of the five Lutheran Hauptkirchen (main churches) in the city of Hamburg. The Bombing of Hamburg during World War II destroyed the bulk of the church and its rubble was removed leaving its crypt, its site and tall spired tower, largely hollow,save for a large set of bells, together serving as a memorial and an important architectural landmark. 

#79 – Galtaji

An ancient Hindu pilgrimage about 10 km away from Jaipur, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. The site consists of a series of temples built into a narrow crevice in the ring of hills that surrounds Jaipur. A natural spring emerges high on the hill and flows downward, filling a series of sacred kunds (water tanks) in which pilgrims bathe. Visitors and pilgrims can ascend the crevasse, continuing past the highest water pool to a hilltop temple from there are views of Jaipur and its fortifications spreads out across the valley floor.

#78 – Amer Fort

A fort located in Amer, Rajasthan, India.  The town of Amer was originally built by Meenas,  and later it was ruled by Raja Man Singh I. Amer Fort is known for its artistic style elements. With its large ramparts and series of gates and cobbled paths, the fort overlooks Maota Lake, which is the main source of water for the Amer Palace.

#77 – Schloss Neuschwanstein

A 19th-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and in honour of Richard Wagner.. The castle was intended as a home for the king, until he died in 1886. It was open to the public shortly after his death.  Since then more than 61 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle.

#76 – Daibutsu of Nara

A Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Japan. Its Great Buddha Hall houses the world’s largest bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana, known in Japanese as Daibutsu . The temple also serves as the Japanese headquarters of the Kegon school of Buddhism. The temple is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the “Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara”.

#75 – Cinque Terre

A string of centuries-old seaside villages on the rugged Italian Riviera coastline. In each of the 5 towns, colorful houses and vineyards cling to steep terraces, harbors are filled with fishing boats and trattorias turn out seafood specialties along with the Liguria region’s famous sauce, pesto. The Sentiero Azzurro cliffside hiking trail links the villages and offers sweeping sea vistas.

#74 – Wat Phra Dhammakya

Also known as the “The Temple of a Million Buddhas”, a Buddhist temple in Khlong Luang District, in the Pathum Thani Provincenorth of Bangkok, Thailand. Founded in 1970, it is the best-known and the fastest growing temple of the Dhammakaya Movement which aims to adapt its traditional Buddhist values in modern society. It deploys modern technology, marketing methods and interprets Buddhist doctrines in ways that have led to controversy and a government crackdown. 

#73 – Trift Bridge

A pedestrian-only suspension bridge in the Swiss Alps. The bridge is a simple suspension bridge design spanning 170 metres at a height of 100 metres.

#72 – Van Gogh Museum

One of the many art museums in the Netherlands dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.  The museum’s collection is the largest collection of Van Gogh’s paintings and drawings in the world. In 2017, the museum had 2.3 million visitors, and was the most visited museum in the Netherlands

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#71 – Jal Mahal

“The Water Palace”. A half submerged palace in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake in Jaipur city, the capital of the state of Rajasthan, India. The palace and the lake around it were renovated and enlarged in the 18th century by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Amber.

#70 – Am Phu Cave

A dark, humid underworld lurking with figurines of fantastical, fear-inducing demons as well as sinners enduring gruesome punishments and altars with candles and burning incense, this cave near Danang, Vietnam is a colorful embodiment of Hell with an enduring message that is at the core of Buddhist belief: every deed has its consequences.

#69 – Bosque Nuboso Monteverde

A Costa Rican reserve located along the Cordillera de Tilarán within the Puntarenas and Alajuela provinces. The Reserve consists of over 10,500 hectares (26,000 acres) of cloud forest, An extremely high biodiversity, consisting of over 2,500 plant species (including the most orchid species in a single place), 100 species of mammals, 400 bird species, 120 reptilian and amphibian species, and thousands of insects, has drawn both scientists and tourists alike.

#68 – Vasamuseet

A maritime museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Located on the island of Djurgården, the museum displays the only almost fully intact 17th century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship Vasa that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628.

#67 – Kuang Si Waterfall

A three levelled waterfall about 29 kilometres south of Luang Prabang, Laos. These waterfalls are a favourite side trip for tourists in Luang Prabang. The falls begin in shallow pools atop a steep hillside.

#66 – Colosseum

One of the New “Seven Wonders of the World”. An oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. Built of travertine, tuff, and brick-faced concrete. It is the largest amphitheatre ever built. The Colosseum is situated just east of the Roman Forum.

#65 – The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia

A historic mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. A popular tourist site, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque continues to function as a mosque today. The Blue Mosque, as it is popularly known, was constructed between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. Its Külliye contains Ahmed’s tomb, a madrasah and a hospice. Right next door is Hagia Sophia, a museum and former cathedral and mosque built in 537 AD and once the largest building in the world.

#64 – Mont Saint Michel

An island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island is located about one kilometer (0.6 miles) off the country’s northwestern coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is 7 hectares in area. As of 2015, the island has a population of 50.

#63 – The Vatican Museums

Christian and art museums located within the city boundaries of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by popes throughout the centuries including several of the most renowned Roman sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. The museums contain roughly 70,000 works, of which 20,000 are on display.

#62 – Dashashwamedh Ghat

The main ghat in Varanasi, India on the Ganges River. It is located close to Vishwanath Temple and is probably the most spectacular ghat. Two Hindu legends are associated with it: According to one, Lord Brahma created it to welcome Lord Shiva. According to another legend, Lord Brahma sacrificed ten horses during Dasa-Ashwamedha yajna performed here.

#61 – Wieliczka Salt Mine

The town of Wieliczka, southern Poland, lies within the Kraków metropolitan area. Sodium chloride was formerly produced there from the upwelling brine – and had been since Neolithic times. The mine is now one of the largest tourist attractions in Poland, listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO and visited by over 1 million tourists each year.

#60 – Fenghuang Ancient Town

An old town built up in Qing Dynasty, is still being kept in its original appearance with 300 years passed. The ancient town is located in the southwest of Hunan Province, China bordering the prefecture-level cities of Huaihua to the southeast and Tongren (Guizhou) to the west.

#59 – Eiffel Tower

A wrought-iron 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.

#58 – Terracotta Army

A collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting the emperor in his afterlife. The figures were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong County, outside Xi’an, Shaanxi, China.

#57 – Lotus Temple

A Bahá’í House of Worship in New Delhi, India that was dedicated in December 1986. Notable for its flowerlike shape, it has become a prominent attraction in the city. Like all Bahá’í Houses of Worship, the Lotus Temple is open to all, regardless of religion or any other qualification. A  CNN report referred to it as the most visited building in the world.

#56 – Hallelujah Mountain

A 1,080 metres  quartz-sandstone pillar, located in the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, in the Wulingyuan Area, in northwestern Hunan Province, China. It was renamed to its present name in January 2010 for having served as inspiration for the “Hallelujah Mountains” in the film Avatar, as well as to show appreciation to the social message present therein. Previously, it was known as the Southern Sky Column.

#55 – Trakai Island Castle

An island castle located in Trakai, Lithuania, on an island in Lake Galvė. The construction of the stone castle was begun in the 14th century by Kęstutis, and around 1409 major works were completed by his son Vytautas the Great, who died in this castle in 1430. Trakai was one of the main centers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the castle held great strategic importance. In Eastern Europe it is the only island castle.

#54 – Abel Tasman National Park

A wilderness reserve at the north end of New Zealand’s South Island. It’s known for the Abel Tasman Coast Track, a long trail winding over beaches and across ridges between Marahau in the south and Wainui in the north. The headland at Separation Point is home to New Zealand fur seal colonies. Little blue penguins, bottlenose dolphins and seals inhabit the Tonga Island Marine Reserve.

#53 – Batu Caves

A limestone hill that has a series of caves and cave temples in Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia. It takes its name from the Sungai Batu, which flows past the hill. It is the tenth limestone hill from Ampang. Batu Caves is also the name of a nearby village.

#52 – Gardens by the Bay

A nature park spanning 101 hectares of reclaimed land in the Central Region of Singapore, adjacent to the Marina Reservoir. The park consists of three waterfront gardens: Bay South Garden, Bay East Garden and Bay Central Garden. The largest of the gardens is Bay South Garden at 54 hectares.

#51 – Te Papa Tongarewa

New Zealand’s national museum, located in Wellington. Known as Te Papa, or “Our Place”, it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum and the National Art Gallery. More than 1.5 million people visit every year. It houses the largest known preserved Giant Squid specimen in the world.

#50 – Himeji Castle

A hilltop Japanese castle complex situated in the city of Himeji which is located in the Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. The castle is regarded as the finest surviving example of Japanese castle architecture, comprising a network of 83 rooms with advanced defensive systems from the feudal period. The castle is frequently known as Hakuro-jō or Shirasagi-jō (“White Egret Castle” or “White Heron Castle”) because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight.

#49 – Lake Wanaka

A famous New Zealand site Located in the Otago region, at an altitude of 278 meters. Covering an area of 192 km², it is New Zealand’s fourth largest lake, estimated to be more than 300 m deep. Its name is Māori, a corruption of Oanaka. The town near the foot of the lake is also called Wanaka.

#48 – Sintra

A resort town in the foothills of Portugal’s Sintra Mountains, near the capital, Lisbon. A longtime royal sanctuary, its forested terrain is studded with pastel-colored villas and palaces. The Moorish- and Manueline-style Sintra National Palace is distinguished by dramatic twin chimneys and elaborate tilework. The hilltop 19th-century Pena National Palace is known for a whimsical design and sweeping views.

#47 – Aitutake Lagoon

Aitutake is famous for its turquoise central lagoon, uninhabited islands and palm-fringed beaches. Another advantage is that until now it has been spared by mass tourism. Noteworthy also are an old church (the oldest in the Cook Islands) and some gigantic Banyan trees

#46 – The Summer Palace

A vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing. It was an imperial garden in the Qing Dynasty. Mainly dominated by Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, it covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometres (1.1 sq mi), three-quarters of which is water.

#45 – The Blue Grotto

A sea cave on the coast of the island of Capri, southern Italy. Sunlight, passing through an underwater cavity and shining through the seawater, creates a blue reflection that illuminates the cavern.

#44 – Delphi

The ancient sanctuary that grew rich as the seat of Pythia, the oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world.  It occupies an impressive site on the south-western slope of Mount Parnassus, overlooking the coastal plain to the south and the valley of Phocis. It is recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in having had a phenomenal influence in the ancient world.

#43 – Predjama Castle

A Renaissance castle built within a cave mouth in south-central Slovenia, in the historical region of Inner Carniola. It is located in the village of Predjama, approximately 11 kilometres from the town of Postojna and 9 kilometres from Postojna Cave.

#42 – Eisreisenwelt

The Eisriesenwelt (German for “World of the Ice Giants”) is a natural limestone and ice cave located in Werfen, Austria, about 40 km south of Salzburg. The cave is inside the Hochkogel mountain in the Tennengebirge section of the Alps. It is the largest ice cave in the world, extending more than 42 km and visited by about 200,000 tourists every year.

#41 – Museumsquartier

An area in Vienna, Austria home to a range of installations from large art museums like the Leopold Museum and the MUMOK (Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation Vienna) to contemporary exhibition spaces like the Kunsthalle Wien and festivals like the Wiener Festwochen and the Vienna Film Festival. Highlights include an international, state-of-the-art centre for dance,  production studios for new media, artist studios for artists-in-residence, outstanding art and cultural facilities designed for children.

#40 – Guggenheim Museum

A museum of modern and contemporary art designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, and located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. Built alongside the Nervion River, which runs through the city of Bilbao to the Cantabrian Sea, it is one of several museums belonging to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and features permanent and visiting exhibits of works by Spanish and international artists. It is one of the largest museums in Spain.

#39 – Real Alcazar

A royal palace in Seville, Spain, built for the Christian king Peter of Castile. It was built by Castilian Christians on the site of an Abbadid Muslim residential fortress destroyed after the Christian conquest of Seville. It is the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe, and was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the adjoining Seville Cathedral and the General Archive of the Indies.

#38 – Santorini Island

One of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea. It was devastated by a volcanic eruption in the 16th century BC, forever shaping its rugged landscape. The whitewashed, cubiform houses of its 2 principal towns, Fira and Oia, cling to cliffs above an underwater caldera. They overlook the sea, small islands to the west and beaches made up of black, red and white lava pebbles.

#37 – Melk Abbey

A Benedictine abbey above the town of Melk, Lower Austria, Austria, on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Danube river, adjoining the Wachau valley. The abbey contains the tomb of Saint Coloman of Stockerau and the remains of several members of the House of Babenberg, Austria’s first ruling dynasty.

 

#36 – Grand Buddha

A 71-metre tall stone statue, built between 713 and 803, depicting Maitreya. It is carved out of a cliff face of Cretaceous red bed sandstones that lies at the confluence of the Min River and Dadu River in the southern part of Sichuan province in China, near the city of Leshan.

#35 – Kinkaku-ji

Officially named Rokuon-ji (literally “Deer Garden Temple”), Kinkaku-ji is a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan. It is one of the most popular buildings in Japan, attracting a large number of visitors annually. It is designated as a National Special Historic Site, a National Special Landscape and is one of 17 locations making up the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto which are World Heritage Sites.

#34 – Salzwelten

An underground salt mine located in the Dürrnberg plateau above Hallein, Austria. The mine has been worked for over 7,000 years since the time of the Celtic tribes and earlier. It helped ensure nearby Salzburg would become a powerful trading community. Since World War I, it has served as a mining museum, known for its long wooden slides between levels.

#33 – The Sunken City of Baia

An ancient Roman town situated on the northwest shore of the Gulf of Naples, and now in the comune of Bacoli. It was a fashionable resort for centuries in antiquity, notorious for its hedonistic offerings and the attendant rumours of corruption and scandal. The lower part of the town later became submerged in the sea due to local volcanic, bradyseismic activity which raised or lowered the land, and recent underwater archaeology has revealed many of the fine buildings now protected in the submerged archaeological park.

#32 – St. Peter’s Basilica

An Italian Renaissance church in Vatican City, the papal enclave within the city of Rome. St. Peter’s is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture  and the largest church in the world. While it is neither the mother church of the Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, St. Peter’s is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic shrines. It has been described as “holding a unique position in the Christian world” and as “the greatest of all churches of Christendom”.

#31 – The Forbidden City

A palace complex in central Beijing, China. The former Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty it now houses the Palace Museum. The Forbidden City served as the home of emperors and their households as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government for almost 500 years. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

#30 – Angkor Temples

A temple complex in Cambodia and one of the largest religious monuments in the world. Originally constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu for the Khmer Empire, it was gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia appearing on its national flag, and it is the country’s prime attraction for visitors.

#29 – Iguazu Falls

Waterfalls of the Iguazu River on the border of the Argentine province of Misiones and the Brazilian state of Paraná. Together, they make up the largest waterfall system in the world. The falls divide the river into the upper and lower Iguazu. Below its confluence with the San Antonio River, the Iguazu River forms the boundary between Argentina and Brazil.

#28 – Alhambra

A palace and fortress complex located in Spain. It was originally constructed as a small fortress in AD 889 on the remains of Roman fortifications, and then largely ignored until its ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the mid-13th century by the Nasrid emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Emirate of Granada, who built its current palace and walls. It was converted into a royal palace in 1333 by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada.

#27 – Leaning Tower of Pisa

The campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa, known worldwide for its unintended tilt.

#26 – Undara Volcanic National Park

A national park in North Queensland, Australia. It is notable for its lava tubes and gem fossicking. Minerals found there include topaz, moonstone, peridot, aquamarine, garnet, quartz and gold. The park contains the remains of the Earth’s longest flow of lava originating from a single volcanic crater. The lava flow is about 160 km long.

#25 – Budapest Thermal Baths

Budapest has had several great thermal baths for many centuries. The Turkish baths along the river Danube are still functional and much favored. But more than a thousand years before the Turks, the Romans and even before them, the Celts have been enjoying the warm spring waters here as baths, healing waters and drinks.

#24 – Horyu-ji

A Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Its full name is Hōryū Gakumonji or Learning Temple of the Flourishing Law, the complex serving as both a seminary and monastery. The temple’s pagoda is widely acknowledged to be the oldest wooden building existing in the world, underscoring Hōryū-ji’s place as one of the most celebrated temples in Japan.

#23 – Petra

Another of the new “Seven Wonders”, Petra was originally known to its inhabitants as ‘Raqmu’, it is a historical and archaeological city in southern Jordan. Petra is believed to have been settled as early as 9,000 BC, and it was possibly established in the 4th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataean Kingdom. The Nabataeans were nomadic Arabs who invested in Petra’s proximity to the trade routes by establishing it as a major regional trading hub.

#22 – Hill of Crosses

A site of pilgrimage about 12 km north of the city of Šiauliai, in northern Lithuania. The precise origin of the practice of leaving crosses on the hill is uncertain, but it is believed that the first crosses were placed on the former Jurgaičiai or Domantai hill fort after the 1831 Uprising. Over the generations, not only crosses and crucifixes, but statues of the Virgin Mary, carvings of Lithuanian patriots and thousands of tiny effigies and rosaries have been brought here by Catholic pilgrims. The exact number of crosses is unknown, but estimates put it at about 55,000 in 1990 and 100,000 in 2006.

#21 – Sedlec Ossuary

A small Roman Catholic chapel, located beneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints , part of the former Sedlec Abbey in Sedlec, a suburb of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic. The ossuary is estimated to contain the skeletons of between 40,000 and 70,000 people, whose bones have, in many cases, been artistically arranged to form decorations and furnishings for the chapel.

#20 – Lake Natron

A mineral-rich soda lake in northern Tanzania, at the border with Kenya. It’s a breeding ground for hundreds of thousands of lesser flamingos, despite the highly alkaline state of the striking red waters. It sits below Ol Doinyo Lengai, a soaring active volcano in the Rift Valley. Trails lead from the lake to the Engero Sero waterfalls, which flow over craggy rocks into a natural pool.

#19 – Notre Dame

A medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. Despite roof damage from the recent fire, this one remains close to the top of our list. The cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. The innovative use of the rib vault and flying buttress, the enormous and colorful rose windows, and the naturalism and abundance of its sculptural decoration all set it apart from earlier Romanesque architecture.

#18 – The Church on the Spilled Blood

One of the main sights of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Other names include the Temple of the Savior on Spilled Blood, and the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ . This church was built on the site where Emperor Alexander II was fatally wounded by political nihilists in March 1881. The church was built between 1883 and 1907. The construction was funded by the imperial family.

#17 – Cristo Redentor

The third of the new “Seven Wonders” on our list. An Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, created by French sculptor Paul Landowski and built by Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, in collaboration with French engineer Albert Caquot. Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida fashioned the face.

#16 – The Black Forest

A mountainous region in southwest Germany, bordering France. Known for its dense, evergreen forests and picturesque villages, it is often associated with the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. It’s renowned for its spas and the cuckoo clocks produced in the region since the 1700s. The region’s largest town, Freiburg, is filled with Gothic buildings and surrounded by vineyards.

#15 –  Great Wall of China

The fourth of our “Seven Wonders”, a series of fortifications over 20,000 km in length made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China to protect the Chinese states and empires against the raids and invasions of the various nomadic groups of the Eurasian Steppe with an eye to expansion.

#14 – Macchu Picchu

The fifth of our “Seven Wonders”, a 15th-century Inca citadel, located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru, on a mountain ridge 2,430 metres above sea level. It is located in the Cusco Region, Urubamba Province, Machu Picchu District in Peru, above the Sacred Valley, which is 80 kilometres  northwest of Cuzco and through which the Urubamba River flows, which cuts through the Cordillera and originates a canyon with a tropical mountain climate.

#13 – Great Barrier Reef

Off the coast of Queensland in northeastern Australia, is the largest living thing on Earth, and even visible from outer space. The 2,300km-long ecosystem comprises thousands of reefs and hundreds of islands made of over 600 types of hard and soft coral. It’s home to countless species of colourful fish, molluscs and starfish, plus turtles, dolphins and sharks.

#12 – Sagrada Familia

A large unfinished Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). Gaudí’s work on the building is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in November 2010 Pope Benedict XVI consecrated and proclaimed it a minor basilica.

#11 – Chapel Oak

On the other end of the spectrum of amazing places of worship, the Chêne chapelle  is an oak tree located in Allouville-Bellefosse in Seine-Maritime, France. The oak tree is between 800 and 1,200 years old. Its hollow trunk hosts two chapels, which were built there in 1669 and are still used: Notre Dame de la Paix (“Our Lady of Peace”) and the Chambre de l’Ermite (“Hermit’s room”).A spiral staircase around the trunk provides access to the chapels.

#10 – Flander’s Fields

A World War I cemetery on the southeast edge of the town of Waregem, Belgium. Poppy flowers began to grow after the burial of the fallen soldiers. The site was made famous by “In Flanders Fields”, a poem about World War I written by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae.

#9 – Arishiyama’s Bamboo Grove

A natural forest of bamboo in Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan. The forest consists of several pathways for tourists and visitors. The Ministry of the Environment considers it a part of the soundscape of Japan.

#8 – The Great Pyramids

An archaeological site on the Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. It includes the three Great Pyramids(Khufu/Cheops, Khafre/Chephren and Menkaure/Mykerinos), the Great Sphinx, several cemeteries, a workers’ village and an industrial complex. The pyramids, which have historically been common as emblems of ancient Egypt in the Western imagination were popularised in Hellenistic times, when the Great Pyramid was listed by Antipater of Sidon as one of the original Seven Wonders of the World. It is by far the oldest of the ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence.

#7 – Salar de Uyini

The world’s largest salt flat, located amidst the Andes in southwest Bolivia. It’s the legacy of a prehistoric lake that went dry, leaving behind a desertlike, nearly 11,000-sq.-km. landscape of bright-white salt, rock formations and cacti-studded islands. Its otherworldly expanse can be observed from central Incahuasi Island. Though wildlife is rare in this unique ecosystem, it harbors many pink flamingos.

#6 – Mount Fuji National Park

A national park in Yamanashi, Shizuoka, and Kanagawa Prefectures, and western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park covers 1,227 square kilometres. The park includes a variety of geographic features including natural hot springs, coastlines, mountainous areas, lakes, and more than 1000 volcanic islands. Vegetation in the park ranges from species of mountainous trees to the subtropical vegetation of the Izu Islands

#5 – Hiroshima Peace Memorial

Site of one of history’s great atrocities, the peace memorial in Hiroshima, Japan was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The ruin of the hall serves as a memorial to the people who were killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Over 70,000 people were killed instantly, and another 70,000 suffered fatal injuries from the radiation.

#4 – Camp Nou

Caleb’s top pick on the list, Camp Nou has been the home stadium of storied FC Barcelona since its completion in 1957. With a seating capacity of 99,354, it is the largest stadium in Spain and Europe, and the third largest football stadium in the world in capacity.

#3 – Nicholas Flamel’s House

Kieran’s top pick is the house of Nicolas Flamel, a wealthy member of the Parisian bourgeoisie (and more importantly a fictional alchemist in the Harry Potter stories), commissioned the house after the death of his wife Pernelle in 1397, to accommodate the homeless.It was completed in 1407, as is inscribed on a frieze above the ground floor, and it is the best known and sole surviving of Flamel’s houses, yet he actually never lived there. The house is probably the oldest in Paris.

#2 – The Temples of Bagan

Bagan is an ancient city located in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar. During the kingdom’s height between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2,200 temples and pagodas still survive to the present day.

And, finally, our #1 pick………………… The Taj Mahal

That Taj Mahal is the sixth of the new “Seven Wonders” on our list (we won’t make it to the last (Chichen Itza in Mexico) on this trip). It is an ivory-white marble mausoleum and monument to love on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (reigned from 1628 to 1658), to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal and also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan, the builder. The tomb is the centerpiece of a 17-hectare complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall.

Well, there you have it – our most anticipated sights. Any thoughts on our rankings? Anything you think we missed? Feel free to drop us a comment on hope these give you an idea of what’s in store for us over the next 17 months.

 

100 Days to Go

 

It’s hard to believe, but we are just 100 days away from departing on our journey of a lifetime.

Our plans are coming together nicely:

• Rough itinerary planned
• The first two flights are booked
• The first month or so of accommodations are booked
• Passports and vaccinations are (mostly) in order
• We’ve got most of the gear we need to travel

Still to accomplish:

• Arranging for rental of our house (a big one!)
• Planning how the Homeschooling is going to work

I think we are starting to feel the anticipation, but we still have some much in front of us in terms of work, school and planning before we leave that we are doing the best we can to push it to the back of our minds and focus on what’s in front of us.

One thing we have been doing to prepare ourselves mentally is trying to gather all of the research we’ve done over the last few months and years into one place to organize our thoughts about what we want to include on the adventure. On that theme, we want to share with you three lists of experiences we’ve put together.

1. The Top #100 Sights we are most excited to see on our travels
2. The Top #100 Foods and Drinks we want to sample on the journey
3. The Top #100 Activities we plan to do at some point

I’ll be posting these 3 lists here over the next couple of weeks (the first is up now). Take a look and let us know what you think!

Cheers,

-Robin

 

 

A Dream Realized

The idea for this adventure has been kicking around my brain for a long time. I’ve always been intrigued by other cultures and really felt the bite of the travel bug the first time I went backpacking in Costa Rica in 2001.

Costa Rica (2001)

Kenya (2004)

Peru (2007)

A few short years and a few more adventures later, the dream started to take a clearer shape and, importantly, became a shared project with Wendy and, ultimately, a Journey for Four. To be typing out these words less than 12 months away from finally embarking on this grand plan is both tremendously exciting and a tremendous privilege.

A huge part of my motivation in planning this journey has come from the inspiration I’ve taken from the adventures of others. With a tip of the hat to some of those adventurers (my parents, Steve Banks, Global Field Trip, The Voyage of The Northern Magic), I welcome one and all here to get a glimpse into some of our experiences in the hopes that we can pass on some small part of that magical inspiration to other current or would be adventures out there.

Venice, 1970

Singapore, 1970

Thanks for being a part our Journey.