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10 famous world landmarks that are never called by their official names

Landmarks

Image: Nada Habashy

Image: Nada Habashy

That’s just a nickname

10 famous world landmarks that are never called by their official names

Every country has beloved and well-known landmarks, but some landmarks are as famous as their location, or sometimes even more. As international symbols, they often receive nicknames that become widespread, and that coexist with the official native name of the landmark. Some of these nicknames are affectionately given by the people who see them every day, some come from a foreign perception, and some are just a result of the landmark’s appearance. Let’s discover the real names of 10 famous landmarks.

One of the most recognizable American landmarks, this 305-feet-tall copper sculpture stands proud in New York Harbor. Created as a gift from France to America, it was designed to be a new representation of America and its values. Dedicated on October 28, 1886, it bears the name of La Liberté éclairant le monde or ‘Liberty Enlightening the World’, though it is internationally known as the Statue of Liberty and affectionately nicknamed ‘Lady Liberty’.

If we think about pyramids, the Pyramids of Giza instantly come to mind. However, many do not realize that this name refers to the archaeological complex, which includes more than the three main pyramids. The complex encloses the Great Sphinx, smaller pyramids, the mortuary temples associated with each pyramid, minor tombs, a workers' village, and the three famous pyramids: the Pyramid of Cheops or Khufu (also known as the Great Pyramid), the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Menkaure.

The Palace of Westminster in London is the meeting place of the U.K. Parliament and probably one of the most recognisable buildings in the city, often referred to as the ‘Big Ben’. While ‘Big Ben’ is a popular name, it is not the name of the building, nor of its iconic tower. The nickname refers to the Great Bell of the clock at the top of the Clock Tower, recently renamed the Elizabeth Tower. However, the popularity of the clock and its striking sound has led to the generalization of the ‘Big Ben’ nickname to refer to the whole tower.

For anyone outside of China, it makes sense to call this country's greatest wall ‘The Great Wall of China’, but for the Chinese, it is the Wànlǐ Chángchéng, or the ‘ten thousand li long wall’ (roughly 13,170.70 miles). Contrary to popular belief, the wall was not designed or constructed as a single building, but rather as several walls that were built and eventually joined together over 2,000 years.

An iconic Italian landmark and probably the best-known Roman building still standing, the Colosseum is renowned as a former place of public spectacles and gladiatorial combats. The name Colosseum comes from a colossal statue of Emperor Nero that was located next to the building, but this was not the original name. First known as just the Amphitheatrum, it came to be called the Flavian Amphitheatre because it was built by the emperors of the Flavian dynasty.

A legendary San Francisco landmark, this island served as a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a maximum security prison. Originally named La Isla de los Alcatraces (meaning ‘The Island of the Gannets’ or ‘Pelicans’) by Spanish explorers, it kept the Alcatraz name when California became American territory. Its rocky terrain gained it the nickname of "The Rock", which later came to signify the difficulty in escaping from the Alcatraz prison.

Though Bangkok is the official English name of this capital city, in Thai it is called Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (colloquially shortened to Krung Thep). But even this is not the actual name of the city, ceremonially called Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit or ‘The city of angels, great city of immortals, magnificent city of the Nine Gems, seat of the King, city of royal palaces, home of gods incarnate, erected by Vishvakarman at Indra's behest.’ To no one's surprise, Bangkok holds the Guinness World Record as the world’s longest place name.

Previously known as the Swiss Re Building, 30 St Mary Axe is one of London’s most famous skyscrapers, located in the financial district. Designed to improve aerodynamics and reduce the load of the building’s base, it was quickly nicknamed ‘the Gherkin’ after its completion due to its shape. Though many criticized the nickname, it has become one of the public’s favorites, and it is often referred to by it in the media.

This is the case of an old name that became a nickname. The most visited palace in the world, this Imperial palace complex was originally known as Zijincheng or ‘Forbidden Purple City’, with access restricted only to the Chinese Emperor, his family, and their servants. Though it is know called Gugong or ‘Former Palace’, the ‘Forbidden City’ name is still strongly associated with the place.

Inspired by the Eiffel Tower, the Nippon denpatō or ‘Japan Radio Tower’ was built in 1958, and it was at that time the world's tallest self-supporting steel tower. Though one of multiple communication towers in Tokyo, at the time of its construction, it became a symbol of Japan’s rapid economic growth, and a landmark of Tokyo city, quickly becoming known as the ‘Tokyo Tower’.

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These movie locations are real, and even more stunning in person

General

Image: shogun

Image: shogun

Like stepping into movies

These movie locations are real, and even more stunning in person

Have you ever watched a movie and wished you could step into its world? Lonely roads stretching into a red rock country, hills that seem made for singing, deserts so vast that they seem unreal… Well, as it turns out, some backdrops of very famous films are real-life places that many people visit every day. Here are some of the world’s most iconic landscapes that quietly became stars of the silver screen!

Image: Robert Murray

That famous moment when Forrest stops running occurs on a real stretch of road inside Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, between Arizona and Utah. Today, visitors often stand at the same spot.

The towering red buttes behind him had also been used by director John Ford to define what the American West would look like in classic Westerns.

Image: Ricardo Gomez Angel

The opening scene of The Sound of Music, with Maria spinning and singing in a wide alpine meadow, was filmed just outside Salzburg, Austria, and the view hasn’t changed much since 1965.

The hills, lakes, and gardens used throughout the movie are real, scattered across the city and surrounding countryside. Guided tours still bring fans to these spots.

Image: Karan Chawla

Yosemite National Park in California has those towering granite cliffs and wide valleys that appear briefly but memorably in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

But the movie stretches across a variety of spots around the world. For example, the entrance to the Holy Grail’s resting place is none other than the exterior of the Treasury of Petra, in Jordan, a façade carved directly into rose-colored rock over 2,000 years ago.

Image: Jeffrey Zhang

Long before it became a school for young wizards, Alnwick Castle, in England, had already been standing for nearly a thousand years. In the first Harry Potter film, the outer courtyard of this building is where Harry and his classmates learn to fly broomsticks for the very first time.

Those scenes were filmed on location, not on a soundstage, and the castle’s medieval atmosphere required very little cinematic dressing.

Image: Mario Amé

Hobbiton began as a temporary movie set on a sheep farm in New Zealand, but audiences loved it so much that it became permanent. Director Peter Jackson chose the rolling green hills near Matamata because they looked untouched by modern life, exactly how he imagined the Shire.

After filming wrapped, locals expected the set to be dismantled. Instead, it became one of the most visited movie locations in the world.

Image: Stephen Walker

Devil’s Tower rises abruptly from the Wyoming plains, a massive column of rock that feels almost otherworldly. That unsettling presence is exactly why Steven Spielberg built his story around it. In Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the formation becomes a kind of magnetic beacon, pulling people toward an unexplained cosmic event.

Image: Francesca Noemi Marconi

The desert planet of Tatooine wasn’t created in a studio. It was filmed in southern Tunisia, in and around real desert towns. The name itself comes from the town of Tataouine, a detail many fans discover only years later.

George Lucas chose this location because the desert felt harsh, remote, and unglamorous, a perfect match for Luke Skywalker’s humble beginnings.

Image: Antonio Vivace

The beauty of the Italian Amalfi Coast plays a subtle but powerful role in the 90’s film The Talented Mr. Ripley. The sunlit cliffs, turquoise water, and elegant seaside towns create a sense of perfection, which makes the film’s darker moments feel even more unsettling.

Much of the movie was filmed on location, allowing the natural light and scenery to do the emotional work.

Image: Matt Thomason

The strange rock formations (hoodoos) of Bryce Canyon, in Utah, look almost sculpted by hand. The filmmakers of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid chose Bryce Canyon because it didn’t look like the typical Western landscape audiences expected. Instead, it felt distinctive and slightly surreal, a bit like the film’s tone.

Image: ChiemSeherin

Few films have used landscape as powerfully as Lawrence of Arabia. The sweeping desert scenes were filmed in Wadi Rum, in Jordan, a vast, echoing wilderness of sandstone mountains and open plains.

Director David Lean insisted on shooting in real desert conditions, enduring extreme heat and logistical challenges to capture the scale he wanted. The result is one of the most visually celebrated films of all time.