Consider visiting some of the world’s most historic landmarks if you’re searching for an adventure! These historic sites provide a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn about our past. When it comes to historical sites, there is something for everyone, from ancient ruins to palaces and cathedrals. There are thousands of historical places in the world you have to see before you die.
Certain places captivate the imagination of the globe not just because of their beauty and human ingenuity, but also because of the unique window into the past that each enduring spot offers.
To discover a piece of history, you don’t have to be Indiana Jones or Nicolas Cage from National Treasure. In reality, there are a plethora of fascinating historical sites that you may (and should!) visit right away. In this article, Mrpocu.com will list 19 historical places in the world you need to visit.
Historical Places
The Forbidden City – Beijing, China
Although its huge size lends credence to the term, China’s Forbidden City is actually a palace complex, not a city. The complex spans 178 acres and is home to the world’s biggest collection of surviving antique wooden structures, according to UNESCO. It was constructed between 1406 and 1420 and served as the residence of Chinese emperors and the seat of Chinese government for 500 years. The Forbidden City welcomes 14 million tourists every year on average; perhaps you will be one of them.
Petra, Jordan
This ancient city was established by the Nabataeans over 2000 years ago and is located in a narrow canyon.
This historic location became a vital halt along the caravan route connecting Africa and Arabia. After a severe earthquake in 363 CE, Petra was completely abandoned. Shepherds, on the other hand, used the ruins as a shelter for generations.
Petra is carved into the side of a cliff, with the majority of the city still buried beneath the ground. The only way in is by the Siq, a tiny ravine that leads to the city’s main square, or piazza. In 1985, Petra was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It’s currently one of the Middle East’s most popular tourist spots. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Mummy Returns, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen have all been filmed in Petra.
Machu Picchu, Peru
Next up is Machu Picchu, Peru. This Inca city was built around 1500 AD and abandoned just over 100 years later.
The place was unknown to the western world until 1911, when explorer Hiram Bingham III discovered it. There were about 140 constructions at one time, according to estimates.
These structures were built using dry-stone walls and no mortar. While the exact purpose of this Inca citadel is uncertain, some speculate that it was a ceremonial location or the Inca monarch Pachacuti’s estate.
Angkor Wat and the Siem Reap Temples, Cambodia
Although not the oldest temples on the list, they are undoubtedly the most well-known. The temples of Siem Reap were built between the 10th and 15th centuries by the ancient Khmer kingdom, and their magnificence has been carefully preserved to this day. The most famous are Angkor Thom, the ancient city complex, Ta Prohm, the temple where Angelina Jolie filmed Tomb Raider, and Angkor Wat, the Khmer empire’s crown gem.
Angkor Wat is an unmistakable icon of Cambodia, appearing on the Cambodian flag and even Cambodian currency. The monument, which was built in the 12th century to commemorate the Hindu god Vishnu, was later converted into a Buddhist temple.
Angkor Wat is now one of the world’s most visited and photographed historical sites.
The Pyramids And The Sphinx of Giza, Egypt
The Pyramids of Giza are the earliest of the Ancient World’s Seven Wonders. They’re also the only one that’s still standing. More than 4,500 years ago, the fabled tombs were created to prepare the Egyptian pharaohs of the Old Kingdom for the afterlife.
The rationale for the creation of the Sphinx is still unknown. It’s possible that it was meant to link the king to the sun god Ra, according to Egyptologists. Others say he was sent to protect the kings. Some even believe that the Sphinx predates the Pyramids by thousands of years!
The Giza plateau is shrouded in mystery. The construction techniques utilized to erect the grad monuments are still unknown to scientists. The ancient Egyptians employed almost 2 million limestone blocks, each weighing roughly 2.5 tons, to construct the Great Pyramid of Giza alone. Even now, such a construction procedure would be difficult. Nobody knows how the ancient folks did it.
The Colosseum, Rome
The Colosseum is one of the world’s most famous historical sites. The construction of this ancient Roman amphitheatre, which was completed in 80 AD, is a feat of engineering. It is one of the top historical places to visit in the world.
Emperor Vespasian commissioned this construction in 72 AD, and it took almost a decade to complete. Gladiatorial bouts and other public events were held in the Colosseum.
Over 500,000 people are thought to have perished at the Colosseum. It is now a renowned tourist attraction and one of Rome’s most well-known landmarks.
The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is a 13,000-mile-long ancient defensive structure in China. It is one of China’s most popular tourist attractions and a must-see for everyone traveling to Asia.
This series of fortifications was built to keep attackers out of China’s northern border. It was built in many phases from 221 BC to 206 BC under the Qin dynasty, and then reconstructed during the Ming dynasty.
Since 1987, the wall has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can either take a guided tour or wander around on your own at this historical location.
The Taj Mahal, India
The Taj Mahal is an old mausoleum in the Indian city of Agra. It was built between 1632 and 1649 by Emperor Shah Jahan to commemorate his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth.
White marble and expensive stones like as jade, sapphire, and turquoise were used to build the exquisite mausoleum. It is regarded as one of the world’s most beautiful structures and is a must-see for any visitor to India.
Stonehenge, United Kingdom
Stonehenge, a circle of stone megaliths in the English countryside, is thought to have been built around 2500 B.C.E., although the cause for its construction is unknown. Some archaeologists believe the structures were created for religious activities, while others believe they were used to examine the sun and moon’s movements. In any case, the structure was a feat of engineering. (Workers hammered wood wedges into fissures in the stone and then used rope to pull each mass upright to shape Stonehenge’s megalithic constructions.) Stonehenge is one of the historical places you can visit in United Kingdom.
The Parthenon, Greece
This classical and partially intact temple has watched over Greece’s capital city since the Athenian Empire was at its pinnacle of glory, perched on a rocky outcrop known as Acropolis hill in Athens. The Parthenon, dedicated to the goddess Athena, was built in 447 B.C.E. by the Athenians to commemorate their triumph over Persian invaders. It has since served as a city treasury, a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and a mosque during the Ottoman takeover.
The Parthenon frieze (although some sections are still controversially on display at London’s British Museum), artifacts discovered on Acropolis hill, and even the remains of an ancient neighborhood uncovered during the museum’s construction are all on display at the Acropolis Museum, which is located at the foot of the Acropolis.
Easter Island, Chile
This lonely island, located 2,200 miles off the coast of Chile, was named by Dutch explorers who discovered the continent on Easter Sunday in the 18th century. It is known for its approximately 1,000 mammoth statues, which were erected by the Indigenous Polynesian population to symbolize their ancestors between the 10th and 16th centuries.
The greatest spot to see the carved figures, or moai, is Rapa Nui National Park, which spans half of Easter Island. At the old quarry Rano Raraku, there are roughly 400 moai, including a 70-foot-tall monument that was never raised upright. Tongariki, the most prominent site, has 15 moai near the sea. The monuments, which are made of a soft volcanic rock called tuff, are sensitive to the environment and archaeologists predict they will eventually vanish.
Chichén Itzá, Mexico
From 400 C.E. to the 1400s, Chichén Itzá, a complex of pre-Columbian remains on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, thrived as one of the major Maya towns. Due to the range of Mesoamerican architectural styles uncovered on the site, it is estimated to have had the most diversified population in the Maya civilization.
The Great Ball Court, the Temple of the Warriors, and El Castillo (also known as the Temple of Kukulkan), a step pyramid that looms over one of the most stunning UNESCO World Heritage sites, are among Chichén Itzá’s most famous features.
Borobudur, Indonesia
We’ve returned to Asia, this time to Indonesia, where the world’s largest Buddhist monument towers over Yogyakarta. Borobudur’s architecture is a strange mix of local indigenous components and classical Indian Gupta design, dating back over 1,000 years. It is one of the top historical places to visit in the world.
Borobudur’s size is absolutely awe-inspiring. The temple is embellished with 2,672 relief panels and more than 500 Buddha statues and spans an area of 123 x 123 meters. It’s odd that almost half of the figures are devoid of heads. Neither an ancient conqueror nor vandals were responsible for the beheading. The fault is the area’s frequent earthquakes, which have broken the sculptures’ most susceptible part – their necks.
Delphi – Mount Parnassus, Greece
It can be difficult to select among the many iconic ruins in Greece and Italy. While most modern-day travellers visit sights like the Parthenon in Greece or the Colosseum in Rome, Delphi is often overlooked, despite the fact that it was home to the ancient world’s most famous oracle. Delphi was considered the center of the world by the ancient Greeks. The Corycian cave is just a short trek above the major Delphi temple remains. The Corycian Nymphs, Muses, and even Pan revered this location.
The Acropolis, Athens
The Acropolis is an Athens hilltop complex that houses some of Greece’s most famous historical attractions. The Parthenon, an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, is the most famous structure on the Acropolis.
It was constructed between 447 and 432 BC and is regarded as one of the most important works of classical architecture. Many famous architects, including Le Corbusier, have admired the Parthenon throughout history.
The Propylaea (a doorway) and the Erechtheion are two other monuments on the Acropolis (also known as the Temple of Athena Polias). Taking a guided tour is one of the greatest ways to visit these ancient sites.
The Terracotta Army, China
The following ancient site is more of a historical collection than a historical location. More than 8,000 life-size terracotta warriors and horses are buried with the First Emperor Qin. They also have almost 10,000 bronze weapons on them! Did I mention that they all have different facial expressions? If you are looking for historical places in Chine, Terracotta Army.
The army’s details are impeccably detailed. For example, they are all looking east, which is the direction of the emperor’s adversaries at the time. Paint residues can also be found if you look closely enough. That implies that in their early days, dressed in their brightly colored uniforms, they were even more of a sight to behold.
The Terracotta Army is appropriately referred to as the “eighth wonder of the world,” as it is one of the finest archeological discoveries ever made.
Valley of the Kings, Egypt
The Valley of the Kings isn’t as well-known as Giza’s Pyramids, yet it’s just as impressive, if not more so. When the ancient Egyptian pharaohs recognized that displaying their afterlife treasure with a large pile of stones was not a good idea, they replaced the massive monuments with deep underground tombs.Valley of the Kings is one of the top historical places to visit in Africa.
The job was assigned to a valley near Thebes, the capital. Every Egyptian pharaoh was buried there for more than 500 years. The actual location of the tomb was maintained a closely guarded secret, and even the following ruler had no idea where his forefathers’ burial were.
Today, sixty-five tombs have been uncovered, the majority of which have been preserved in incredible condition. The most renowned is that of Tutankhamun, the boy king, whose treasures have become one of Egypt’s most recognizable national emblems.
The Ellora Caves, India
The Ellora cave temples are India’s most fascinating ancient site. This UNESCO World Heritage monument was created over 500 years and is a great example of ancient Indian architecture. It took 7,000 laborers 150 years to build simply the magnificent Kailasa Temple. Not surprising, given that everything was made entirely by hand, using only a hammer and chisel.
Monks of many religions carved their names into the temples, resulting in the strange mix of ancient cultures that can still be seen today in the Ellora caves.
The Kailasa Temple, as noted, is the most impressive feature of this ancient site. Its life-size elephant guardian statues are something you won’t find anyplace else on the planet!
Ayutthaya, Thailand
The historic capital of the Siam Kingdom, Ayutthaya, is next on our agenda. The city’s strategic location – between the Malay Archipelago, China, and India – made it a major commerce hub and the world’s largest city around 1,700 AD. It is estimated that about 1,000,000 people lived in Ayutthaya at the time! Visit Thailand and see this historical places one by one.
Unfortunately, the city was seized and burnt to the ground by the Burmese in 1767. Only a sliver of this historic gem of a city survives today, but the ancient site is still awe-inspiring enough to draw millions of visitors each year.