Monumental Wannabes

If you’ve ever dreamt of travelling the world to see the world’s most famous landmarks, but couldn’t afford to finance the big trip, perhaps you might consider visiting one of the many not-so-famous sites that attempt to replicate those better-known originals.

Carhenge (Alliance, Nebraska USA) – As an alternative to the multitude of regular Stonehenge replicas, why not visit Carhenge? It’s a scale replica of the real Stonehenge, the only discernible difference being that instead of standing stones, it’s made from thirty-eight grey spray-painted cars.

Eiffel Tower (Paris, Texas USA) – When on a trip to Paris, you have to visit the Eiffel Tower right? Well, the folks in Paris, Texas must have thought so, as they decided to build their own 20m tall replica (65 feet). The twist however (in true Texas style), is that they topped it off with a giant cowboy hat.

Parthenon (Nashville, Tennessee USA) – One of the more impressive duplications¹ of a famous landmark has to be the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee. This scale replica of the original Greek structure was originally built in 1897. Today, it stands as the centrepiece of Centennial Park, a large urban park west of downtown Nashville. Inside the structure you can find a 13m (42 feet) tall statue of Athena Parthenos that is dressed in more than eight pounds of gold leaf.²

Minitalia Leolandia Park (Bergamo, Italy) – Aside from visiting the replica of one building, you can also visit a replica of an entire country! Miniature parks around the world offer visitors small versions of cities and countries, usually in a beautiful, landscaped setting. From the satellite view of Minitalia, you can see that as the name implies, it looks just like a small Italy! On the ground level, visitors can walk from one city to another visiting tiny facsimiles of Italy’s most famous landmarks.

Las Vegas, Nevada USA – Perhaps the one location that has more wannabes than anywhere else is Las Vegas. Built in the middle of the desert, just about everything you see in this town can be considered fake in one way or another. On one end of the strip you’ll find a replica of an Egyptian obelisk that stands in front of the Luxor hotel, and on the opposite end you’ll find a replica of Seattle’s Space Needle. In between there are volcanoes, roman columns, the Eiffel Tower, and more!

Las Vegas is also home to a half scale replica of the Statue of Liberty, which is actually one of the most reproduced monuments in the world. Here’s a 35m (115ft) version in Germany’s Heide Park.

Google Sightseeing visited the original Parthenon and the original Statue of Liberty back in 2005, and in 2006 we took a tour of some of the best known replicas of Liberty, and several Parthenon impostors. We’ve also visited the excellent Dutch Madurodam miniature park, as well as taken an extensive tour of many of the members of the International Association of Miniature Parks.

Thanks to Feel Glass and many others.