The Sagrada Família, the Taj Mahal, Petra – icons that the whole world knows. But do you really know where exactly they stand? This quiz will test what you really remember from your geography lessons.

Some buildings are so famous that they’ve become part of the common knowledge – we see them on postcards, in adverts and on social media before we even realise where they are. And therein lies the rub. Knowing what something looks like and knowing where it stands are two very different things. Moreover, world landmarks have the property of creating myths and misconceptions around them that get passed on – and many of these survive even among people who travel regularly.

What makes geography quizzes of this type so addictive? It’s not just a question of facts – it’s the duel between what we think we know and what we actually know. The brain likes to take shortcuts and match famous buildings to a country’s most famous cities. The Taj Mahal has to be in Delhi, right? And Angkor Wat somewhere near Bangkok? It’s these automatic shortcuts that are the most common source of error – and the most interesting moment of any such test.

What’s also fascinating about famous monuments is that each one is a frozen story of civilisation. Petra tells the story of the Nabataean kingdom, Hagia Sophia of the clash of empires and religion, the Lotus Temple of architecture as a spiritual gesture. Geography here ceases to be a memorization of coordinates and becomes a window into other worlds and epochs. And that is precisely why this subject entertains schoolchildren and seasoned travelers alike.

Now try catching yourself on first instinct – and then see how many of those automatic answers were correct.