The Eiffel Tower is the world’s favorite landmark, according to the results of a survey released Wednesday.

The iconic Parisian structure was named the greatest structure by 16 percent of travelers surveyed, well ahead of its nearest rivals, St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Rome and India’s Taj Mahal.

The Golden Gate Bridge, Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty in the US came fourth, fifth and sixth place, each with seven percent of the vote.

Sydney Opera House, Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the Acropolis in Athens and Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro made up the rest of the top ten, whilst Big Ben and the London Eye, both in London, missed out.

Hotels.com surveyed 10,000 travelers on five continents to compile the survey.

“This shows that a city really is defined in tourists’ minds by its iconic buildings,” said Alison Couper of Hotels.com.

“The pull of famous landmarks is so strong that many people travel to a place especially to see them. These buildings really do have a hold on our imaginations.”

Source: AFPrelaxnews, 2009

Global Travellers’ Top Ten Global landmarks – 2009
Data from Hotels.com

1 Eiffel Tower, Paris – 16%
2 St Peter’s Basilica, Rome – 9%
3 Taj Mahal, Agra – 8%
4 The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco – 7%
5 Empire State Building, New York – 7%
6 Statue of Liberty, New York – 7%
7 Sydney Opera House, Sydney – 7%
8 Sagrada Familia, Barcelona – 7%
9 The Acropolis, Athens – 6%
10 Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro – 4%