Top 10 tallest structures

When it was built by Gustave Eiffel for the World's Fair in 1889, the lattice-worked iron tower was a wonder of engineering. At 324 meters (1,063 feet), it held the title for the tallest structure in the world until 1930. Today, it is synonymous with Paris and attracts more visitors than any other paid tourist sight in the world.

The current title of the world's tallest free-standing structure goes to the Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates. Opened in January 2010, the skyscraper towers over the city of Dubai at an awe-inspiring 829 meters. It houses residential apartments, hotels and numerous businesses.

The third tallest building and world's highest clock tower is the Abraj Al-Bait Tower in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Overlooking Masjid al Haram, the world's largest mosque and Islam's most sacred site, the 601-meter building was completed in 2012 and houses a prayer room, a hotel and a 20-storey shopping mall.

Buildings are not the only lofty structures that draw tourists. The Spring Temple Buddha in Lushan, China, is the world's tallest free-standing statue. At 153 meters, including its pedestal-building, the copper-cast statue was completed in 2008. Plans for its construction were announced soon after the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

At the time of its construction in 1967, Motherland Calls in Volgograd, Russia, was declared the tallest statue in the world. It measures 87 meters from the tip of the sword to the plinth and is made of pre-stressed concrete. Two hundred steps, symbolizing the 200 days of the Battle of Stalingrad, lead up to the monument.

Africa has its entry on the list of the world's tallest statues, too. The African Renaissance outside Dakar, Senegal, is 49 meters tall and made of bronze. Constructed by a company from North Korea, it was completed in 2010 and commemorates Senegal's independence from France in 1959.

At 46 meters, the Statue of Liberty in New York isn't the world's tallest statue, but it is probably one of the most photographed. Some four million people visit the icon of freedom each year. She has been welcoming immigrants at the main port of entry to the US since her construction in 1886.

The St. Louis Arch in Missouri is another popular tourist sight in the United States. At 192 meters it looms over the Mississippi River, marking the gateway to the American West. Finished in 1965, the arch was considered an engineering marvel and is still one of the world's tallest stainless steel and concrete monuments.

Prior to the introduction of steel and concrete, the world's tallest structures were made of brick and stone. Most of these historic tall buildings are churches, blending a mastery of art and architecture. The Ulm Minster in southern Germany, begun in 1377, still boasts the tallest church steeple, which measures 161.5 meters.

The Cheops Pyramid of Giza in Egypt is the oldest structure on the international list of tallest buildings. Built around 2560 BC out of massive quarried stone, the pyramid houses the tomb of the Fourth Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu. For more than 3,800 years, it was the world's tallest structure.