How good is your geography?
Scroll down and put it to the test, because here we reveal the 10 most misidentified places in the world: world-renowned sites that people confuse with other similar, and sometimes more famous, buildings.
The rating is courtesy of the travel insurance company. Everything clear, in which 2,000 people were asked to identify famous places around the world using multiple-choice answers, with several similar but incorrect places and a “don’t know” option included.
From the results, the researchers were able to create a classification of the most misidentified famous monuments on the planet.
The list includes London bridges, Vienna palaces and ancient buildings in Mexico. Many people have also gotten into trouble with two towers in North America.
Here’s the full rundown of commonly mismatched buildings, including a confusing pair that aren’t even on the same continent… Do you know them all?
1. THE TOWER BRIDGE OF LONDON – CONFUSED WITH THE BRIDGE OF LONDON
In one survey, 2,000 people were asked to identify famous places, as part of a study by travel insurance company AllClear. The results revealed the 10 landmarks most often confused with other places in the world. Tower Bridge (left), London, was the most commonly misidentified location, with 66 per cent of people confusing it with its not-so-great neighbour, London Bridge (right), a 15-minute walk away. It’s an easy mistake to make, not helped by Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie’s infamous rap over London Bridge while standing in front of Tower Bridge in her 2006 music video.
2. SAGRADA FAMILIA, BARCELONA, SPAIN – CONFUSED WITH ST. MARK’S BASILICA, VENICE
Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada Familia (left) was confused with St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy (right) by 62 percent of people surveyed. The two European buildings are extremely grand, although the Spanish church is still not complete, 140 years after its construction began.
3. SCHONBRUNN PALACE, VIENNA, AUSTRIA – CONFUSED WITH THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES, FRANCE
Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna (left) has often been called “the Versailles of Austria” because it resembles the Palace of Versailles in France (right). Perhaps not surprisingly, 60 percent of the study group confused the former with the latter.
4. CN TOWER, TORONTO, CANADA – MISUSED FOR THE SPACE NEEDLE, SEATTLE, USA
The CN Tower in Toronto, Canada (left), is the fourth most misidentified monument in the world, with 55 percent of people guessing it to be the Seattle Space Needle (right). Both towers are visually similar, with a slim, needle-shaped design, although the CN Tower is much taller at 553 m/1,184 ft, compared to the Space Needle, which measures 184 m/603 ft.
5. FORBIDDEN CITY, BEIJING, CHINA – WRONG WITH CHANGDEOKGUNG PALACE, SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
In Asia, the most misidentified landmark is the Forbidden City in Beijing, China (left), which 55 percent of respondents mistakenly thought was Changdeokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea (right).
6. PARTHENON, ATHENS, GREECE – PANTHEON, ROME, ITALY
These ancient structures have very similar names, plus many columns, so it’s no surprise that 51 percent of respondents confused the Parthenon (left), in Athens, Greece, with the Pantheon (right), located in Rome. Italy
7. BRANDENBURG GATE, BERLIN, GERMANY – CONFUSED WITH THE ARCH DE TRIUMPH, PARIS, FRANCE
Likely due to its arch-like appearance, 37 percent of respondents confused the Brandenburg Gate (left), located in Berlin, Germany, with the Arc de Triomphe (right), located in Paris, France.
8. SUGAR LOAF MOUNT, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – MISKED WITH THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR, GIBRALTAR
The only natural landmark in the ranking of the 10 most misidentified is Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (left), an impressive peak that rises dramatically over Guanabara Bay. 37 percent of people confused it with the Rock of Gibraltar (right), Gibraltar, another distinctive geological landmark, on the other side of the Atlantic.
9. CHICHEN ITZA, TINUM, MEXICO – WRONG ABOUT IT TEOTIHUACAN PYRAMIDS, SAN JUAN TEOTIHUACAN, MEXICO
Chichén Itzá (left) and the Pyramids of Teotihuacán (right) are located in Mexico, in addition to being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and are shaped like a pyramid. The result? 33 percent of respondents confused them
10. HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT BUILDING, BUDAPEST – CONFUSED WITH WESTMINSTER PALACE, LONDON
The Hungarian Parliament building in Budapest (left) and the Palace of Westminster in London (right) are both ornate and situated by the water; perhaps that is why 31 percent of the study group confused the first with the second.