This Watchlist Spotlights Most 'At Risk' Monuments in the World — and It Includes These Iconic U.S. Landmarks

Several beloved travel landmarks and destinations around the world are now at risk of danger due to previous natural disasters, conflicts, overtourism, or other causes, according to a new report. The World Monuments Fund (WMF) regularly publishes a watchlist of locations likely to be endangered and has named 25 new additions that are at risk, ranging from the historic lighthouses in Maine to the moon.

“Every two years, the Watch rallies support to places in need and the people who care for them, spotlighting new challenges and the communities worldwide harnessing heritage to confront the crucial issues of our time," the World Monuments Fund shares about the biennial list on its website.

Additional locations include the Chapel of the Sorbonne in Paris, which is just 700 meters from the famed Panthéon monument,  as well as the Ruins of Old Belchite, a ghost town west of Barcelona.

The organization included the Earth's moon in the list of concerns of a "new era of space exploration" that could impact it. The organization cites the risk of exploitative visitation and potential looting as specific areas of concern.

The full 2025 World Monuments Watch List includes:

• Barotse Floodplain Cultural Landscape, Zambia

• Belfast Assembly Rooms, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

• Bhuj Historic Water Systems, India

• Buddhist Grottoes of Maijishan and Yungang, China

• Chapel of the Sorbonne, France

• Chief Ogiamien’s House, Nigeria

• Cinema Studio Namibe, Angola

• Erdene Zuu Buddhist Monastery, Mongolia

• Gaza Historic Urban Fabric, Palestine

• Historic City of Antakya, Türkiye

• Historic Lighthouses of Maine, United States

• Jewish Heritage of Debdou, Morocco

• Kyiv Teacher’s House, Ukraine

• Monasteries of the Drino Valley, Albania

• Musi River Historic Buildings, India

• Noto Peninsula Heritage Sites, Japan

• Qhapaq Ñan, Andean Road System, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru

• Ruins of Old Belchite, Spain

• Serifos Historic Mining Landscape, Greece

• Swahili Coast Heritage Sites, Comoros, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania

• Terracotta Sculptures of Alcobaça Monastery, Portugal

• The Great Trading Path, United States

• The Moon

• Waru Waru Agricultural Fields, Peru

• Water Reservoirs of the Tunis Medina, Tunisia

In recognition of the challenges facing these locations, the World Monuments Fund has donated over $120 million to protect these sites. The agency also encourages people to travel responsibly to preserve the Earth, and also nominate sites for visibility and support on the agency’s website at wmf.org. 

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