The seven wonders of the modern world
Chosen by public vote in 2007, from twenty-one finalists and a hundred million ballots.
The classical list of seven wonders was drawn up by the Greeks more than two thousand years ago, and only the Great Pyramid of Giza still stands. In 2007 a Swiss foundation ran an open vote to pick seven new ones: it was not an academic process and carried no UNESCO endorsement, but the result ended up shaping a generation's travel map. Here they are, and here is what is worth knowing before you go.
- 01Cusco, Perú
Machu Picchu
The citadel saved by being hiddenBuilt around 1450 as a retreat for the emperor Pachacuti, abandoned a century later, and never found by the conquistadors — which is why it survived whole. It sits at 2,430 metres, lower than Cusco, so altitude sickness hits you before you arrive, not here. Entry is by timed slot with a daily cap on visitors; the train from Ollantaytambo takes an hour and a half, and the Inca Trail four days.
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02Yucatán, MéxicoChichén Itzá
A calendar made of stoneEl Castillo, the pyramid of Kukulkán, has 91 steps on each of its four faces: with the top platform that makes 365, one for each day of the year. At the equinoxes the shadow of the terracing draws a serpent descending the staircase, and the site fills up. The rest of the year is better: arrive at eight, when it opens, because the Yucatán midday sun shows no mercy.
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03Río de Janeiro, BrasilCristo Redentor
Art deco above RioUnveiled in 1931 after nine years of work, on the Corcovado hill at 710 metres. The statue is 30 metres tall and the pedestal adds another eight. It is reinforced concrete clad in soapstone mosaic, a soft stone that stands up to the tropics. You go up by cog railway from Cosme Velho; the clearest days tend to fall in the southern winter, between June and August.
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04Roma, ItaliaColiseo
The amphitheatre that still sets the standardFinished in AD 80, it held between 50,000 and 80,000 people depending on how you count, and emptied in minutes thanks to eighty numbered entrances — the system stadiums still use. Beneath the arena lay the hypogeum, two storeys of tunnels and lifts for animals and scenery. The combined ticket covers the Roman Forum and the Palatine, and is valid for two days.
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05ChinaGran Muralla
It isn't one wall, it's manyNot a continuous line but a system of walls raised by different dynasties over two thousand years; counting every branch, an official 2012 survey put it at 21,196 kilometres. What almost everyone visits is Ming dynasty work from the 15th century. And no, you cannot see it with the naked eye from space: it is enormously long, but narrow. The Mutianyu and Jinshanling stretches are far emptier than Badaling.
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06JordaniaPetra
A city carved into the cliffCapital of the Nabataeans from the 4th century BC, it prospered by controlling the incense routes and by knowing how to store water in the middle of a desert. You enter through the Siq, a 1.2-kilometre canyon that opens abruptly in front of the Treasury. That is only the start: the Monastery is 800 steps up and usually far quieter. Two days is the minimum to see it without running.
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07Agra, IndiaTaj Mahal
A mausoleum, not a palaceEmperor Shah Jahan built it for Mumtaz Mahal, his wife, who died giving birth to their fourteenth child. It took some twenty years, from 1632 to 1653. The white marble shifts colour with the light: pink at dawn, white at midday, gold at dusk. It closes on Fridays. Agra is three hours from Delhi by express train, and a day return works well.
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None of the seven rewards a rushed visit. All of them ask you to start early — to dodge the heat, the tour groups, or both — and nearly all require tickets booked weeks ahead.
Photo from Wikimedia (CC BY-SA). The editorial content is our own.