Every boarding pass is a time machine in disguise. The piazza you cross for gelato was once a marketplace for empires; the beach bar’s soundtrack floats over trade winds that carried spices, ideas, and sometimes invasions. Popular destinations aren’t just photogenic—they’re centuries-long narratives, with centuries of stories written, erased, and written again.
A few surprising facts can turn “seen it” into “I can’t believe I missed that,” helping you spot hidden details, sidestep tired clichés, and engage more respectfully with the people who call these places home. History sharpens your senses: you taste foods differently when you know why they’re traditional, you read city grids like an old text, and your photos start to capture meaning, not just monuments.
In this article, we’ll discuss several historical facts about popular travel destinations, digging cursorily into their history. Consider this your carry-on of pocket-sized revelations. We’ll keep it short, vivid, and genuinely useful, so you can step into your next destination with curiosity, context, and better stories to bring home.
Eiffel Tower (1889)
Location: Paris, France:
Historical Tidbits: The Eiffel Tower’s initial history is rooted in the 1889 Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair), an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. A competition was launched to design a temporary monument to serve as the exposition’s entrance and showcase France’s industrial prowess. Gustave Eiffel’s company won the contest with a design by his chief engineers, Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier, which was then embellished by architect Stephen Sauvestre. The structure, upon its construction was the tallest man-made building in the world.
At the time, the tower was met with significant public backlash from a group of prominent artists and intellectuals who considered it an industrial monstrosity that would ruin the beauty of Paris. Despite this initial opposition, the tower was a massive success during the fair, and Eiffel ingeniously ensured its survival beyond its planned 20-year lifespan by promoting its use for scientific and communication purposes, such as a meteorological station and a radio transmitter.
The Roman Forum (7th Century BCE) – Popular Travel Destinations
Location: Rome, Italy
Historical Tidbits: The Roman Forum, or Forum Romanum, began its life as a marshy, low-lying valley between the Palatine and Capitoline Hills. In the 7th century BCE, this swamp was drained through the construction of the Cloaca Maxima, one of the world’s earliest and most advanced sewer systems. This engineering feat transformed the area into a usable public space. Initially, it served as a simple marketplace for citizens, but it quickly evolved into the political, religious, and commercial heart of ancient Rome. Over centuries, it became the central stage for public speeches, political debates, religious ceremonies, criminal trials, and triumphal processions for victorious generals.
If you’re searching for the fulcrum of Ancient Rome, it lies in the Forum, beneath the Greek architecture of its more imposing neighbor, the Colosseum.
Tower of London (1078)
Location: London, United Kingdom
Historical Tidbits: The initial history of the Tower of London begins with William the Conqueror in 1066. Immediately following his successful invasion, William started building a series of fortifications to assert his dominance and control over London, with the Tower being the most formidable. The central structure, the White Tower, began construction in the 1070s and was a powerful symbol of Norman authority, designed to both intimidate the local populace and protect the new ruling class. While it is infamous for its later use as a prison, the Tower’s original purpose was that of a fortress and a royal palace, strategically positioned on the River Thames to guard the city and serve as a secure royal residence.
Statue of Liberty (1886) – Popular Travel Destinations
Location: New York City, New York
Historical Tidbits: The initial history of the Statue of Liberty began in 1865 when French historian Édouard de Laboulaye proposed that France create a monument to celebrate the United States’ centennial of independence and its shared ideals of liberty and democracy.
Sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi enthusiastically embraced the idea and began designing the colossal figure. The project was conceived as a joint effort, with the people of France funding and building the statue itself, and the American people responsible for financing and constructing the pedestal. The statue was completed in France in 1884, then disassembled into 350 pieces and shipped across the Atlantic. It arrived in New York Harbor in 1885, where it was reassembled and finally dedicated on October 28, 1886.
The Forbidden City (1420)
Location: Beijing, China
Historical Tidbits: The initial history of the Forbidden City dates back to the early 15th century, during the Ming Dynasty. After usurping the throne, the Yongle Emperor, Zhu Di, decided to move the capital of China from Nanjing to his former fiefdom of Beijing. To solidify his power and create a new imperial seat, he commissioned the construction of an elaborate palace complex in 1406. The project was a massive undertaking, employing over a million laborers and more than 100,000 skilled artisans over a period of 14 years.
Completed in 1420, the Forbidden City served as the ceremonial and political center of the Chinese government and the residence of the emperor and his household for nearly five centuries. The name “Forbidden City” refers to the fact that access was strictly forbidden to anyone without the emperor’s permission.
Hagia Sophia (537) – Popular Travel Destinations
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Historical Tidbits: The initial history of the Hagia Sophia is a story of three successive structures built on the same site in Constantinople. The first church, known as the “Great Church” and consecrated in 360 CE, was a timber-roofed basilica that was destroyed by riots in 404 CE. A second, larger version was built in 415 CE but also met a fiery end during the Nika Revolt of 532 CE, which nearly toppled Emperor Justinian I’s rule. Immediately after the revolt was quelled, Justinian commissioned a new, even more magnificent structure to serve as the city’s main cathedral.
Designed by the visionary architects Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus, the present-day Hagia Sophia was completed in an astonishingly short five-year period, opening in 537 CE. This architectural masterpiece, with its groundbreaking dome design, became the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years and solidified its place as a monumental achievement of the Byzantine Empire.
After the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453, Sultan Mehmed II immediately converted the Hagia Sophia into a mosque, renaming it the Ayasofya. This conversion was a powerful symbolic act of the victory of the Ottoman Empire over the Byzantine Empire. Over the centuries of Ottoman rule, the building underwent significant architectural modifications to function as a mosque. Islamic features were added, including four minarets, a mihrab (niche indicating the direction of Mecca), and a minbar (pulpit).
The Taj Mahal (1632)
Location: Agra, India
Historical Tidbits: The Taj Mahal was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to serve as a mausoleum for his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child.
The construction of the complex began in 1632, with the main mausoleum completed by 1648. Shah Jahan, who was known for his love of architecture, enlisted a team of thousands of artisans and laborers from across the Mughal Empire and beyond to create a monument that would be a fitting tribute to his wife. The result was an architectural masterpiece that fused Persian, Islamic, and Indian styles, symbolizing the emperor’s profound grief and devotion. The surrounding gardens and ancillary buildings were completed a few years later, with the entire complex finished around 1653.
The Parthenon (447 BCE) – Popular Travel Destinations
Location: Athens, Greece
Historical Tidbits: The initial history of the Parthenon begins with its predecessor, a temple dedicated to Athena that was under construction on the Acropolis but was destroyed by the Persians in 480 BCE. Following the Greek victory in the Persian Wars, the Athenian statesman Pericles initiated a grand building program in 447 BCE to rebuild the city and showcase its power and wealth. Designed by the architects Ictinus and Callicrates and overseen by the sculptor Phidias, the Parthenon was constructed using white marble from a nearby quarry and was meticulously decorated with sculptures that celebrated Athenian identity and mythology. The main structure was completed in just nine years, in 438 BCE, with the sculptural work continuing for several more, solidifying the Parthenon’s status as a symbol of Classical Greek achievement and the pinnacle of the Doric order of architecture.