Wonder (Civ6)

Back to Civilization VI

A Wonder is a mega-building that is unique in the world and provides potent bonuses to a civilization. All Wonders are inspired by, and named after, famous real-world buildings or landmarks that have stood the test of time and changed the world forever. Wonders require time, energy, and effort to complete, but once constructed, they provide your civilization with many benefits.

Civilization VI adds a feature known as "wonder movies," which allows you to watch a Wonder being constructed from scratch in less than 30 seconds (somewhat similar to the wonder movies from Civilization IV). This replaces the announcement screen you see in Civilization V when you complete a Wonder.

Building a Wonder

Building a World Wonder is an important achievement for a civilization. Each specific Wonder may exist only once in the whole world, so their construction is, in fact, a race between civs. Players should plan their progression well if they want to be able to build the Wonders they covet! Note that, unlike in Civilization V, the "consolation prize" for failing to complete a Wonder before another player is not Gold but Production (which is arguably much more useful, since it allows the players who didn't complete the Wonder to catch up on lost construction opportunities).

In relation to previous games, Civilization VI adds a revolutionary new feature: Wonders are now constructed not inside a city (that is, on the city tile), but on a separate tile near a city (like a Planetary Wonder in Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth). This is part of the overall de-centralization drive of the game, which seeks to spread various city features to the surrounding land; so Wonders will now have to compete for space with both Districts and Tile Improvements! What's more, there are now a slew of specific requirements for almost all Wonders, which can encompass terrain type, adjacency, or other game elements. Finally, many Wonders are now unlocked via the new civics tree, instead of the normal tech tree.

Wonders can only be built on valid land tiles (or Coast tiles in some cases) that don't contain a district. You'll only be able to build a Wonder on a Marsh if you have Irrigation or on a Rainforest if you have Bronze Working (because these are the techs which enable you to remove such features from the terrain). Also, any other existing improvements and resources will be removed from the tile, so it as advised you build them on flat land or hill tiles with no resources or features (like forests). Flat Desert tiles with no resources are perfect for constructing Wonders since they don't provide any yield normally anyway. Note that, since you cannot "work" a Wonder (that is, you cannot assign Citizens to its tile), you will be unable to use the yields of its tile anymore; however, the tile will continue providing adjacency bonuses. This is important for Wonders which are constructed on terrain features without removing them (such as Chichen Itza or Mahabodhi Temple).

Wonder construction can be accelerated via Industrial City-States. The Capital Capital gains a +2 Production bonus from every such City-State where you have at least 1 Envoy Envoy. All other cities which have an Industrial Zone (including the Capital Capital, if it has one) will gain +2 Production bonus from every such City-State where you have 3 Envoy Envoys, and another +2 Production if you have 6 Envoy Envoys. Note that in Rise and Fall, these additional bonuses are tied to the presence of a Workshop and a Factory (respectively).

With these new mechanics it becomes much more difficult to construct Wonders because, depending on their specific starting location and available nearby terrain (as well as their general development), players will have access to far fewer Wonders than before. However, this can also work to the players' advantage: Wonders will be less likely to be snatched up by whoever managed to research the tech that unlocks it first, allowing you to have a chance to construct it even if you are not leading in Science or Culture. We can also expect to see much more strategy-specific Wonder construction, where each particular civ will construct only Wonders which suit its overall strategy and/or terrain availability.

Starting the process of building a land-based Wonder also builds a road in (but not to) that tile, and unlike most natural wonder tiles your units can move across them. The borders of a city that completes a Wonder will immediately expand by two tiles, provided there are tiles within range for the city to claim. If a city is razed after completing a Wonder, the Wonder can be rebuilt in another city (unless the game has reached an era that renders the Wonder obsolete).

List of Wonders

Unless a Wonder's description stipulates otherwise, its effects apply only to the civilization that builds it. Both standard districts and buildings and their unique replacements will satisfy any listed placement restrictions.

Wonder	Era	Req.	Prod.	Bonus	Placement
Alhambra	Medieval	Castles	710	+2 Amenities Amenities +1 Great General point per turn +1 Military policy slot Provides the same defensive bonuses as the Fort improvement.	Must be built on Hills adjacent to an Encampment district.
"Everything here appears calculated to inspire kind and happy feelings, for everything is delicate and beautiful." – Washington Irving
Amundsen-Scott Research Station	Atomic	Cold War Rapid Deployment	1620	+5 Great Scientist points per turn +20% Science and +10% Production in all cities. Yields are doubled if there are 5 Snow or Snow Hill tiles within 3 tiles of a city owned by this player.	Must be built on a Snow or a Snow Hills tile next to Campus with a Research Lab.
"For scientific leadership, give me Scott; for swift and efficient travel, Amundsen." – Sir Raymond Priestley
Angkor Wat	Medieval	Medieval Faires	710	+2 Faith +1 Population in all current cities when built. +1 Housing Housing in all cities.	Must be built adjacent to an Aqueduct district.
"The temple is surrounded by a moat, and access is by a single bridge, protected by two stone tigers so grand and fearsome as to strike terror into the visitor." – Diogo do Couto
Apadana	Classical	Political Philosophy	400	+2 Great Work slots +2 Envoy Envoys when you build a wonder, including Apadana, in this city.	Must be built adjacent to a Capital Capital.
"My ancestor Darius made this Apadana, but it was burnt down. By the grace of Ahuramazda, Anahita, and Mithra, I reconstructed this Apadana." – Artaxerxes II
Big Ben	Industrial	Economics	1450	+6 Gold +3 Great Merchant points per turn +1 Economic policy slot Upon construction the treasury is increased by 100% ( 50%).	Must be built next to a River adjacent to a Commercial Hub district with a Bank.
"Don’t watch the big clock; do what it does. Keep going." – Sam Levenson
Bolshoi Theatre	Industrial	Opera and Ballet	1240	+2 Great Writer points per turn. +2 Great Musician points per turn. +1 Great Work of Writing slot. +1 Great Work of Music slot. Awards 2 randomly-chosen free civics when completed.	Must be built on flat land adjacent to a Theater Square district.
"Bolshoi Ballet is a universe of the imagination, a place of magic and enchantment, beauty and romance. Its many worlds vibrate with graceful dancers, glorious music, and sumptuous costumes." – Trudy Garfunkel
Broadway	Modern	Mass Media	1620	+3 Great Writer points per turn. +3 Great Musician points per turn. +1 Great Work of Writing slot. +2 Great Work of Music slot. +20% Culture in that city Gain a free random Atomic Era civic boost	Must be built on flat land next to a Theater Square district.
"There’s no business like show business." – Irving Berlin, 'Annie Get Your Gun'
Casa de Contratación	Renaissance	Cartography	920	+3 Great Merchant points per turn Gain 3 Governor promotions All your cities on your non-home continent with a Governor gain +15% Production, +15% Faith and +15% Gold.	Must be built adjacent to a Government Plaza.
"All other lands found on the western side of the boundary shall belong to the King and Queen of Castille—and their successors." – Treaty of Tordesillas
Chichen Itza	Medieval	Guilds	710	+2 Culture and +1 Production to all Rainforest tiles for this city	Must be built on Rainforest.
"The Great Ball Court is also very impressive. I would like to have seen them play a game, although it sounds like the end was pretty violent. I think it was safer to be a spectator." – IslaDeb
Colosseum	Classical	Games and Recreation	400	+2 Culture and +3 Amenities Amenities to this city and all cities within 6 tiles +2 Culture, +2 Amenities Amenities and +2 Loyalty to each City Center within 6 tiles	Must be built on flat land adjacent to an Entertainment Complex district. Must be built on flat land adjacent to an Entertainment Complex district with an Arena.
"While the Colosseum stands, Rome shall stand; when the Colosseum falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, the world shall fall." – Saint Bede
Colossus	Classical	Shipbuilding	400	+3 Gold +1 Great Admiral point per turn +1 Trade Route Trade Route capacity Grants a Trader unit.	Must be built on Coast and adjacent to a Harbor district.
"At Rhodes was set up a Colossus of seventy cubits high, representing the Sun … the artist expended as much bronze on it as seemed likely to create a dearth in the mines." – Philo of Byzantium
Cristo Redentor	Modern	Mass Media	1620	+4 Culture Tourism output from Relics and Holy Cities is not diminished by other civilizations who have researched The Enlightenment civic. Doubles Tourism output of Seaside Resorts across your civilization.	Must be built on Hills.
"Thus, the sculpture serves to give people one thought – ‘Everything is in God’s hands.’" – Sergey Semenov
Eiffel Tower	Modern	Steel	1620	All tiles in your civilization gain +2 Appeal	Must be built on flat land adjacent to City Center.
"I ought to be jealous of the tower. She is more famous than I am." – Gustave Eiffel
Estádio do Maracanã	Atomic	Professional Sports	1740	+6 Culture in each city of your civilization +2 Amenities Amenities in each city of your civilization	Must be built on flat land adjacent to an Entertainment Complex with a Stadium.
"Down through its history, only three people have managed to silence the Maracana: the Pope, Frank Sinatra, and me." – Alcides Ghiggia, Uruguayan soccer player
Forbidden City	Renaissance	Printing	920	+5 Culture +1 Wildcard policy slot	Must be built on flat land adjacent to City Center.
"The whole palace complex is built along a central axis, the axis of the world, everything in the four directions suspend from this central point represented by these palaces." – Jeffrey Riegel
Golden Gate Bridge	Modern	Combustion	1620	+3 Amenities from entertainment +4 Appeal to all tiles in this city +100% Tourism from improvements and National Parks in this city Acts as a Modern Road and creates Modern Roads in land tiles on either end if not present Land units can cross without needing to disembark	Must be built on a Coast tile. The bridge must run straight across the hex between two land tiles directly opposite one another. At least one water tile must be present on both the left and right sides of the bridge.
"The golden gates of Sleep unbar Where Strength and Beauty, met together, Kindle their image like a star In a sea of glassy weather!" - Percy Bysshe Shelley
Great Bath	Ancient	Pottery	180	+3 Housing +1 Amenity from entertainment The Floodplains tiles along the river containing the Wonder become immune to Flood damage at the cost of reducing Food and Production bonuses from flooding by 50% Floodplains tiles belonging to this city gain +1 Faith for each time Flood damage is mitigated	Must be built on a Floodplains tile.
"Yet in this captious and intenible sieve I still pour in the waters of my love And lack not to lose still: thus, Indian-like, Religious in mine error, I adore The sun, that looks upon his worshipper, But knows of him no more." - William Shakespeare
Great Library	Classical	Recorded History	400	+2 Science +1 Great Scientist point per turn +2 Great Works of Writing slots Receives boost to all Ancient and Classical era technologies. +1 Great Writer point per turn Receive a random tech boost after another player recruits a Great Scientist.	Must be built on flat land adjacent to a Campus with a Library.
"We can roam the bloated stacks of the Library of Alexandria, where all imagination and knowledge are assembled; we can recognize in its destruction the warning that all we gather will be lost." – Alberto Manguel
Great Lighthouse	Classical	Celestial Navigation	290	+3 Gold +1 Great Admiral point per turn +1 Movement Movement for all naval units.	Must be built on the Coast and adjacent to a Harbor district with a Lighthouse.
"This Lighthouse was the cynosure of all eyes." – Henry David Thoreau
Great Zimbabwe	Renaissance	Banking	920	+5 Gold +2 Great Merchant points per turn. +1 Trade Route Trade Route capacity. Your Trade Route Trade Routes from this city get +2 Gold for every Bonus resource in this city's territory.	Must be built adjacent to Cattle Cattle and a Commercial Hub district with a Market.
"King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants." – 1 Kings, 10:13
Hagia Sophia	Medieval	Education Buttress	710	+4 Faith Missionaries and Apostles can spread religion 1 extra time.	Must be built on flat land adjacent to a Holy Site district, and player must have founded a religion.
"It is a beautiful and important monument and an international, inter-cultural treasure … Unless and until it can be shared by both religions in harmony – which would be a grand idea – it should remain a secular building honoring both religions who have made it beautiful." – Ljubo Vujovic
Hanging Gardens	Ancient	Irrigation	180	Increases Growth by 15% in all cities. +2 Housing Housing	Must be built next to a River.
"The ascent to the highest story is by stairs, and at their side are water engines, by means of which persons, appointed expressly for the purpose, are continually employed in raising water from the Euphrates into the garden." – Strabo
Hermitage	Industrial	Natural History	1450	+3 Great Artist points per turn +4 Great Works of Art slots	Must be built next to a River on a non-Desert and non-Tundra tile.
"Museums are on the front lines of the fight for culture, of good with evil – in any case, of the fight against platitudes and primitiveness." – Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage
Huey Teocalli	Medieval	Military Tactics	710	+1 Amenities Amenity from Entertainment for each adjacent lake tile. +1 Food and +1 Production for each Lake tile in your empire	Must be built on a Lake tile adjacent to land.
"But the wrath of Huitzilopochtli was great, and as the sacrifice passed each of the four rooms dedicated to the sun god, the sun disappeared or reappeared in the sky." – Fray Diego Durán
Jebel Barkal	Classical	Iron Working	400	Awards 2 Iron Iron. Awards 4 Iron Iron per turn. Provides +4 Faith to your cities that are within 6 tiles.	Must be built on a Desert Hills tile.
"At the south-west corner a large perpendicular mass of sandstone has become separated by a deep fissure from the body of the mountain … it has all the appearance of a colossal statue." –E. A. Wallis Budge
Kilwa Kisiwani	Medieval	Machinery	710	+3 Envoys when built When you are the Suzerain of a City-state this city gains a +15% boost to the yield provided by that City-state. If you are the Suzerain of 2 or more City-states of that type an additional 15% boost is given to all your cities.	Must be built on a flat tile adjacent to a Coast.
"Kilwa is one of the most beautifully built cities in the world; the houses there are entirely made of wood, their rooftops out of rope grass, and it rains with great vigour." – Ibn Battuta
Kotoku-in	Medieval	Divine Right	710	+20% Faith in this city Grants 4 Warrior Monks.	Must be built adjacent to a Holy Site with a Temple.
"O ye who tread the Narrow Way, by Tophet-flare to Judgment Day, be gentle when ‘the heathen’ pray, to Buddha at Kamakura!" – Rudyard Kipling
Machu Picchu	Classical	Engineering	400	+4 Gold Mountain tiles provide a standard adjacency bonus to Commercial Hub, Theater Square and Industrial Zone districts in all cities.	Must be built on a Mountain tile that does not contain a Volcano.
"...Eagles fly, The turrets round, and seem to flout the sky; They eye those walls now crumbling in decay, And scare from quiet rest their destined prey." - Samuel Prout Hill
Mahabodhi Temple	Classical	Theology	400	+4 Faith Grant 2 Apostles +2 Diplomatic Victory Points when built	Must be built on Woods adjacent to a Holy Site district with a Temple, and player must have founded a religion.
"In a dusty, bustling corner of the Indian state of Bihar, there is a magical place that one might think of as the hub of Buddhism." – Visitor’s Guide, Bodh Gaya
Meenakshi Temple	Medieval	Civil Service	710	+3 Faith Grants 2 Gurus Gurus are 30% cheaper to purchase. Religious units adjacent to Gurus gain +5 Religious Strength in Theological Combat and +1 Movement.	Must be built adjacent to a Holy Site district, and player must have founded a religion.
"We greet you, Devi Meenakshi, she who shines like a thousand-million suns, adorned with bracelets and garlands... She who is auspicious, she who embodies existence. I always bow to you, whose compassion is an ocean." - Adi Shankara
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus	Classical	Defensive Tactics	400	+1 Science, +1 Faith, and +1 Culture on all Coast tiles in this city. All Great Engineers have an additional charge.	Must be built on a coastal tile adjacent to a Harbor district.
"A vast tomb lies over me in Halicarnassus, of such dimensions, of such exquisite beauty as no other shade can boast." – Lucian of Samosata
Mont St. Michel	Medieval	Divine Right	710	+2 Faith +2 Relic slots All Apostles you create gain the Martyr ability in addition to a second ability you choose normally.	Must be built on Floodplains or Marsh.
"Church and State, Soul and Body, God and Man, are all one at Mont Saint Michel, and the business of all is to fight, each in his own way, or to stand guard for each other." – Henry Adams
Oracle	Ancient	Mysticism	290	+1 Culture +1 Faith Patronage of Great People costs 25% less Faith. Districts in this city provide +2 Great Person points of their type.	Must be built on Hills.
I sprang upon the swift ship in the form of a dolphin, pray to me as Apollo Delphinius; also the altar itself shall be called Delphinius and overlooked forever." – Homer
Országház	Industrial	Sanitation	920	+4 Culture +100% Diplomatic Favor per turn from starting a turn as a Suzerain of a city-state.	Must be built on a River.
"With self-government is freedom, and with freedom is justice and patriotism." - Lajos Kossuth
Oxford University	Industrial	Scientific Theory	1240	+3 Great Scientist points per turn +2 Great Works of Writing slots +20% Science in city, and awards 2 randomly chosen free technologies when completed.	Must be built on flat Grasslands or Plains adjacent to a Campus district with a University.
"The clever men at Oxford... Know all that there is to be knowed. But they none of them know one half as much... As intelligent Mr. Toad!" – Kenneth Grahame
Panama Canal	Industrial	Steam Power	920	Upon completion 1 or 2 adjacent Canal districts are automatically constructed. The Canal wonder tile can now be crossed by naval units. +10 Gold	Must be built on a flat land tile where there are two adjacent tiles directly across the build tile from one another the meets the following criteria: one adjacent tile must be able to legally hold a Canal district connecting into the Panama Canal construction tile; the other must be either a city, a water tile, or be another tile that can hold a connecting Canal.
"Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof." - Psalms 46:2-3
Petra	Classical	Mathematics	400	+2 Food, +2 Gold, and +1 Production on all Desert tiles for this city (non-Floodplains)	Must be built on Desert or Floodplains without Hills.
"Petra is a brilliant display of man’s artistry in turning barren rock into majestic wonder." – Edward Dawson
Potala Palace	Renaissance	Astronomy	1060	+2 Culture +3 Faith +1 Diplomatic policy slot +1 Diplomatic Victory Point when built.	Must be built on a Hill adjacent to a Mountain.
"The first time I stepped onto the rooftop of the Potala Palace, I felt, as never before or since, as if I were stepping onto the rooftop of my being: onto some dimension of consciousness that I’d never visited before." – Pico Iyer
Pyramids	Ancient	Masonry	220	+2 Culture Grants a free Builder. All Builders can build one extra improvement.	Must be built on Desert (including Floodplains) without Hills.
"From the heights of these pyramids, forty centuries look down on us." – Napoleon Bonaparte
Ruhr Valley	Industrial	Industrialization	1240	+20% Production in this city, and +1 Production for each Mine and Quarry in this city.	Must be built along a River adjacent to an Industrial Zone district with a Factory.
"The industrial heart of Germany practically stopped beating. Hardly anyone worked; hardly anything ran. The population of the Ruhr area … had to be supported by the rest of the country." – Adam Fergusson
Statue of Liberty	Industrial	Civil Engineering	1240	Grants 2 Settlers. +4 Diplomatic Victory points when built. All your cities within 6 tiles are 100% Loyal.	Must be built on a Coast adjacent to land and a Harbor.
"Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand a mighty woman with a torch, whose flame is the imprisoned lightning." – Emma Lazarus
St. Basil's Cathedral	Renaissance	Reformed Church	920	+3 Relic slots. +100% Religious Tourism from this city. +1 Food, +1 Production and +1 Culture from all Tundra tiles for this city.	Must be built adjacent to a City Center
"One had a twisted design, red, on a green ground; another, all prickly angles, yellow and black; a third was ornamented with scales of blue and crimson; a fourth was in quarters like a melon." – Katharine Blanche Guthrie
Stonehenge	Ancient	Astrology	180	+2 Faith Grants a free Great Prophet. Great Prophets may found a religion on Stonehenge instead of a Holy Site.	Must be built on flat land adjacent to Stone Stone.
"Can you imagine trying to talk six hundred people into helping you drag a fifty-ton stone eighteen miles across the countryside and muscle it into an upright position, and then saying, ‘Right, lads! Another twenty like that … and then we can party!" – Bill Bryson
Sydney Opera House	Atomic	Cultural Heritage	1850	+8 Culture +5 Great Musician points per turn +3 Great Works of Music slots	Must be built on Coast adjacent to a Harbor. Cannot be built on a Lake.
"An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down. It starts in my imagination, it becomes my life, and it stays part of my life long after I've left the opera house." – Maria Callas
Taj Mahal	Renaissance	Humanism	920	+1 Era Score from Historic Moment earned after the wonder is complete if that Moment is usually worth 2 or more Era Score.	Must be built next to a River.
"Did you ever build a castle in the air? Here is one, brought down to earth and fixed for the wonder of ages." – Bayard Taylor
Temple of Artemis	Ancient	Archery	180	+4 Food +3 Housing Housing Each Camp, Pasture, and Plantation within 4 tiles provides +1 Amenities Amenity.	Must be built next to a Camp.
"When I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other marvels lost their brilliancy, and I said, 'Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught so grand.'" – Antipater of Sidon
Terracotta Army	Classical	Construction	400	+2 Great General points per turn All current land units gain a promotion level. All Archaeologists from the owner may enter foreign lands without Open Borders.	Must be built on flat Grassland or Plains adjacent to an Encampment district with a Barracks or Stable.
"There were seven wonders in the world, and the discovery of the Terracotta Army, we may say, is the eighth miracle of the world." – Jacques Chirac
University of Sankore	Medieval	Education	710	+3 Science +1 Faith +2 Great Scientist points per turn +2 Science for every Trade Route to this city Domestic Trade Routes grant an additional +1 Faith to this city. Other Civilizations' Trade Routes to this city grant them +1 Science and +1 Gold.	Must be built on a Desert or Desert Hill adjacent to a Campus with a University.
"Scholars are the heirs of the prophets, for the prophets did not leave behind a legacy of wealth but that of knowledge." - Musnad al-Bazzar 10/68
Venetian Arsenal	Renaissance	Mass Production	920	+2 Great Engineer points per turn Receive a second naval unit each time you train a naval unit.	Must be built on the Coast and adjacent to an Industrial Zone district.
"The commonwealth of Venice in their armory have this inscription: ‘Happy is that city which in time of peace thinks of war.’" – Robert Burton

All Wonders - Civilization 6 - Some Wonders of the World 🗼

Added in the Rise and Fall expansion pack.

Added in the Gathering Storm expansion pack.

See also

• Natural Wonder (Civ6)