For me, usually fake = not good. But when it comes to tourist attractions fake can also mean fun, interesting, odd…
Lonely Planet’s editors had the chance to share some imitations of famous sites from around the world.
When thinking of this topic a few sites come to mind. The first is a couple of artificial sites in Las Vegas- the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel and the Canals of Venice at The Venetian. The other site is in Cambodia, imitating a famous temple nearby. (A little more on that later.)
Lonely Planet came up with a list of Amazing fakes: Seven of the world’s most intriguing replicas.
Here is the list:
- Foamhenge- Virginia, USA
- The Eiffel Tower- Las Vegas, USA
- Window of the World- Shenzen, China
- Statue of Liberty- Pristina, Kosovo
- St Peter’s Basilica- Nikko, Japan
- Santiago de Compostela cathedral gate- London, England
- The Falconcity of Wonders- Dubai, UAE
While I haven’t visited any of these replicas, I have been to the real deal for 4-5 of them. (I’ve seen the Eiffel Tower replica in Las Vegas but did not go inside.)
After looking over Lonely Planet’s article, it brought back memories of a fun site that I visited a few years back. While in Cambodia we spent a couple of days checking out the temples around Siem Reap. During the second day, we got out early to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat which is an incredible sight to see.
Later in the day I decided to check out another Angkor Wat, a miniature version of it! Obviously visiting this small copy is no where near as impressive as exploring the original but it was still a fun experience and made for some interesting photos. It also gave me a different prespective to appreciate the size and complexity of this famous Asian temple.
Has anybody had a chance to visit any of the replicas from Lonely Planet’s list?
Find out more about each of the 7 replicas here.
