World's Most Beautiful Buildings

A hundred years ago, naming the world’s most beautiful buildings was easy: the Parthenon. Sure. The Taj Mahal. Absolutely. Hagia Sophia. No argument. But now, in part because the whole notion was chewed up and spit out by those troublemaking Modernists, we’re just learning to think about architecture in terms of beauty again. It’s open season.

Certain themes are evident in our choices of the world’s most beautiful buildings. We love buildings surrounded by water; the interaction between water and daylight is always magical. (Why do you think the Lincoln Memorial has a reflecting pool at its doorstep?) And we are head over heels for flamboyant uses of pattern and color. The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, for example, is positively psychedelic.

So are we consistent? Nope. But however capricious our choices may seem, we don’t take beauty lightly. After all, the ongoing search for beauty is what travel is all about. It’s certainly the best reason we know to leave the house.

ICMC at Brandenburg Technical University

Cottbus, Germany

While many architects prefer the smoothest, clearest glass, Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron specializes in texture. This technologically sophisticated university library, in an obscure corner of Eastern Germany, is clad in frosted glass—and embossed with letters from the world’s alphabets. Shaped like an amoeba, with its central spiral staircase in bright magenta and green, the seven-story building looks like a carnival ride.

Relativity Theory: The free-form building looks especially impressive because it’s surrounded by long, dull, rectilinear buildings of the sort the East Germans were known for.

Sagrada Família, Barcelona

Photo: Kelly Kollar

Sagrada Família

Barcelona

Visionary Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí spent more than 40 years of his life on this glorious, chaotically complex, and still unfinished Gothic-Art Nouveau cathedral. After his untimely death in 1926 (he was hit by a streetcar), his associates continued his sculptural masterwork, and despite the fact that the original drawings were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, construction continues today. Completion is scheduled for sometime between 2017 and 2026.

Authenticity Alert: The east-facing Nativity façade was the only one completed by Gaudí himself.

Burj Al Arab, Dubai, UAE

Photo: Courtesy of Burj Al Arab

Burj Al Arab

Dubai, UAE

This 60-story sail-shaped hotel, which sits on its own private island, was designed to be a national icon. But the interior is where the beauty lies: a nearly 600-foot-tall atrium—the world’s tallest. The undersides of tier after tier of semicircular balconies reveal a spectrum of colors. And the tower’s powerful diagonal braces, like the flying buttresses of the past, inspire awe.

Insider Tip: Non-guests can gain access to the Burj Al Arab’s private island by booking a meal at one of its restaurants; try afternoon tea at the Skyview Bar or a buffet lunch at Junsui.

Institute for Sound and Vision, Hilversum, The Netherlands

Design by Neutelings Riedijk Architecten/Photo by Scagliola Brakkee

Institute for Sound and Vision

Hilversum, The Netherlands

The work of Jaap Drupsteen, the graphic artist responsible for the building-size media collage, used to be everywhere in the Netherlands. This building is his comeback. Along with architecture firm Neutelings Riedijk, he covered the façade of the massive media archive and museum with images from Dutch television, abstracted into a giant four-sided mural and baked directly onto cast glass. The effect is stunning inside and out.

Experiential Beauty: Tour the history of Dutch broadcasting, or simply gaze up at the stained glass from a table at the atrium’s Grand Café.

The Golden Temple, Amritsar, India

Photo: Geetesh Bajaj

The Golden Temple

Amritsar, India

This most sacred Sikh shrine sits in the middle of what was once a wooded lake. The Buddha came here to meditate, and so did Guru Nanak, the founder of the Sikh faith, some 2,000 years later. The Harimandir, or “Temple of God,” was built and destroyed many times before the current version was erected in the late 1700s. The radiance of this gilded building, a mixture of Hindu and Muslim architectural styles, is amplified by reflections in the surrounding water and the devotional music that emanates from the temple day and night.

Night Owls Welcome: The temple is open 20 hours a day, from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily, and is illuminated (and especially lovely) at night.

National Congress Hall, Brasilia, Brazil

Photo: Courtesy of EMBRATUR

National Congress Hall

Brasilia, Brazil

Brasilia probably works better as a Modernist sculpture garden than as a city, but if there is one piece of it that best represents the whole, it’s Congress Hall. Architect Oscar Niemeyer’s colonnaded marvel, with its grand sci-fi entrance ramp, skinny twin towers, and two bowl-shaped meeting halls (one for the Chamber of Deputies and one for the Federal Senate), treats the business of government as a monumental work of art.

Not Just Skin Deep: Go inside and check out the Green Hall (named for the color of the carpet and the Brazilian flag), with its collection of paintings, sculptures, and decorative screens by renowned Brazilian artists.

The Guggenheim, Bilbao, Spain

Photo: Aitor Las Hayas

The Guggenheim

Bilbao, Spain

The Frank Gehry–designed, titanium-clad phenomenon that upstaged the Guggenheim’s Frank Lloyd Wright transformed the way the world understands architecture, art museums, and the strategies for reviving depressed industrial cities. Today, the shiny undulating museum doesn’t look as shocking as it once did, but it does embody a certain kind of late 20th-century thinking—the thrill of formal complexity and high art.

Small Is Beautiful: Alternatively, we could make a case for Frank Gehry’s first major building, the diminutive white Vitra Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany.

The Chrysler Building, New York City

Photo: Ralph Grunewald

The Chrysler Building

New York City

Designed by architect William van Alen, the Chrysler’s shiny, filigreed Art Deco spire is the most indispensable piece of the New York City skyline, perfectly balancing the primal thrust of the classic American skyscraper with the desire for a little bling. (It was the world’s tallest for less than a year in 1931 before that zeppelin-masted tower eight blocks south took the spotlight.) Day or night, its stainless-steel crown still dazzles like nothing else.

Icon Alert: This is possibly the only building in the world that is decorated with automotive hood ornaments: the big eagles on the 61st floor were copied from a 1929 Chrysler.

Mont St. Michel, Normandy, France

Photo: Julius Fekete / Alamy

Mont St. Michel

Normandy, France

Though not as lavish as some landlocked cathedrals, this abbey is certainly the most dramatically situated, enjoying prime real estate just off the coast of Normandy. The first abbey was built in 709, with construction continuing for hundreds of years. Spurning the safety of the causeway (built in 1879 and currently being reconstructed), pilgrims still scamper across the sands at low tide to reach the Mont, and risk being overtaken by fast-moving waters.

Dining Tip: Try the agneau de pré-salé, a local specialty made from meat from the lambs that graze on the nearby salt meadows.

Nelson-Atkins Museum’s Bloch Building, Kansas City, MO

Photo: Andy Ryan

Nelson-Atkins Museum’s Bloch Building

Kansas City, MO

Unlike many modern additions to historic museums, Steven Holl’s 21st-century companion doesn’t overwhelm the 1933 Beaux Arts original. His string of iridescent frosted-glass boxes pop out of the grassy lawn—they are absolutely magical at dusk when they begin to glow—and filter sunlight into a series of dramatic underground galleries.

Special Attraction: Check out the Noguchi Sculpture Court, a minimalist space created by the famed Japanese-American artist that cleverly blurs the line between indoors and out.

The sun can be seen as the universal icon for all life on planet earth. Without it, there would be no life on earth. The sun is one of the most fascinating mysteries of the universe and its beauty is unparallel. However, not many of us take the time to appreciate its beauty and all it offers us. The sun could be a source of great inspiration, if we’d only stop for a moment to realize it.

Touched by Nature’s Light

The sun has been worshipped and revered by people throughout the ages. Each day starts and ends with a beautiful natural sight. The sun brings a new day to us in the form of a sunrise, and brings each day to a close with a sunset.

We have consolidated for you, 60+ amazing photographs showcasing this much overlooked natural phenomenon; the sunset and the sunrise.

Sunrise: Rays of Hope

There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope. - Bern Williams (American programmer and consultant)

At the start a brand new day, as the sun starts to appear over the horizon, rays of hope shine down upon us and gives us an amazing sight reminding us of all the things the new day has to offer us. We hope that these beautiful photographs of the sun rising will brighten up your day, put a smile on your face, and warm your heart. Every day is a new adventure.

Technicolor Dawn

Spring Sunrise

Rangitoto Dawn

Morning Sunrise

Mistycal Morning

Meravigliosa Alba

Lake Nakuru

Hilton Head

Haleakala Sunrise

Great Blue Sunrise

Dawn of Peace

Dawn of a New Year

Dawn

Cromer Sunrise

Cape Sunrise

Burning Dawn

Bungan Beach Sunrise

Breaking Dawn

Boeing 747 Sunrise

Beautiful Morning

Autumn Dawn

Sunset: Reflect and be Thankful

Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer the goal.
- Elbert Hubbard (American writer, artist, and philosopher)

As each day draws to a close, a sunset reminds us that yet another day is about to pass and gives us the opportunity to reflect on the day and be thankful for everything we have. The sunset is one of the most romantic and inspiring sights nature has to offer us as it reminds us that there is beauty even at the end. We hope that these amazing photographs capturing the sun as it sets will invigorate you and help you remain hopeful.

Yellow Sunset

Vulcani

Trees at Sunset

Pyramids at the Sunset

The Burning Bush

Taizhong Sunset

Suntastic

Sunset on the St Laurent

Sunset Split

Sun Sets Behind the Purbecks

Sunset Over Baytown

Sunset Fishing

Sunset Blv

Sun Power

Sunny Side Up

Sun Down

Stonehenge Sunset

Night Falling on the City

Plane and Sunset

Pacific

Orange Sky

Observatory Sunset

Maui Sunset

Liberty Sunset

Last Golden Rays

Goodnight Sun

Hnl Sunset

Golden Ball

Fishing Boats Sunset

Fire in the Sky

Girls and the Bali Sunset

Hold me please

Day for Night

Brooklyn Bridge Sunset

Branch Line

Bale of Straw

Arabian Night

Andaman Sea

Amazing Sunset

Beauty of Simplicity

We just witnessed the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing recently. To stay in the spirit of space exploration, we’ve rounded up some stunning digital art illustrations of sunrises taken from space. Feast your eyes on these beauties from above.

1. A New Dawn

Artist: Fernando Rodrigues

2. Eastern Sunrise Updated

Artist: Joy-Vincent

3. Origin

Artist: Fernando Rodrigues

4. Omicron Beta

Artist: taenaron

5. Aeon

Artist: Fernando Rodrigues

6. Cosmic Daylight Close Up

Artist: Diny

7. Terra Nova

Artist: Fernando Rodrigues

8. The Last Sunrise

Artist: Diny

9. Detritus

Artist: Diny

10. Cosmic Sunrise

Artist: Diny

11. Sunrise in Space

Artist: gucken

12. Smooth Vision

Artist: Josef Bartoň

13. Remnants

Artist: Sami Mattila

14. Planet One

Artist: Thrasos Varnava

15. Allurement

Artist: Rob Graham

16. Tau 31

Artist: sanmonku

17. Last Dawn

Artist: Michel Merza

18. Misconstrue Image

Artist: Gavin

19. Morning

Artist: Kalle Törmä

20. Homeworld

Artist: phil2001