At the start of the month, popular photo-sharing site, Instagram had collated a list of the most Instagrammed locations in the world for 2016. It has followed this up by announcing a similar list of locations, this time informing us of the top locations around the world where people take selfies (by locations, we mean landmarks around the world rather than the toilets at a nightclub).
Selfie is one of those modern-day terms that quite often gets thrown about to describe a photo and, believe it or not, some people do get the meaning wrong. I’ve seen people describe a photo of two people taken by someone behind the camera called a selfie. This is incorrect. For those of you who do not know, a selfie is a photograph taken by the subject of the photo, i.e. they take the photograph of themselves with their own camera. Selfies became a thing way before smartphones introduced the front facing camera.
Now we’ve cleared that up, we can now move on. But first, let me take a selfie!
#SELFIE (Official Music Video) – The Chainsmokers
The term selfie is everywhere, as demonstrated in the Chainsmokers’ music video above, and was inducted into the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013. Furthermore, later on in the year, ‘selfie’ became the word of the year for 2013.
Instagram revealed the top seven locations where people were taking their selfies, known as the seven wonders of the selfie world. Ironically, only one of the seven wonders of the world, and the one remaining wonder of the ancient world, make the list.
The top locations for taking a selfie are:
1. Eiffel Tower
Paris’ architectural icon, and one that is instantly recognised all over the world. It attracts around seven million visitors each year and, as you can imagine, almost all of them take pictures from the top. It would come as no surprise that a lot of these would be selfies.
2. Big Ben
Perhaps the most famous clock in the world, just ahead of the Countdown clock. London’s symbolic landmark fetches in the second largest number of selfies on Instagram. Big Ben is also the most photographed clock in the UK, with Chester’s Eastgate clock at number two.
3. The Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge comes third on the list, and this is no surprise. The San Francisco-based landmark is surrounded by beautiful scenery making it an idyllic place to take a selfie. The big red bridge also regularly ‘disappears’ in the city’s fog, which also makes for a great selfie.
4. The Burj Khalifa
Dubai’s Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. Whether you’re brave enough to climb to the top to take in the breath-taking scenery that awaits is down to you, but wherever you take your selfie from, good luck getting the whole thing in. It’s massive at 2,716.5 feet tall.
5. Notre Dame
The second Parisian location on the list. The medieval cathedral attracts millions of visitors each year and is perhaps best-known for the Disney film that is set there. People regularly search the landmark for glimpses of gargoyles and try to get a selfie with one. I’m sure Quasimodo is fed up of selfie sticks by now.
6. The Alhambra Palace
Perhaps a surprise inclusion on the list, but the UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the whole of Spain thanks to its stunning Islamic architecture, its tranquillity and its picturesque gardens.
7. Macchu Pichu
Peru’s Macchu Pichu is one of the seven wonders of the world, so it is no surprise that floods of people visit the ancient Incan city to take reams of selfies. At 8,000ft up in the Andes, you’ll have to work for a selfie here, but it will be worth it. The place isn’t a wonder of the world for nothing.
Millions of selfies are taken and uploaded to Instagram each day. Have you managed to tick off any of the above locations on your selfie bucket list?
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