This famous landmarks quiz takes you on a whirlwind world tour, from Roman ruins and Indian palaces to towering statues, mountaintop citadels and a city carved from rock. You'll also find questions on the Sydney Opera House and London's Big Ben that trip up plenty of travelers. Every answer comes with a quick story about the place, so you'll learn something even when you guess.
Great landmarks often have backstories that are as interesting as the structures themselves. Take the Hollywood sign: when it went up in 1923, it read "Hollywoodland" and was an advertisement for a housing development. Or the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, completed in October 1965, which stands 630 feet (192 m) tall to honor the city's role in westward expansion. San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, opened in 1937, owes its famous reddish color to a paint shade called International Orange.
Landmark trivia is fun because it blends geography, history and architecture. Some sites are thousands of years old and were built by hand, while others are modern feats of engineering. Many were created as tombs, temples or monuments, and quite a few were controversial in their day before becoming beloved symbols.
A good approach is to picture the setting. Mountains, deserts, rivers and coastlines narrow down where a landmark could be, and the building materials offer clues about its age. Ask yourself who might have built it and why. If you've seen a landmark in a movie, on a postcard or in a travel show, your memory of the scenery around it can be your best guide.