We have all heard and maybe even have on our travel wish list some of the attractions mentioned below. But, there are things we don’t know even if we have visited the place. Here are some of these less know facts:
The Tower of Pisa started to straighten up
The construction of the tower began in the 12th century and ended two hundred years later. The building began to tilt right after the second level was raised, because of the poor quality of the soil. The Italian authorities decided to take measures at the end of last century, especially after the collapse of the tower of Pavia, in 1989. Since then, the tower has been straightened up by more than 45 inches and, most recently, it ceased to move, for the first time in its history.
The Great Wall of China was built with lottery money
Now the Great Wall of China is one of the world’s most visited attractions. The keno game is also one of the most popular lottery formats. Who would have thought they have a common origin? Around the year 200 BCE, the Western Han Dynasty came up with the idea of a keno game to finance the building of this landmark. And the idea of selling lottery tickets to finance different projects did not stop there, being used plenty of times along the years. Even now the UK National Lottery used a great part of its funds to finance the renovation of heritage buildings, museums and other monuments as well as to help various good causes. So, next time you buy a lotto ticket or join a lottery syndicate, keep in mind that you are also helping the world become a better place.
It is difficult to visit the Statue of Liberty
You need to make a lot of preparations if you want to climb up to the crown of this famous statue designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi at the end of the 19th century. Reservations are nominal and hard to get, and the access is not allowed for groups larger than four persons. Also, a person is not allowed to visit the statue more often than once every six months.
The Versailles Gardens are as interesting as the palace
Versailles Palace, built by Louis the XIV-th is a symbol of the French monarchs’ opulence. The Palace’s gardens, spanning on eight million square meters, are at least as interesting as the palace and even worth visited separately.
Mona Lisa is more difficult to be admired than you think
Mona Lisa, also known as La Gioconda, is considered to be the best-known and the most visited work of art in the world. Made by Leonardo da Vinci, most likely between 1503 and 1506, the painting is exhibited at the Louvre Museum in Paris. As the painting was stolen once in 1911, and along the years there were numerous attempts to vandalize it, Mona Lisa is located behind an anti-bullet glass panel and tourists may not get too close to it. The high number of visitors also makes admiring Mona Lisa more difficult.
Fast-food and crooks next to the Pyramids in Egypt
The Egyptian constructions that remind of an ancient civilization, are among the best-known tourist attractions in the world. Only a few of those who visit the Pyramids know beforehand that in those ancient monuments’ proximity you can see modern buildings home to Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants. The large number of visitors attract also a number of crooks trying to take advantage of the distracted tourists while driving. One of tactics used by them is to offer cheap camel walks just to claim huge amounts of money for getting off the camel.
The Old Faithful geyser erupts less often
The well-known geyser in Yellowstone Park was named Old Faithful because of its eruptions’ unpredictability. In the last few years, however, the interval between two rashes went up to approximately 91 minutes.
You can’t photograph the Sistine Chapel
Sistine Chapel, decorated by Michelangelo, in the 16th century houses one of the best-known wall paintings in the world. Even though it is visited by a very large number of tourists each year, they may not take indoors pictures, not even for a fee.
