Dubai is officially home to the world’s most popular landmark.
If you guessed the Burj Khalifa, then you were correct. The tower, which is the tallest building in the world, covets over 17 million visitors every year, making it the most popular landmark around the globe, in new research conducted by analytics site Switch On Business.
The project first started construction in 2004 and was inaugurated six years later on January 4, 2010. Surging at a height of 828 metres, the Burj Khalifa officially became the world’s tallest building upon its opening, surpassing Taiwan skyscraper the Taipei 101 – which sits at a height of 509.2 metres) by over 300 metres.
The Dubai skyscraper is home to many luxury residences (David and Victoria Beckham are reported to own one of them), the Armani Hotel, designed by Giorgio Armani himself, a viewing deck and the world’s tallest restaurant.
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The Burj Khalifa is just one of the many world records Dubai holds. Others include the world’s largest shopping mall, The Dubai Mall, the world’s tallest hotel, JW Marriott Marquis, the world’s largest fountain, Pointe Fountain, just to name a few.
However, since opening the Burj Khalifa has become a particular icon for the emirate, consistently generating headlines globally and over 22 million google searches each year. Many high-profile individuals have also scaled the tower including His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai, Oscar-winning actor Will Smith and it also played centre stage for an adventure scene in Mission Impossible 4 starring Tom Cruise in 2011.
While the Burj Khalifa may have topped the list, you can see the full list of the 15 most popular world landmarks below.
- Burj Khalifa – Dubai, UAE
- Taj Mahal – Agra, India
- Niagara Falls – Ontario, Canada
- Golden Gate Bridge – San Franscisco, USA
- Eiffel Tower – Paris, France
- Machu Picchu – Cusco, Peru
- Sagrada Familia – Barcelona, Spain
- Statue of Liberty – New York City, USA
- Big Ben – London, United Kingdom
- The Great Wall of China – China
- Stonehenge – Salisbury, United Kingdom
- Buckingham Palace – London, United Kingdom
- Mount Everest – Border of Tibet and Nepal
- Mont Saint-Michel – Normandy, France
- Hagia Sophia – Istanbul, Turkey
