World’s Top Landmark is Angkor Wat According to Travellers on Trip Advisor

World’s Top Landmark on Trip Advisor for 2017 is Angkor Wat according to travellers who use the site, garnering top scores from 32,800 reviewers, who gave the stupendous temple a five out of five.

Angkor Wat is the World’s Top Landmark for 2017. Yay! It’s not often that we report on a Trip Advisor announcement, however, we couldn’t resist sharing the news that spectacular Angkor Wat temple, here in our own backyard in Siem Reap, Cambodia, has just been named the World’s Top Landmark on a list of 25 monuments around the world.

World’s Top Landmark for 2017 is Angkor Wat

I love it that travellers have named Angkor Wat the world’s top landmark. It’s disappointing to see it get left off lists compiled by jaded travel bloggers who overlook Angkor Wat because they think it’s a “tourist trap” or they were “templed-out” and found sunrise to be over-rated. Groan. I’m seeing a lot of those posts lately.

Angkor Wat is sublime. I’ve taken friends there who have cried at the temple’s staggering beauty. It’s one of the reasons that we live in Siem Reap, that we write about the temples, and that we take visitors there soon after they’ve stumbled off the plane.

Trip Advisor’s list was apparently the outcome of an algorithm that calculated the number and quality of user generated reviews for the most popular landmarks around the world over the last 12 months. Some 706 landmarks in 82 countries were rated and our gorgeous old girl is number one! We couldn’t be more proud.

Surely you’re tempted to come visit us now? If you are, keep in mind our Cambodia culinary tours and our writing and photography retreats. On both trips, which we host in partnership with local tour operators, we take our guests to Angkor Wat for sunrise and spend a few hours scrambling the temple before setting off to explore some of the other wonders of Angkor Archaeological Park, including Baphoun, Bayon, and Preah Khan temples.

If you’re thinking about tackling the temples on your own, do consult our guides and stories here on Grantourismo including How to Get the Most Out of Angkor’s Archaeological Sites, our Insider Guide to Angkor Wat and Angkor Archaeological Park, an Archaeologist’s Guide to Angkor Archaeological Park, the Remote Cambodian Archaeological Sites you need to explore, and a post from our very first visit to Angkor Wat.

Terence and I have had exclusives on covering the biggest archaeological discoveries of recent years for The Guardian and CNN, and have had stories appear everywhere from National Geographic Traveller to Wanderlust, so also see our posts on Exploring the Lost City of Mahendrapavarta at Mount Kulen, Cambodia’s epic urban landscapes unearthed by airborne archaeologists that rocked the archaeological world, and our interview with Dr Damian Evans on the 2015 Cambodian Lidar survey of remote temple sites.

We also have countless stories and guides on Cambodia‘s Siem Reap covering everything from the best Cambodian restaurants, local street food, liveliest markets and shopping to where to find breakfast, the best coffee and best bars, along with the most stylish boutique hotels and most luxurious hotels. We also encourage you to see our comprehensive guide to responsible travel in Cambodia.

Coming in at number two is the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which we watched being built when we lived in Abu Dhabi for five years, and the marvellous Mezquita Cathedral of Cordoba in Spain, another of our favourite monuments.

Interestingly, many of the world’s top landmarks on the list are spiritual sites. The most intriguing entry, however, for me is from Buenos Aires, a wonderful bookshop in an majestic theatre.

25 World’s Top Landmarks for 2017 – Full List

For your convenience, here is the full list of 25 of the World’s Top Landmarks for 2017:

1. Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia
2. Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
3. Mezquita Cathedral de Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain
4. St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, Italy
5. Taj Mahal, Agra, India
6. Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, St. Petersburg, Russia
7. Great Wall at Mutianyu, Beijing, China
8. Machu Picchu, Machu Picchu, Peru
9. Plaza de Espana, Seville, Spain
10. Duomo di Milano, Milan, Italy
11. Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, USA
12. Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC, USA
13. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
14. Parliament, Budapest, Hungary
15. Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France
16. Corcovado Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
17. Big Ben, London, United Kingdom
18. Acropolis, Athens, Greece
19. Main Market Square, Krakow, Poland
20. El Ateneo Grand Splendid, Buenos Aires, Argentina
21. Temple of the Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho), Bangkok, Thailand
22. Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (watch our Burj Khalifa timelapse)
23. Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine, Kyoto, Japan
24. Ruinas Mayas de Tulum, Tulum, Mexico
25. Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia

Click through to see Trip Advisor’s Top 25 Landmarks in the World.

So what do you think of Trip Advisor readers’ top 25 landmarks in the world? Do you agree or not? What is the world’s top landmark for you?