‘Arc de Trump’? The 20 most over-the-top buildings ever constructed

The US president’s proposed monument would join a long and rapidly growing list of structures we could probably do without. AdvertisementCulture holidays‘Arc de Trump’? The 20 most over-the-top buildings ever constructedBy Chris MossFebruary 17, 2026SaveYou have reached your maximum number of saved items.Remove items from your saved list to add more.ShareAAAThe planned “Arc de Trump” is less Paris and more Ashgabat. Perhaps the US president was inspired by Turkmenbashi, the founding dictator of post-Soviet Turkmenistan and a man in love with Guinness records, shiny stone and bling.US President Donald Trump with a model of the planned for Washington DC’s Memorial Circle in October last year.BloombergThanks to him, the country’s architectural legacy includes the world’s highest density of white marble buildings, the largest “indoor” Ferris wheel and the largest architectural star. But there is fierce rivalry around the world when it comes to other outsize constructions.Tallest skyscraper: Burj KhalifaThe Burj Khalifa stands 828 metres tall. iStockScraping the sky has been a key part of Dubai’s rise to global prominence, greatness and bigness. “Bold, bonkers and almost unbelievable,” is how one Telegraph writer describes the city’s architecture. Amid Downtown’s cluster of skyscrapers, the Burj Khalifa rises head and shoulders above the rest: the 124th-floor observation deck is at the top of most tourists’ hit-list.Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletterGet exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.Hotel with the most rooms: First World Hotel & PlazaAdvertisementThe First World Hotel & Plaza is a three-star hotel in Malaysia with 7351 rooms.iStockThere’s something intriguing about humongous hotels. In the days of the USSR, people were fascinated by the Rossiya, the 3182-room gargantuan that held the world record for biggest hotel from 1967-1980. It was as if the regularly spaced, identical windows and cell-like rooms reflected something about Soviet conformity. Cut to today and the First World Hotel & Plaza, with 7351 rooms reflects back our era of mass tourism, multiple dining outlets and in-house theme parks and casinos.Tallest hotel: Ciel Dubai MarinaThe Ciel Tower Dubai Marina, which opened last year, is the tallest hotel building in the world.iStockOpened at the end of November, this 377-metre tower (“ciel” means sky) is officially the tallest hotel building. It has 1004 rooms and suites, all with floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Rooms on the hotel’s higher levels have views over the Dubai skyline and the Persian Gulf. The former record holder, the Gevora Hotel, is also in Dubai.Highest observatory: University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory, ChileThe University of Tokyo’s Atacama Observatory in the Atacama Desert is 5640 metres above sea level.AlamyAdvertisementThe relative height gain from sea level to a mountaintop is pretty negligible when you’re looking at objects that are light years away. But astronomers like the Atacama’s high places because of the clear skies. The University of Tokyo’s Atacama Observatory is sited at 5640 metres above sea level on the top of Cerro Chajnantor.Heaviest building: Palace of the Parliament, BucharestThe Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest is the heaviest building in the world.iStockNicolae Ceaușescu, Romania’s president from 1974-1989, liked buildings that embodied his authoritarian zeal. The Palace of the Parliament is all about volume, hardness and weight. It has a floor area of 365,000 square metres, occupies 2.55 million cubic metres of sky, and weighs about 4,098,500 tonnes, making it the heaviest building in the world and largest civilian administrative building in the world.It was designed by 700 architects, and constructed over a period of 13 years, has 23 sections and was valued in 2020 at €4 billion ($6.7 billion), making it the most expensive administrative building in the world. The heating and electricity bill is in the millions per year.Widest avenue: Avenida 9 de Julio, Buenos AiresAvenida 9 de Julio is named in honour of Argentina’s Independence Day.iStockAdvertisementThis 16-lane concrete canyon in the heart of Buenos Aires is named for the July 9, 1816 Declaration of Independence. It was planned in 1888 and originally intended to open for the bicentennial. Expropriation and construction issues led to its being delayed until 1926 and work was only fully completed by the 1960s.The avenue runs for three kilometres from Retiro to Constitución, two neighbourhoods known for their rail termini. As well as the traffic lanes, there are two median strips and the official width is 110 metres, making it the widest avenue in the world. Envisioned in the days of Model T Fords it was expected to be a leafy and airy promenade, but is a hellish highway for the modern flaneur. Crossing it in one go is possible if you’re Usain Bolt and the flashing green men are playing fair.Longest highway: Asian Highway No 1, Kapikule to TokyoThe Turkey/Bulgaria border at Kapikule.AlamyWhen is a street a road? When is a road a highway? There’ll always be debate about definitions