World’s Most Amazing Structures: 1) Great Wall of China: The Great Wall of China winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus, stretching approximately 13,170 miles from east to west of China. Built over a span of more than 2,000 years (from 476 B.C. - 1644 A.D.), some of the sections are now in ruins or have disappeared, but it is still one of the most appealing attractions all around the world.

2) Great Pyramid of Giza (Egypt): The oldest of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one largely intact. It was the tallest man-made structure in the world for more than 3,800 years.

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3) Taj Mahal (India): An immense mausoleum of white marble, commissioned in 1632 by the order of the Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan, in memory of his favorite wife. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million Indian rupees, which in 2015 would be valued at around 52.8 billion Indian rupees ($827 million US).

4) St. Peter’s Basilica (The Vatican): Designed principally by Michelangelo during the Renaissance, this is one of the two largest churches in the world and burial place of Saint Peter. 5) The Panama Canal: This 48-mile ship canal in Panama connects the Atlantic Ocean (via the Caribbean Sea) to the Pacific Ocean. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, the Panama Canal greatly reduced the time for ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It took 34 years to complete, and was the most expensive project in American history at that time.

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6) The Colosseum (Rome, Italy): Completed in 80 AD, it is the largest amphitheatre in the world and considered one of the greatest works of architecture and engineering.

7) Stonehenge (England): Stonehenge is a Neolithic & Bronze Age megalithic monument composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones. It's one of the most famous prehistoric sites in the world. Archaeologists believe that the standing stones were erected between 2500 B.C. and 2000 B.C., although the surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 B.C. 8) Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco, CA): Completed in 1937 after four years of construction, it connects San Francisco and Marin County. It was the longest suspension bridge in world until 1964 (1.2 miles long). The Frommers travel guide considers the Golden Gate Bridge "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world."

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9) Eiffel Tower (Paris, France): Constructed from 1887–1889 as the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair, it was initially criticized by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but it has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognisable structures in the world. The Eiffel Tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world; 6.91 million people ascended it in 2015. 10) Machu Picchu (Peru): Machu Picchu stands 7,972 feet above sea-level, in the middle of a tropical mountain forest, in an extraordinarily beautiful setting. The Incas built the estate around 1450, but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. It remained unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911. Since then, Machu Picchu has become the largest tourist attraction in South America.

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11) Christ the Redeemer (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil): Completed in 1931, the statue stands 98 feet tall with a 92-foot horizontal arm span. Made of reinforced concrete clad in a mosaic of thousands of triangular soapstone tiles, it sits on a square stone pedestal base about 26 feet high on a deck atop the mountain’s summit. The statue is the largest Art Deco-style sculpture in the world and is one of Rio de Janeiro’s most recognizable landmarks.

12) Petra (Jordan): Petra is a historical and archaeological city famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system. Established possibly as early as 312 B.C., it is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan's most-visited tourist attraction. UNESCO has described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage."

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World’s Most Amazing Events: 13) Burning Man (Black Rock City, NV): Burning Man is a week-long annual event in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, described as an experiment in community, art, and radical self-expression. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy, which is set alight on Saturday evening.

14) Carnival (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil): This world famous festival held before Lent every year is the biggest Carnival celebration in the world with 2 million per day on the streets. 15) Mardi Gras (New Orleans, LA): An annual Carnival celebration (festive season before Lent) of parades, masquerade balls, and king cake parties.

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16) Oktoberfest (Munich, Germany): An annual event since 1810, it's a German folk festival featuring large quantities of Oktoberfest Beer, amusement rides, games, and traditional foods. 17) La Tomatina (Spain): Billed as the "World's Biggest Food Fight," it's an annual event where thousands of participants have fun throwing & hitting each other with over 100 metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes (grown specifically for the event). 18) Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Festival (Albuquerque, NM): This 9-day annual event is the largest hot air balloon festival in the world with over 500 hot air balloons each year.

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19) Holi Festival (Primarily India & Nepal, as well as parts of Europe & North America): A spring festival (also known as "Festival of Colors") from ancient Hindu tradition as a celebration of "good over evil." It starts with a bonfire where people gather, sing, and dance. The next day is a free-for-all carnival of colors where people play, chase, and color each other with dry powder and colored water. There are water balloons, music, singing, dancing, food & drinks.

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20) Las Fallas (Valencia, Spain): A traditional celebration commemorating Saint Joseph, featuring parades, food (primarily paella), fireworks, ninots (dolls & puppets), and the amazing Fallas monuments that get burned at the end.

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World’s Most Amazing Sports Events: 21) Super Bowl: The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL). The game is the culmination of a regular season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. 22) World Series: The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in North America, contested since 1903 between the American League (AL) champion team and the National League (NL) champion team.

23) NBA Finals: The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The winners of the Finals are awarded the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, which replaced the Walter A. Brown Trophy in 1983.

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24) FIFA World Cup: The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930. 25) Wimbledon: The Championships, Wimbledon, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is played on outdoor grass courts. 26) The Olympics: The modern Olympic Games or Olympics are leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered the world's foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating. The Olympic Games are held every four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by occurring every four years but two years apart.

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World’s Most Amazing Natural Wonders: 27) The Grand Canyon (Arizona): The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,093 feet). It's recognized as a natural wonder because of the overall scale and size, combined with the beautifully colored landscape. It offers a variety of lookouts and experiences that provide visitors with a view that cannot be matched.

28) Mount Everest (Border of Nepal & China in Himalayan Mountains): Mount Everest is the highest point on Earth at 29,029 feet above sea level. It attracts many highly experienced mountaineers as well as capable climbers willing to hire professional guides. There are two main climbing routes, one approaching the summit from the southeast in Nepal (known as the standard route) and the other from the north in Tibet.

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29) Victoria Falls (Border of Zambia & Zimbabwe): Victoria Falls is a waterfall in southern Africa on the Zambezi River at the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. It's classified as the largest waterfall based on its width of 5,604 feet and height of 354 feet, resulting in the world's largest sheet of falling water. It is roughly twice the height of North America's Niagara Falls and well over twice the width of its Horseshoe Falls.

30) Great Barrier Reef (Off coast of Queensland, Australia): The great barrier reef can be seen from outer space and is the world’s largest individual formation created by living organisms. As the largest coral reef in the world, the Great Barrier Reef includes over 900 islands, over 2,900 separate reefs, and supports one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. 31) Aurora Borealis (Arctic Regions): Also known as the Northern Lights, they're naturally occurring lights that create spectacular and colorful displays in the sky. They frequently appear as a diffused glow lighting up the horizon or as waves across the sky. The best places to see them are Alaska and northern Canada. Norway, Sweden and Finland also offer excellent vantage points.

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32) Angel Falls (Argentina): With a plunge of over 2600 feet, it's the world's highest uninterrupted waterfall. 33) Amazon Rainforest (Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname & Venezuela): The Amazon Rainforest encompasses 1.7 billion acres, located within nine nations in South America. It represents over half of the planet’s remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the world. The Amazon River is the largest river in the world by volume, with a total flow greater than the top ten rivers worldwide combined. 34) Halong Bay (Quáng Ninh Province, Vietnam): Ha Long Bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes. Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves and an abundance of lakes. Many of the islands support floating villages of fishermen, who ply the shallow waters for 200 species of fish and 450 different kinds of mollusks.

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35) Galapogas Islands (Off the coast of Ecuador): A UNESCO World Heritage Site, The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands that lie 563 miles west of continental Ecuador. They feature an amazing range of land and sea creatures – partially inspiring Charles Darwin to write “On The Origin of Species,” which outlined his theory of evolution. 36) Kruger National Park (South Africa): At over 7500 square miles, it's one of the largest game reserves in Africa. 37) Great Blue Hole (Belize): One of the top diving sites in the world, the hole is about 1000 feet across and 400 feet deep.

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38) Sahara Desert (Northern Africa): At 3.6 million square miles, its the largest hot desert in the world. 39) California Redwoods (Northern California): Sequoia National Park and Redwood National Park -- Both parks are home to some of the tallest, most massive, and oldest trees on Earth. 40) Iguazu Falls (Border of Argentina & Brazil): One of the world’s largest waterfalls, it extends nearly 2 miles in a semi-circular shape. Of the 275 falls that collectively make up Iguassu Falls, “Devil’s Throat” is the tallest at 262 feet. Iguazu Falls is surrounded by two National Parks that are subtropical rainforests host to hundreds of rare and endangered species of flora and fauna.

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41) Puerto Princesa Underground River (The Philippines): This 5-mile navigable underground river, considered to be the world's longest, winds through a cave before flowing directly into the South China Sea. It has major formations of stalactites, stalagmites, and several large chambers. At the mouth of the cave, a clear lagoon is framed by ancient trees growing right to the water’s edge. 42) Komodo Island (Indonesia): Komodo Island is primarily known as the habitat of the Komodo dragon, the largest lizard on Earth. The island is 242 square miles with a population of about two thousand. Komodo is part of the Lesser Sunda chain of islands and forms part of the Komodo National Park. It is also a popular destination for diving.

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More Amazing Experiences: 43) The Louvre (Paris, France): Visit Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece "Mona Lisa" and thousands of art treasures from Egypt, Asia, Greece and Rome. 44) Nude Beaches: Explore nude beaches from around the world, including Black’s Beach in San Diego, Club Orient in St. Martin, and Red Beach in Greece. 45) The Pacific Coast Highway (655 miles along California coastline): The sweet spot of the PCH is about 123 miles starting in Monterey and going south through Carmel and Big Sur, where mountains and cliffs butt up against the Pacific. Farther south, the road goes through oak-studded hills and passes Hearst Castle on its way to Morro Bay.

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46) Running a Marathon: Run the ultimate endurance foot race in places like New York City, Boston, Honolulu, London, and even Antarctica. 47) Disney World (Orlando, FL): Disney World covers nearly 25,000 acres (39 sq mi; 101 km2), comprises four theme parks, two water parks, twenty-seven themed resort hotels, nine non-Disney hotels, several golf courses, a camping resort, and other entertainment venues, including the outdoor shopping center Disney Springs.

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48) The Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum (Washington, DC): The over 160,000 square foot exhibition space houses the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. 49) The Road to Hana (Maui, HI): This very narrow & winding road has 620 curves and passes over 59 bridges. It winds through beautiful tropical rain forests, by waterfalls, natural pools, beaches, & Waianapanapa State Park. 50) Waitomo Glowworm Caves (New Zealand): Famous for the bioluminescent glow from thousands of glowworms, which are found exclusively in New Zealand.

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