If you're a traveling junkie, you've probably seen places like The Great Wall of China, The Parthenon in Athens, or Christ the Redeemer in Rio. But what if I told you that these and the other most famous scenic spots in the world have twins that look almost the same yet are in a completely different part of the world?
Yes, dear Pandas, Mother Nature sometimes says "Copy & paste" and creates very similar landscapes thousands on different continents. So, if you're looking for your next travel destination that isn't as famous but just as visually stunning, check out our suggestions below!
#1 San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge And Ponte 25 Bridge, Lisbon, Portugal
Image credits: © Frank Schulenburg / CC BY-SA 4.0
#2 Twelve Apostles In Australia And Praia Da Ursa, Portugal
Image credits: Dietmar Rabich
#3 Iceland's Naturally Formed Church Floor And Northern Ireland's Giant's Causeway
Image credits: Iceland Unlimited
How do almost identical-looking places end up being in two different parts of the world and sometimes even on two different continents? Let's explore some of the entries from our list!
The Church Floor in Iceland and the Giant's Causeway in Ireland may look similar in pictures, but they're quite different in scale in real life. They're both basalt formations, but the columns in Giant's Causeway are sticking out of the ground at different heights and are much bigger, hugging the coast of Northern Ireland.
The Church Floor in Kirkjubæjarklaustu is a much smaller formation, but both are the byproduct of volcanic activity. While walking around on the Giant's Causeway can feel like walking up the stairs, The Church Floor in Iceland is quite flat and more "kids'-sized" than its twin in Ireland.
#4 Salar De Uyuni, Bolivia And Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah
Image credits: Dan Lundberg
#5 Big Ben, London, United Kingdom And The Peace Tower, Ottawa, Canada
Image credits: romainberth
#6 Cameron Highlands, Malaysia And Munnar, India
Image credits: paviro
Many people know the iconic San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, especially if you watched Full House as a kid. But if you've ever been to Lisbon, Portugal, you might've seen a very similar-looking suspension bridge. It's actually based on two bridges in San Francisco: the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
25 de Abril Bridge in Lisbon was actually built by the same company that designed the SFOBB. "Like its sister bridge, the SFOBB in San Francisco, the Tagus River Bridge is located in an area with a long history of earthquakes," The American Society of Civil Engineers claimed, noting that for both bridges, seismic data had to be taken into account.
There's actually another sister bridge in Edinburgh, too; the Forth Road Bridge.
#7 Great Wall Of China And Kumbhalgarh Fort Wall, India
Image credits: Pedronet
#8 The Gherkin In England And Torre Glories In Spain
Image credits: kallerna
#9 Haifoss, Iceland And Maletsunyane, Lesotho
Image credits: Hansueli Krapf
Portugal has a fascinating natural wonder: the Praia Da Ursa beach. A somewhat similar beach with natural rock formations is also in Australia: the Twelve Apostles. Geologists suggest that the Twelve Apostles were formed by centuries of erosion, while the rocks at Praia Da Ursa are more recent formations. The beach in Portugal is also quite remote, so it's a well-liked spot by nudists.
#10 Christ The Redeemer, Brazil & Cristo Rei, Portugal
Image credits: PLBechly
#11 Eiffel Tower, Paris And It's Replica In Tianducheng, China
Image credits: Mustang Joe
#12 Sahara Desert, Africa And Thar Desert, India
Image credits: Luca Galuzzi - www.galuzzi.it
If you're a Brit and you ever visit Ottawa, Canada, and see their Peace Tower, you might just think: "What's Big Ben doing there?" It's not a carbon copy of the iconic tower in London, but the tower clock in both looks particularly similar. That's because The United Kingdom gifted them the clock for the 60th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. The tower bells, which also come from England, have a striking resemblance to the ones in Big Ben, too.
#13 Taj Mahal, India And Brighton’s Royal Pavilion
Image credits: Koushik Chowdavarapu
#14 Colosseum In Rome, Italy And Pula Arena In Croatia
Image credits: Diliff
#15 Grand Canal, Venice, Italy And Aveiro Lagoon, Portugal
Image credits: Sergey Ashmarin
Londoners today probably can't imagine the city landscape without The Gherkin: the pickle-shaped skyscraper that has a twin in Barcelona, Spain: the Torre Glòries. Architectural critic Jonathan Glancey described the Torre Glòries as the Gherkin "on holiday". The Torre Glòries, he writes, "is shorter, narrower and half the volume of [The Gherkin]".
He also marvels at the ways in which the tower in Barcelona captures, reflects, refracts, and toys with light. "It looks wonderful at sunset as the reds, oranges and blues of its inner skin catch the sun and blaze through a myriad of tiny glass screens."
#16 The Parthenon In Greece And Temple Of Concordia In Italy
Image credits: MIGUEL BAIXAULI
#17 Ha Long Bay In Vietnam And Maya Bay, Thailand
Image credits: lgoetz
#18 Hallstatt, Austria And Hallstatt, China
Image credits: C.Stadler/Bwag
The Taj Mahal in India is one of the most beautiful places in the world. And, depending on where you're from, it can also be pretty expensive and difficult to travel to. So, some Britons opt to visit the Brighton Pavilion instead. Created as a seaside resort for King George IV, the Pavilion often gets mistakes by Brits as the iconic Indian landmark. In fact, 30% of the British in a 2015 poll thought that the Brighton Pavilion was, in fact, the Taj Mahal.
#19 Greek Temple Of Hephaestus And Penshaw Monument Located In The City Of Sunderland, North East England
#20 Grand Canyon, Arizona And Kings Canyon, Australia
Image credits: Dorian CORRADO
#21 Motukiekie Beach, New Zealand And Pacific Ocean Coastline In Northern California
Image credits: Krzysztof Golik
The Eiffel Tower in Paris has many replicas around the world. Perhaps the most famous is the one in Las Vegas, but the famous tower has copies in Lahore, Pakistan and Sidney, Australia, and almost 30 other cities. The one we have on this list is located in Tianducheng, China. That "Eiffel Tower" is 354 feet (108 meters) high, while the original in Paryis is 1,083 feet (330 meters).
#22 Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England And Stonehenge, Natural Bridge, Virginia
Image credits: garethwiscombe
#23 Arc De Triomphe In Paris And Marble Arch In London
Image credits: Alexandre Prevot
#24 Durham Cathedral, England And Notre Dame Cathedral In Paris
Image credits: Jiawangkun/Dreamstime.com
We might think of The Colosseum in Rome as the most famous Roman amphitheater in the world. But Croatia boasts a version of the iconic building of its own. Both were actually commissioned by the same Emperor Vespasian. Its purpose was to host gladiatorial contests, public gatherings and performances. It's one of the most well-preserved amphitheaters in the world, with all four side towers still intact.
#25 Geierlay Suspension Bridge, Germany And Capilano Suspension Bridge, Canada
Image credits: lukasbecker
#26 Bridge Of Sighs In Cambridge And Venice’s Rialto Bridge
Image credits: Suicasmo
#27 Budapest Szechenyi Baths And Roman Baths
Image credits: Elin B
The Parthenon in Greece is one of the most famous temples in the world, but the Temple of Concordia in Sicily is one the best-preserved Greek temples in existence. The Parthenon was dedicated to Athena, the patron of Athens. The Concordia was one of the many similar temples modeled after The Parthenon, as the Greek culture spread.
#28 Santorini, Greece And Gamcheon, South Korea
Image credits: Norbert Nagel
#29 Niagara Falls, New York And Victoria Falls, Zimbabawe
Image credits: wikimedia commons
#30 Sydney Opera House, Australia And Creek Golf And Yacht Club, UAE
Image credits: Dietmar Rabich
Tell us your favorite look-alike scenic places in the comments, Traveling Pandas! If you think we missed any, be sure to let us know which famous sights have lesser-known doppelgängers somewhere out there in the world. And if you need some inspiration about where to head next for your next adventure, check out our favorite lesser-known destinations!
#31 Naples, Italy And Kagoshima, Japan
Image credits: Pedro Nuno Caetano
