As much as we’d like to think legendary buildings and monuments such as the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower are entirely unique, they aren’t. Whenever there’s an internationally famous icon, there’s also someone willing to copy it…
The Sphinx
Famous location: Giza, Egypt
Surprise alternative: The Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas is utterly shameless in its Egyptian theming. It takes the form of a giant glass pyramid, and the entrance is guarded by a massive copy of the legendary Sphinx.
The Eiffel Tower
Famous location: Paris, France
Surprise alternative: Of course, Vegas doesn’t just settle for a tacky version of Egypt – the Paris Las Vegas resort also attempts to do France. This means a 5/8 scale model of the Eiffel Tower, along with other pseudo-Parisian effects like a Montgolfier hot air balloon.
The Arc de Triomphe
Famous location: Paris, France
Surprise alternative: Triumphal arches can be found all over the world – the idea dates back to Roman times – but one of the most striking is in Bucharest, Romania. It bears more than a little resemblance to the better known Paris version, and it’s absolutely gigantic.
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Famous location: Sydney, Australia
Surprise alternative: The Tyne Bridge in Newcastle-upon-Tyne isn’t an exact copy, but it’s pretty darned close. It was made by the same construction firm, and was based on the same design. That design was, in turn, based on the Hell Gate Bridge in New York.
Michaelangelo’s David
Famous location: Galleria dell’Academia in Florence, Italy
Surprise alternative: A bronze version of David can be found in Delaware Park in Buffalo, the United States. There’s also a plaster cast version at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The Statue of Liberty’s Flame
Famous location: Liberty Island, New York City
Surprise alternative: A life-size replica of the Statue of Liberty’s torch and flame can be found above the entrance to the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris, France. It was a gift from the city of New York, in return for France’s more famous gift of the original statue. The second-hand flame has become something of a shrine to Princess Diana in recent years – it stands above the underpass in which she died.
The Statue of Liberty
Famous location: Liberty Island, New York City
Surprise alternative: There are smaller versions of the iconic New York statue all over the world. The best known is on the Ile des Cygnes in Paris, but there are others by the beach area of Tokyo, Japan and the Norwegian village of Visnes. The copper that made the original statue was dug up in the latter.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa
Famous location: Pisa, Italy
Surprise alternative: Coming in at roughly half the size of the original, the Leaning Tower of Niles in Illinois, United States, was built as the centrepiece to a recreation area in the 1930s. Niles is now twinned with Pisa.
The Taj Mahal
Famous location: Agra, India
Surprise alternative: It should come as no surprise that there will soon be a second Taj Mahal in Dubai. The Falcon City project is planning to make a huge residential area, with all the accommodation in replicas of famous landmarks. There will also be an Eiffel Tower (bigger than the original) and Great Wall of China.
Stonehenge
Famous location: Wiltshire, England
Surprise alternative: The origins of Carhenge in Nebraska, United States, aren’t quite as mysterious as those of its British counterpart. It’s simply the result of one chap deciding to spray a series of vintage American cars grey, then arrange them in exactly the same formation as the stones on Salisbury Plain.
The Parthenon
Famous location: Athens, Greece
Surprise alternative: Mini Europe in Brussels, Belgium is made up of 1/25 scale models of famous European monuments and buildings. Amongst the most impressive is the mini Parthenon, but there are also many more, including the Houses of Parliament, the Brandenburg Gate and Mount Vesuvius.
This article was originally written for AOL UK.
Copyright David Whitley
