Last Updated on 15 November 2023

The following list is the Official Definitive List of the 200 best architectural works of all time around the world. I averaged 15 different ranked lists of “best architectural works or buildings” to get this definitive compilation.  See my Methodology page for the research process that was used, including the full spreadsheet and links to all 15 lists that were averaged.

  1. Taj Mahal (Agra, India – 1653)
  2. Colosseum (Rome, Italy – 80 CE)
  3. Hagia Sophia (Istanbul, Turkey – 537 CE)
  4. Great Pyramids of Giza (Giza, Egypt – 2490 BCE)
  5. Sagrada Family (Barcelona, Spain – 1882)
  6. Burj Khalifa (Dubai, UAE – 2010)
  7. Parthenon (Athens, Greece – 438 BCE)
  8. Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia – 1973)
  9. Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (Bilbao, Spain – 1997)
  10. Leaning Tower of Pisa (Pisa, Italy – 1372)
  11. Fallingwater (Bear Run, PA – 1939)
  12. Petronas Towers (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – 1999)
  13. Angkor Wat (Siem Reap Province, Cambodia – 1150)
  14. Empire State Building (New York, NY – 1931)
  15. Dancing House (Prague, Czechia – 1996)
  16. Eiffel Tower (Paris, France – 1889)
  17. Heydar Aliyev Centre (Baku, Azerbaijan – 2012)
  18. Pantheon (Rome, Italy – 126 CE)
  19. Château de Chenonceau (Chenonceaux, France – 1513)
  20. Lotus Temple (New Delhi, India – 1986)
  21. Hallgrímskirkja (Reykjavik, Iceland – 1986)
  22. Beijing Daxing International Airport (Beijing, China – 2019)
  23. Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Cape Town, South Africa – 2017)
  24. Chrysler Building (New York, NY – 1930)
  25. Forbidden City (Beijing, China – 1420)
  26. Burj Al Arab (Dubai, UAE – 1999)
  27. St. Basil’s Cathedral (Moscow, Russia – 1561)
  28. Beijing National Stadium (Beijing, China – 2007)
  29. Gardens by the Bay (Singapore – 2012)
  30. Harpa Concert Hall (Reykjavik, Iceland – 2011)
  31. St. Peter’s Basilica (Vatican City – 1626)
  32. Guggenheim Museum (New York, NY – 1959)
  33. Shard (London, England – 2012)
  34. Petra (Ma’an, Jordan – 312 BCE)
  35. Flatiron Building (New York, NY – 1903)
  36. St. Paul’s Cathedral (London, England – 1720)
  37. Milwaukee Art Museum (Milwaukee, WI – 1888)
  38. Gateway Arch (St. Louis, MO – 1965)
  39. Notre Dame Cathedral (Paris, France – 1345)
  40. Villa Savoye (Poissy, France – 1931)
  41. Metropol Parasol (Seville, Spain – 2011)
  42. Perot Museum of Nature and Science (Dallas, TX – 2012)
  43. Dome of the Rock (Jerusalem, Israel – 691 CE)
  44. Mar Adentro (San Jose del Cabo, Mexico – 2016)
  45. Great Mosque of Djenne (Djenné, Mali – 1907)
  46. Lloyd’s Building (London, England – 1986)
  47. Buckingham Palace (London, England – 1705)
  48. Westminster Abbey (London, England – 1090)
  49. Casa Milà (Barcelona, Spain – 1912)
  50. Great Wall of China (Northern China – 200s BCE)
  51. Machu Picchu (Machu Picchu, Peru – 1400s)
  52. Gherkin (London, England – 2004)
  53. White House (Washington, DC – 1801)
  54. White Temple (Chiang Rai, Thailand – 1997)
  55. Teopanzolco Cultural Center (Cuernavaca, Mexico – 2017)
  56. Space Needle (Seattle, WA – 1962)
  57. Louvre Museum (Paris, France – 1546)
  58. Metropolitan Cathedral of Brasilia (Brasília, Brazil – 1970)
  59. Statue of Liberty (Liberty Island, NY – 1886)
  60. Acropolis (Athens, Greece – 400s BCE)
  61. Houses of Parliament (London, England – 1870)
  62. Cologne Cathedral (Cologne, Germany – 1473)
  63. Dresden Frauenkirche (Dresden, Germany – 2005)
  64. Pedrera (Barcelona, Spain – 1912)
  65. Kaaba (Mecca, Saudi Arabia – 608 CE)
  66. Oslo Opera House (Oslo, Norway – 2008)
  67. Chapel of the Holy Cross (Sedona, AZ – 1956)
  68. Elbphilharmonie Hamburg (Hamburg, Germany – 2017)
  69. Linked Hybrid (Beijing, China – 2009)
  70. Willis (Sears) Tower (Chicago, IL – 1976)
  71. Konark Sun Tower (Konark, India – 1250)
  72. CCTV Headquarters (Beijing, China – 2008)
  73. Tower Bridge (London, England – 1894)
  74. Mont Saint-Michel (Brittany, France – 1100s)
  75. Taipei 101 (Taipei, Taiwan – 2004)
  76. Himeji Castle (Himeji, Japan – 1346)
  77. Kremlin (Moscow, Russia – 1516)
  78. Experimentarium (Hellerup, Denmark – 1991)
  79. Gare do Oriente (Lisbon, Portugal – 1998)
  80. City of Arts and Sciences (Valencia, Spain – 1998)
  81. Alhambra (Granada, Spain – 1527)
  82. Millau Viaduct (Millau, France – 2004)
  83. Great Mosque of Córdoba (Córdoba, Spain – 987 CE)
  84. Riverside Museum (Glasgow, Scotland – 2011)
  85. National Memorial for Peace and Justice (Montgomery, AL – 2018)
  86. Niterói Contemporary Art Museum (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 1996)
  87. Palace of Versailles (Versailles, France – 1668)
  88. Stonehenge (Salisbury Plain, England – 1500 BCE)
  89. Löyly (Helsinki, Finland – 2016)
  90. Odeillo Solar Furnace (Odeillo, France – 1969)
  91. Parrish Art Museum (Water Mill, NY – 2012)
  92. Potala Palace (Lhasa, Tibet – 1650)
  93. CN Tower (Toronto, Canada – 1976)
  94. Notre Dame Cathedral de Chartres (Chartres, France – 1260)
  95. Brooklyn Bridge (New York, NY – 1883)
  96. Seagram Building (New York, NY – 1958)
  97. Guangzhou Opera House (Guangzhou, China – 2010)
  98. Temppeliaukio Church (Helsinki, Finland – 1969)
  99. Tianjin Binhai Library (Tianjin, China – 2017)
  100. Barcelona Pavilion (Barcelona, Spain – 1929)
  101. Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Washington, DC – 1982)
  102. Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco, CA – 1937)
  103. United States Capitol (Washington, DC – 1811)
  104. Tai Kwun (Hong Kong, China – 1925)
  105. Centre Pompidou (Paris, France – 1977)
  106. Museum of Tomorrow (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 2015)
  107. Farnsworth House (Plano, IL – 1951)
  108. World Trade Center (New York, NY – 1977)
  109. Neuschwanstein Castle (Schwangau, Germany – 1882)
  110. National Centre for the Performing Arts (Mumbai, India – 1986)
  111. Absolute World (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada – 2012)
  112. Bodegas Ysios (Araba, Spain – 2001)
  113. King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia – 2016)
  114. Blue Mosque (Istanbul, Turkey – 1616)
  115. Musée d’Orsay (Paris, France – 1900)
  116. Seoullo 7017 Skygarden (Seoul, South Korea – 1970)
  117. Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles, CA – 2003)
  118. Design Society (Shenzhen, China – 2017)
  119. Jewish Museum (Berlin, Germany – 1998)
  120. Borobudur Temple (Java, Indonesia – 825 CE)
  121. Fuji Broadcasting Center (Tokyo, Japan – 1997)
  122. Lascaux IV (Montignac, France – 2016)
  123. Library of Alexandria (Alexandria, Egypt – 2002)
  124. Seattle Central Library (Seattle, WA – 2004)
  125. Emporia Mall (Malmö, Sweden – 2012)
  126. Louvre Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi, UAE – 2017)
  127. Salvador Dalí Museum (St. Petersburg, FL – 1982)
  128. Palace of Italian Civilization (Rome, Italy – 1943)
  129. Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto, Canada – 1914)
  130. Thread Artist Residency (Tambacounda Region, Senegal – 2015)
  131. Church of Colònia Güell (Barcelona, Spain – 1914)
  132. Murray Hotel (Hong Kong, China – 1969)
  133. Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel (Colorado Springs, CO – 1962)
  134. Château Frontenac (Québec, Canada – 1893)
  135. Morpheus Hotel (Cotai, Macau – 2018)
  136. Tokyo International Airport (Tokyo, Japan – 1931)
  137. Ideal Palace (Hauterives, France – 1912)
  138. Parliament Building (Budapest, Hungary – 1904)
  139. Treehotel (Harads, Sweden – 2010)
  140. Valencia Opera House (Valencia, Spain – 2005)
  141. Casa Vicens (Barcelona, Spain – 1885)
  142. One World Trade Center (New York City, NY – 2014)
  143. Turning Torso (Malmö, Sweden – 2005)
  144. Zaryadye Park (Moscow, Russia – 1997)
  145. Equinor Office Building (Oslo, Norway – 2012)
  146. Tippet Rise Art Center (Fishtail, MT – 2016)
  147. Golden Bridge (Da Nang, Vietnam – 2018)
  148. Olympic Stadium (Montreal, Canada – 1976)
  149. Lajas Sanctuary (Nariño, Colombia – 1949)
  150. Torre Galatea (Catalonia, Spain – 1850)
  151. Thermal Baths (Vals, Switzerland – 1996)
  152. Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence, Italy – 1436)
  153. Golden Pavilion (Kyoto, Japan – 1955)
  154. Royal Pavilion (Brighton, England – 1822)
  155. Yokohama Port Terminal (Yokohama, Japan – 2002)
  156. Al Hamra Tower (Kuwait City, Kuwait – 2011)
  157. Hotel Parkroyal (Singapore – 2013)
  158. Lincoln Center (New York, NY – 1962)
  159. Jockey Club Innovation Tower (Hong Kong, China – 2014)
  160. Osaka Dome (Osaka, Japan – 1997)
  161. St. Pancras Clock Tower (London, England – 1873)
  162. Bran Castle (Bran, Romania – 1388)
  163. Church of the Light (Ibaraki, Japan – 1989)
  164. Hoover Dam (NV/AZ – 1935)
  165. W. R. Grace Building (New York, NY – 1974)
  166. Panama Canal (Panama, 1914)
  167. BMW Welt (Munich, Germany – 2007)
  168. Lincoln Memorial (Washington, DC – 1922)
  169. New York Times Building (New York, NY – 2003)
  170. Faisal Mosque (Islamabad, Pakistan – 1986)
  171. Basilica of Santa Maria Novella (Florence, Italy – 1470)
  172. Shanghai World Financial Center (Shanghai, China – 2008)
  173. Great Arch of La Défense (Puteaux, France – 1989)
  174. Sacré-Coeur (Paris, France – 1875)
  175. Ponte Vecchio (Florence, Italy – 1345)
  176. Inntel Hotel (Amsterdam, Netherlands – 2010)
  177. Auditorio de Tenerife (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands – 2003)
  178. National Art Center (Tokyo, Japan – 2007)
  179. Bosco Verticale (Milan, Italy – 2014)
  180. Confluence Museum (Lyon, France – 2014)
  181. Cité du Vin (Bordeaux, France – 2016)
  182. Ericsson Globe (Stockholm, Sweden – 1989)
  183. Kingdom Centre (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – 2002)
  184. Monticello (Charlottesville, VA – 1782)
  185. New John Jay College (New York, NY – 2011)
  186. Queen Tamar Airport (Mestia, Georgia – 2010)
  187. Guangzhou Circle (Guangzhou, China – 2013)
  188. JW Marriott Marquis Dubai (Dubai, UAE – 2012)
  189. Clyde Auditorium (Glasgow, Scotland – 1997)
  190. Parc de la Villette (Paris, France – 1979)
  191. Selimiye Mosque (Edirne, Turkey – 1574)
  192. Copenhagen Opera House (Copenhagen, Denmark – 2005)
  193. Pompidou Centre (Paris, France – 1977)
  194. São Paulo Museum of Art (São Paulo, Brazil – 1947)
  195. Bank of Georgia Headquarters (Tbilisi, Georgia – 1975)
  196. Ordrupgaard Museum (Charlottenlund, Denmark – 1918)
  197. British Library (London, England – 1973)
  198. Justice House (Tbilisi, Georgia – 2012)
  199. Sistine Chapel (Vatican City – 1481)
  200. Rotterdam Market Hall (Rotterdam, Netherlands – 2014)

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