And the title of the most beautiful monument in the world goes to…
TripAdvisor, the travel booking and planning site, likes to establish rankings. The latest, the Traveler's Choice 2016, which rewards the most popular monuments in the world. And the big winner is Machu Picchu in Peru, which gets the title of THE number one monument to go see! In second place is the Sheikh Zaye Mosque in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. And at the end of the world podium? Angkor Wat in Siem Rea in Cambodia… Snif, France does not appear in this world top 10… unlike Italy with Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, India with the Taj Mahal (obviously!), the Spain with the Cathedral of Cordoba, Russia with the Cathedral of the Savior on Spilled Blood in Saint Petersburg (did you know that?). The last three monuments that have the honor of being in this very select classification are the Alhambra in Granada in Spain, the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool in Washington in the United States and finally, the Cathedral of the Nativity of -the-Sainte-Vierge (Dome) in Milan, Italy. Well yes, on closer inspection, they are all beautiful monuments, but... don't you think that the Eiffel Tower or the Cathedral of Notre Dame could have been there?
What does it look like in Europe?
Topping the list is St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, Italy. Okay ! It is followed by the Cathedral of Cordoba in Spain, the Cathedral of the Savior on the Spilled Blood in Saint Petersburg in Russia, the Alhambra in Granada in Spain, the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Holy -Virgin (Dome) in Milan in Italy, the Museum and the Hagia Sophia, in Istanbul in Turkey, the Grand-Place in Brussels in Belgium. And our beautiful Eiffel Tower in all this? Well, it is 8th, just ahead of Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral and the Acropolis of Athens in Greece! Something to be proud of, right?
A short tour of France…
And if we are chauvinistic? Not a lot of suspense for this first place:the Eiffel Tower of course, we suspected not?
Well, it's true, the second place is not a surprise either given the previous ranking! This is the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris! And we agree, it is worth the detour! In third place on the French podium… The Palais Garnier! You know ? Maybe not, and yet, the Opéra National de Paris, although it is not necessarily in our top of mind, is truly a breathtaking monument! Although exempt from the podium, the Sainte-Chapelle, the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur, the Arc de Triomphe and the Pont Alexande III are monuments of Paris also on the list of the top 10 of the most beautiful monuments in France… and for good reasons! Paris, Paris, Paris, what Paris? Do not panic, if you want to spend your holidays in a city other than the capital while being able to visit one of the ten most beautiful monuments in France, it is possible! For that, on the way to Strasbourg with its Notre Dame Cathedral, Versailles for… the Palace of Versailles. Okay, it's still near Paris but hey, I promise, it's magnificent. And if really, it's in the South that you want to go (we understand!), think of the Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde in Marseille, which closes this ranking.
