Ten Most Beautiful Buildings in the World

1. EMAM MOSQUE

This particular mosque is located in Isfahan, Iran. It was built during the Safavid period and it is an excellent example of Islamic architecture. It is considered as one of the masterpieces of Persian Architecture. This particular mosque is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The construction of the Mosque started in the year 1611. It is also featured as one of the treasures in Around the World in 80 Treasures. You can see the mosque on a 20,000 rial banknote in Iran. Emam Mosque is affiliated with Shia Islam.

1. POTALA PALACE

Potala Palace is located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region in China and it is named after the Mount Potalaka. It was the residence of Dalai Lama until the 14th fled to Dharamsala in India during the Tibetan Rising in 1959. The construction of the palace began with the fifth Dalai Lama in the year 1645. It is comprised of thirteen stories and has around 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and 200,000 statues. The palace measures around 400 meters by 350 meters with surrounding walls around 3 meters thick. The palace overlooks the valley and is absolutely beautiful

1. TAJ MAHAL

I am sure you are aware of this particular building. It is situated in Agra, India and was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. He built it in the memory of his third wife by the name of Mumtaz Mahal. It is considered as ‘the jewel of Muslim art in Indian and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage’. It is the finest example of Mughal architecture and in 1983 was enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The construction began in 1632 and was completed around 21 years later in 1653.

1. EIFFEL TOWER

This one does not need any introduction; the famous place atop which Tom Cruise proposed to Katie Holmes. It is located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. It was built as an entrance arch to the World’s Fair in 1889. It is one of the most famous structures of the world and is the tallest building in Paris. It stands around 320 meters high; that’s almost the same as 81-storey building. The tower has three levels for visitors. The construction started in 1887 and it completed in 1889.

1. SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

This is a performing arts center in Sydney, Australia. The building was built by a Danish architect called Jorn Utzon and it opened in 1973. The building received the Pritzker Prize in 2003 and the citation of the award stated: ‘There is no doubt that the Sydney Opera House is his masterpiece. It is one of the great iconic buildings of the 20th century, an image of great beauty that has become known throughout the world – a symbol for not only a city, but a whole country and continent’. The opera house was enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.

1. LA SAGRADA FAMILIA

Commonly known as Sagrada Familia, Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, is a Roman Catholic Church located in Barcelone, Spain. It was desgined by Antoni Gaudi who was a Catalan architect. The church was enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010. The construction of this particular church began in 1882. A year later Gaudi was involved and at the time of his death around 46 years later, only a quarter of the church was completed. Interestingly, the structure is still not completely constructed

1. HAGIA SOPHIA

Originally an Orthodox patriarchal basilica, then a mosque and now a museum, Hagia Sophia is located in Istanbul, Turkey. It served as a Greek Patriarchal Cathedral of Constantinople till the year 1453. It was converted to a Roman Catholic Cathedral between 1204 and 1261 and that happened under the Latin Empire. From the year 1453 to the year 1931 the building was converted into a mosque and in the year 1935 the building opened up as a museum. It is considered to be one of the prime examples of Byzantine architecture.

1. GRESHAM PALACE

The said palace is located in Budapest, Hungary and is one of the best examples of Art Nouveau architecture in all of Europe. The building was built during the early 1900s. The palace is now managed by the Four Seasons Hotel and is owned by an Irish company called Quinlan Private. This building originally served as a home to wealthy aristocrats belonging to Britain. After the World War II occupation, Soviet soldiers resided in the palace. It has also been used an apartment building. Now it serves as a luxurious hotel in Hungary.

2. BURJ AL ARAB

I am sure you are familiar with this particular building and also the one that follows. It is a luxury hotel that is located in Dubai. It stands at a height of 321 meters and happens to be the fourth tallest hotel in the world. It is built on artificial island which is a marvel in itself and the shape of the building is designed to mimic the sail of a ship. The construction of the hotel started in the year 1994 and it was completed five years later in 1999 at a cost of USD 650 million. It is considered to be the only seven-star hotel in the world.

1. BURJ KHALIFA

This happens to be the tallest building in the world. It stands at around 829.84 meters. The construction began in the year 2004 and it was opened to public in the January of 2010. The entire project cost around $ 1.5 billion. It was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill of Chicago and Adrian Smith was the chief architect. It is a beautiful structure and an unbelievable one at that.