What do the Grand Canyon Skywalk and Singapore’s Henderson Waves Bridge have in common? Both opened in the last five years and surged to the top of Travel + Leisure’s first landmarks survey, proving that some structures are instant classics.
T+L readers participated by ranking 60 landmarks, among them skyscrapers, bridges, sports venues, museums, and parks. The resulting list of favorites is your cheat sheet to the latest generation of groundbreaking architecture—the kinds of landmarks that inspire you to travel and see them in person.
Case in point: More than 1.2 million visitors from over 120 different countries visited New York’s September 11 Memorial within the first few months after its opening. The two illuminated reflecting pools and 400 white oaks create a calming, respectful space.
Get inspired to plan your own trip to one of the world’s top new landmarks—some like Chicago’s Millennium Park look their finest as summer gets into swing. —Briana Fasone
Henderson Waves Pedestrian Bridge, Singapore
This undulating walkway of yellow bakau wood soars 118 feet above Singapore’s Henderson Road, connecting Mount Faber to Telok Blangah Hill. —Erin Florio
National September 11 Memorial, New York City
Opened in September 2011, the two illuminated reflecting pools—occupying the footprint of the Twin Towers—and 400 white oaks create a calming, respectful space to commemorate 9/11. —Erin Florio
Grand Canyon Skywalk, AZ
Twelve-and-a-half inches of reinforced glass is all that separates the brave souls who walk this four-year-old horseshoe plank from a 4,000-foot plunge into the Colorado River below. —Erin Florio
Millennium Park, Chicago
The standout features of Chicago’s 24.7-acre Millennium Park include Anish Kapoor’s jellybean-like Cloud Gate sculpture, Frank Gehry’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion, and various outdoor art exhibitions. —Erin Florio
Sands SkyPark at Marina Bay, Singapore
This three-acre Moshe Safdie–designed garden “floats” 57 stories off the ground and has a pool, two restaurants, and 360-degree views over the city. —Erin Florio
Millau Viaduct, Millau, France
Spanning 1.6 miles and reaching a height of 1,132 feet, the viaduct was opened in 2004 along France’s Tarn River Gorge and is the world’s highest bridge—just taller than the Eiffel Tower. —Erin Florio
The High Line, New York City
Flower beds, day loungers, even a bar occupy this once-abandoned elevated rail bed—reconceived by Diller Scofidio + Renfro—that now threads through buildings from the Meatpacking District to West 30th Street. —Erin Florio
De Young Museum, San Francisco
Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron sculpted 950,000 pounds of natural copper into a form that complements the landscape of Golden Gate Park. The fine arts museum opened in 2005. —Erin Florio
Wembley Stadium, London
After a massive $1.3 billion reconstruction, England’s national arena with its distinctive arch reopened in 2007 as the second largest sports structure in Europe. —Erin Florio
Ponte della Costituzione, Venice
Decidedly modern, Santiago Calatrava’s glass-and-marble footbridge over the Grand Canal ruffled the feathers of Venice’s hard-core traditionalists when it opened in 2008. —Erin Florio
National Stadium, Beijing
The world’s largest steel structure—designed by Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron and known affectionately as the Bird’s Nest—premiered at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. —Erin Florio
8 Spruce Street, New York City
Frank Gehry designed the Western world’s tallest residential tower (it soars 870 feet), and gave it an undulating frame to catch and reflect the sun as it changes throughout the day. —Erin Florio
Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles
Home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2003, Frank Gehry’s impeccably executed performance space is said to have some of the world’s best acoustics. —Erin Florio
Burj Khalifa, Dubai
At 2,717 feet, the world’s tallest building has commanded the Dubai skyline since January 2010. It contains residences, offices, and the Armani Hotel. —Erin Florio
Turning Torso, Malmö, Sweden
Santiago Calatrava’s 2005 twisting steel structure—consisting of nine cubes that rotate 90 degrees as they rise from bottom to top—is the second highest residential building in Europe. —Erin Florio
Museo Soumaya, Mexico City
Fernando Romero’s amorphous, aluminum-clad modern art museum, opened in 2011, rises like a glistening 64,583-square-foot sculpture out of Mexico City’s Polanco district. —Erin Florio
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, TX
Tadao Ando’s minimalist structure, opened in 2002, features five pavilions of 40-foot glass walls framed in simple steel and surrounding a 1.5-acre reflective pond. —Erin Florio
Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston
When it opened in 2006 overlooking Boston Harbor, this 65,000-square-foot gallery of transparent glass, translucent glass, and cool opaque steel by Diller Scofidio + Renfro was the city’s first new museum in 100 years. —Erin Florio
Modern Wing, Art Institute of Chicago
Renzo Piano’s limestone, glass, and steel 2009 addition to Chicago’s Beaux-Arts landmark was built to house the museum’s modern European artworks. —Erin Florio
