If we needed one reason to visit India, this would be it. It is quite simply, exquisite. Construction finished in 1653 (some of the artisans had their hands or thumbs amputated after, to ensure the perfection of the taj could never be repeated). The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan built it as a mausoleum for his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth in 1631. It would have to be the most amazing monument of love ever built.