Conde Nast Travel Photos

UNISPHERE
Queens’ Flushing Meadows Park, NY

New York is no stranger to big things. It’s where you’ll find the world’s biggest bookstore (Barnes & Noble), biggest department store (Macy’s), and, in 2015, the world's largest Ferris wheel (in Staten Island). In Queens’ Flushing Meadows Park, you’ll even find the world’s largest unisphere, the 12-story, stainless steel globe crafted by U.S. Steel in honor of the 1964 World’s Fair that has become one of the borough’s iconic symbols.

SWIMMING POOL
San Alfonso del Mar Resort, Chile

At Algarrobo, Chile’s San Alfonso del Mar Resort you’ll find the world’s largest crystalline water pool—measuring more than 3,280 feet in length, 115 feet in depth, and containing 66 million gallons of water. (Translation: Picture 6,000 “normal-sized” turquoise-watered swimming pools in one place.)

ICE CAVE
Werfen, Austria

Adventure-seekers who find themselves in Werfen, Austria’s Eisriesenwelt can brag about traversing the planet’s largest ice cave system, a 24-mile maze of naturally-formed ice and rock dating back 100 million years.

GOLDEN NUGGEST
Las Vegas, NV

True to its name, at the very back of Las Vegas’ Golden Nugget casino is where you’ll find Hand of Faith, the largest gold nugget on display in the world, weighing in at 61 pounds and 11 ounces.

FIRST WORLD HOTEL
Genting, Malaysia

Adjoining Genting, Malaysia’s First World Plaza—which features 500,000 square feet of shopping, dining, and indoor theme park fun—is First World Hotel, the world’s biggest hotel with more than 10,000 rooms perched 6,000 feet above sea level.

MONOPOLY IN THE PARK
San Jose, CA

Go directly to jail, do not pass go, and do it all in life-size on the world’s biggest Monopoly board in San Jose, California’s Guadalupe River Park. The 930-square-foot permanent game board can be reserved for organized events and comes with a pair of gigantic dice and token-topped hats.

ATLANTIC CITY PIPE ORGAN
Atlantic City, NJ

Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall is where you’ll find the world’s biggest pipe organ. Comprised of more than 33,000 pipes and weighing 150 tons, it is also (unsurprisingly) the world’s largest and loudest musical instrument.

CHESS PIECE
St. Louis, MO

St. Louis, Missouri’s World Chess Hall of Fame gets visitors in the mood to witness all sorts of gaming memorabilia with the world’s largest chess piece, which stands outside its entrance at nearly 15 feet tall and six feet wide at the base (a.k.a. 45 times larger than a standard chess piece).

BOURBON BARREL
Bardstown, KY

If you want to compare heights with the world’s biggest bourbon barrel, you’ll have to sign up for a tour of the Barton 1792 Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky, “The Bourbon Capital of the World.” You’ll get a first-hand look at the bourbon-making process—from mashing to bottling—and even get to sample some of the good stuff.

PAPER AIRPLANE
Mukilteo, WA

The best way to back up a slogan that your company can design and fabricate almost anything? Prove it! That’s what the artists and engineers at Dillon Works, Inc. did when they constructed the world’s longest paper airplane—measuring 26 feet in length and weighing one ton—which sits atop their headquarters in Mukilteo, Washington.

BIG YO
Chico, CA

The National Yo-Yo Museum in Chico, California, displays America’s largest collection of yo-yos and yo-yo memorabilia, plus Big Yo, the world’s largest working wooden yo-yo, which tips the scales at 256 pounds.

PEZ
Orange, CT

The PEZ Visitor Center in Orange, Connecticut, is where you’ll be amazed by the world’s largest display of PEZ memorabilia, including an Orange County Choppers-built PEZ motorcycle, and—at 12-feet tall—the world’s largest PEZ dispenser.

WORLD'S LARGEST THINGS
Lucas, KS

Counterintuitive types will love the kitschy fun of the World’s Largest Collection of the World’s Smallest Versions of the World’s Largest Things, a mobile museum that calls Lucas, Kansas, its home base. Think of all the gas money you’ll save by seeing miniaturized versions of the world’s largest ball of videotape, black duck, frying pan, baseball bat (pictured here), and more.

Link to original Huff Post story (click)