New research by Premier Inn reveals the locations Brits find easiest – and most difficult – to place on a global map, finding that the Eiffel Tower in Paris is the easiest to place, while Fiordland National Park in New Zealand is the most difficult. The study asked 250 participants to pinpoint over 50 significant landmarks and natural wonders on a map, taking note of the accuracy of each, to uncover how well the average person knows the world’s most famous sights.
The easiest to place landmarks around the world
| Rank | Country | Landmark Name | Correct Answers % |
| 1 | France | Eiffel Tower | 93% |
| 2 | Italy | Colosseum | 86% |
| 3 | USA | Yellowstone National Park | 81% |
| 4 | UK | Big Ben | 80% |
| 5 | UK | Hadrian’s Wall | 77% |
| =6 | UK (Scotland) | Loch Ness | 70% |
| =6 | USA | Grand Canyon | 70% |
| 7 | UK | The Kew Royal Botanical Gardens | 69% |
| 8 | USA | Statue of Liberty | 67% |
| =9 | Greece | Acropolis of Athens | 65% |
| =9 | UK | Windsor Castle | 65% |
| 10 | China | Great Wall of China | 59% |
| 11 | Spain | The Sagrada Familia | 54% |
| =12 | Egypt | Pyramids of Giza | 53% |
| =12 | Japan | Mount Fuji | 53% |
| 13 | UK | Angel of the North | 51% |
| 14 | UK | Stonehenge | 48% |
| 15 | Canada | Banff National Park | 47% |
The Eiffel Tower, arguably Paris’ most iconic architectural landmark, tops the list of locations that Brits can easily pinpoint on a map, with 93% placing it correctly, while the Roman Colosseum follows closely behind with 86% accuracy. Both these landmarks are easier to locate than much larger geographical areas like Yellowstone National Park (ranked third) and the Grand Canyon (joint sixth), as well as Britain’s own national treasures, including Big Ben (fourth) and Hadrian’s Wall (fifth).
Loch Ness is the easiest Scottish destination to locate, in joint sixth, while Stonehenge proved the most difficult UK landmark to find, ranking 14th. In comparison, Asian national wonders like the Great Wall of China (10th) and Mount Fuji (=12th) were easier to place.
Following Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon as America’s easiest landmarks to locate is the Statue of Liberty in eighth, with 67% location accuracy, while Britain’s Windsor Castle and the Greek Acropolis of Athens just make the top 10 with 65% accuracy.
The hardest to place landmarks around the world
| Rank | Country | Landmark Name | Correct Answers % |
| 1 | New Zealand | Fiordland National Park | 7% |
| =2 | Madagascar | Avenue of the Baobabs | 9% |
| =2 | Colombia | Cano Cristales | 9% |
| =2 | Indonesia | Komodo Island | 9% |
| =2 | Argentina | Iguazu Falls | 9% |
| 3 | Mexico | Chichen Itza | 12% |
| 4 | Fiji | Coral Reefs of Fiji | 13% |
| 5 | Zambia | Victoria Falls | 14% |
| =6 | Brazil | Christ the Redeemer | 15% |
| =6 | Mexico | Cenotes of Yucatán | 15% |
| =6 | Malaysia | Petronas Towers | 15% |
| =6 | Venezuela | Angel Falls | 15% |
| =6 | Peru | Machu Picchu | 15% |
| 7 | UK (Wales) | The Iron Ring of Castles | 19% |
| 8 | UK | Seven Sisters | 20% |
| =9 | Vietnam | Ha Long Bay | 24% |
| =9 | Australia | Uluru | 24% |
| 10 | Ecuador | Galápagos Islands | 25% |
When it comes to landmarks Brits found most difficult to place, Fiordland National Park is the location causing participants to scratch their headsmost, with just 7% able to locate it accurately. Following behind with 9% location accuracy is the Avenue of the Baobabs in Madagascar, Komodo Island in Indonesia, Iguazu Falls in Argentina and Colombia’s CanoCristales.
South American landmarks prove tricky for participants to locate correctly,with the aforementioned Cano Cristales receiving such poor location accuracy that most participants place it in Central Europe rather than itstrue location in Colombia. Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, Machu Picchu inPeru and Venezuela’s Angel Falls (all joint sixth) pose significant challenges for participants, with just 15% able to correctly locate them. Ina redeeming turn, most participants do place Argentina’s Iguazu Falls within its correct continent of South America. However, it’s rarely placed within the correct country.
Despite participants struggling with the South American continent, it isOceanian landmarks that prove most challenging, with 71% of participants unable to place points of interest from that continent correctly. For example, just under one in four people can locate Australia’s Uluru, anatural Australian landmark which is over 2.2 miles long.
Although six landmarks include their location within their name, only 38% of participants, on average, manage to pinpoint them accurately. Among these, the Coral Reefs of Fiji prove to be the most challenging, with only 13% of Brits correctly identifying their location. Similarly, just one in four individuals can accurately place the Galápagos Islands on a map.
The most difficult African landmarks to place include the Madagascar’s Avenue of the Baobabs (joint second) and Victoria Falls in Zambia in fifth place. Meanwhile, over on the Asian continent, Komodo Island (joint second) is most difficult to place, followed by Fiji’s Coral Reefs in fourth place, Petronas Towers in Malaysia (joint sixth) and Ha Long Bay in Vietnam (joint ninth).
The UK’s most difficult landmark to locate is the Iron Ring of Castles. The Landmark is often placed in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland by participants, although it’s actually located in Wales. Participants also struggle to place the epic Seven Sisters, with just 1/5th of Brits able to pinpoint the giant coastal cliffs.
The study found that the nature of landmarks affects how easy or difficultthey are to locate on a map; participants were 24% more likely to accurately place a man-made landmark than they were a natural wonder. Meanwhile, age is also a key factor in determining geographical knowledge, with those aged between 36-60 years old 23% more likely to place something correctly than younger generations.
A spokesperson from Premier Inn commented:
“In this fun map survey that put Brits through their paces, we tested the geographical knowledge of our nation to find out how well we truly know the world around us. Nowadays we can rely on technology to get us to where we’re going, but we still think there’s value in having your own geographical knowledge, and whether you use this in a pub quiz or to increase your own awareness when you’re booking your next holiday, we hope this piece has inspired you to look a little closer at where the most interesting landmarks can be found.”
To see a detailed breakdown of the world’s most difficult to place landmarks, please visit our website here: https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/news/2024/easiest-to-place-landmarks.html
