Civ 7: 10 Best Wonders To Build For A Cultural Victory

If you’re looking to win a cultural victory in Civilization 7, there are certain Wonders you will want to seek out. Note that while some are helpful for winning a cultural victory, they have specific requirements that make them less of a one-size-fits-all option. Also, the Wonders I recommend shouldn’t be considered ranked in any specific order, as their efficacy can change based on your specific in-game strategy and situation.

Civ 7 has reworked its victory conditions a little bit. When working towards a cultural victory, it’s important that you can advance quickly down the Civics Tree. Culture helps advance your Civics Tree similar to how Science helps advance your Technology Tree, so Civ 7’s best Wonders for this strategy are those that give you related bonuses. Some are available as early as Civ 7’s Antiquity Age, while others are unlocked throughout the game by developing certain Civics.

10 Erdene Zuu (Mongolia)

Gives Extra Culture When Creating Cavalry Units

Erdene Zuu is a bit more situationally good than evergreen, but it can still create a lot of Culture depending on your strategy. It will grant you 25% of each Cavalry Unit’s Production cost back as Culture, which can add up if you are focusing on this style of army. Even if you aren’t trying to focus too heavily on combat, you’ll want at least some units to defend your territory as you work on building better diplomatic relationships with independent cities and other civilizations. This means you’ll likely get at least some bonus Culture from Erdene Zuu.

Erdene Zuu is the oldest Buddhist temple in Mongolia that’s still standing, though the Mongolian folk religion, sometimes called Tengerism, is also occasionally practiced there. As the temple itself doesn’t seem to have any strong affiliation with horses, it's apparent Civ 7 focuses more on the culture of the region where it exists. Erdene Zuu likely grants a bonus for Cavalry Units as a reference to Genghis Khan and the Mongolian Empire’s use of mounted combat.

9 Sanchi Stupa (India)

Grants Culture For Excess Happiness

Sanchi Stupa Wonder grants players an additional Culture for each excess Happiness in the settlement where it’s built. As Happiness is a resource you’ll want anyway, Sanchi Stupa allows you to focus a little extra on Happiness without losing as much progress on Culture. Happiness also helps maintain Specialists in Civ 7, who can play a key role in any style of victory you’re going for. Sanchi Stupa has no Civics requirements, so it is one of the earliest Culture-boosting Wonders you can construct.

Sanchi Stupa is part of a Buddhist complex in Sanchi Town in Madhya Pradesh, India. According to the in-game Civilopedia, a stupa is a mound of stone in such complexes that contain objects of significance in Buddhism, such as the cremated remains of Buddha. Stupas - like Sanchi Stupa - are part of a larger temple that serves multiple purposes, including holding community gatherings. This cultural importance is likely why Civ 7 chose to tie Sanchi Stupa to Culture.

8 Palacio De Bellas Artes (Mexico)

Has Three Slots For Displaying Artifacts

Palacio de Bellas Artes summary from Civ 7

Palacio de Bellas Artes contributes to a cultural victory in several ways. Most obviously, the building itself yields you an additional five Culture, making it an immediate boost to your Civics progress. Additionally, there are three slots for displaying Artifacts, which are an important component of a cultural victory. You need to collect and display Artifacts to advance the Modern Culture Legacy Path before you can build the World’s Fair and win the game. To build this Wonder you will need the Globalism and Planes Políticos Civics.

The Planes Políticos Civic is exclusive to Mexico in Civilization 7.

The real-life Palacio de Bellas Artes hosts a variety of cultural events in Mexico City, including concerts, plays, and dance events. It also hosts art exhibits and even events dedicated to literature and poetry. Seeing as the Palacio de Bellas Artes is home to so many different aspects of Mexico’s culture, it's the perfect choice for a Culture-focused Wonder in Civ 7.

7 The Oracle (Greece)

Its Bonus Increases With Each Age

The Oracle is one of the better Wonders for a cultural victory because its rewards scale up as the game continues. While it provides an additional 10 Culture for each Narrative Event reward in Antiquity, it will provide 20, and then 30 Culture in the game’s subsequent ages. This makes the Oracle a good Wonder to build early on in the game if you want to get the most out of it. Luckily, it doesn’t have strict requirements or take much production to build, so it isn’t hard to get in Civ 7’s Antiquity Age.

Civ 7’s Oracle is a representation of Apllo’s oracle at Delphi from the Hellenistic period of Ancient Greece. People would consult with the oracle before making big decisions (particularly those in positions of authority or power like Alexander the Great’s father Phillip II of Macedonia). The oracle delivered advice in the form of prophecies, worded in a vague and interpretive fashion that may have helped them seem true more often than not.

6 Notre Dame (France)

Starts A Celebration And Boosts Culture During

Although Civ 7’s Notre Dame does not always provide a Culture boost,it can be great for a one-time injection of Culture to help give you a bit of an edge. It provides three Culture per Specialist you have during a Celebration, but it also immediately starts a Celebration when it is finished. Because of this, you may want to hold off on building Notre Dame until you have a decent number of Specialists to help take advantage of its bonus. This Wonder is also just a nice general boost to all future Celebrations, not just the one it starts.

Notre Dame Cathedral is perhaps one of the most recognizable buildings in Paris. In fact, the building’s Gothic Architecture is what inspired Victor Hugo to write Notre-Dame de Paris, also known as The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Though the building was partially destroyed by a fire in 2019, it has since been refurbished and recently re-opened in December 2024.

5 Hermitage (Prussia)

Gives Extra Culture And Has Artifact Slots

The Hermitage is a Wonder that is fully focused on Culture and working toward a cultural victory. It gives you four Culture when built, and an additional +10% Culture if it is in a City with a Great Work on display. On top of that, it has three slots for displaying Artifacts, which will help work towards finishing the Modern Culture Legacy Path and unlocking The World’s Fair. Although it can be hard to place given that it needs to be on a Tundra, this is one of the best cultural Wonders if you can get it.

The Hermitage started out as a private collection of art that was meant to be a gift from Catherine the Great to King Friedrich II of Prussia. However, after Friedrich refused the gift, it just continued to grow as Catherine’s private art collection. Following the Russian Revolution, the Hermitage was converted into a public art museum, and its collection was bolstered by pieces taken from the private collections of the Russian aristocracy.

4 Hale O Keawe (Hawai'i)

Gives Extra Culture For Buildings On The Coast

Hale O Keawe can help you gain extra culture over time, especially if you have a lot of coastal land. Each time you build another building on a Coast Terrain, you’ll get 50% of its Production cost back in Culture. This means a nice steady flow of Culture from buildings that might not otherwise yield any. While these might not be as good as sustained Culture bonuses, they can be a nice early boost for jump-starting progress on your Civics Tree. This can be especially helpful on Civ 7’s Archipelago map which will have more Coast Terrain than other maps.

The real Hale O Keawe was a Hawaiian temple (known as a heiau) on the big island of Hawai’i. The temple’s main structure was known as a hale poki and was originally built to house the remains of King Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku, which is how the temple got its name. The sacred remains hidden there were later relocated on the order of High Chiefess Kapiʻolani who had the site destroyed, but it has since been rebuilt.

3 The Eiffel Tower (France)

Gives Extra Culture For Each Quarter In A City

The Eiffel Tower is a great late-game wonder that can give you a lot of extra culture in a more developed City. Not only will it provide five Culture on its own, but it will also give you an additional two Culture in each Quarter in the city. Larger late-game cities are more likely to have more quarters, so make sure you’re placing the Eiffel Tower in whatever city has either the most existing quarters or the one with the most growth potential. You also will need to be playing as France in the Modern Age to unlock this Wonder.

Although nobody would deny that the Eiffel Tower is a major cultural landmark today, it was not always seen that way. In fact, many people in Paris disliked it so much that it was going to be demolished in 1909, only 10 years after it was built. It was saved by being converted into a radio tower, thereby allowing it to serve a necessary purpose until it eventually grew on people. This is also why Radio technology is required in Civ 7 to construct it.

2 Doi Suthep (Thailand)

Rewards You With Culture For Each City-State You Are Suzerin Of

Doi Suthep is a smart cultural Wonder if you are also planning to focus on diplomacy in Civ 7. While it doesn’t naturally produce any Culture on its own, it will give you an additional five Culture for each City-State that you are the Suzerin of. If you aren’t already planning to be diplomatic, trying to get this Wonder to pay off may be more trouble than it’s worth, but if befriending City-States is already part of your game plan, this will give you a good boost to culture as well.

You will need to have the Political Theory Civic and the Siam-exclusive Mandala Civic to build Chengde Mountain Resort.

In real life, Doi Suthep is actually the name of the mountain peak in Thailand where this Wonder is built. Properly known as Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, it is a Buddhist temple that was built in the late 1300s. Located high above the city of Chiang Mai at the site where a white elephant carrying a bone - said to be Buddha’s - collapsed and died, which was taken as a sign of where the bone should be put to rest.

1 Chengde Mountain Resort (China)

Gives A Big Boost Of Culture For Trade Routes

Chengde Mountain Resort summary from Civ 7

Chengde Mountain Resort relies on you having other elements already set up before you start gaining Culture from it, but once it gets going it can offer you a huge bonus. You will get an additional 5% Culture for each different civilization you have a Trade Route with. Even if you have one Trade Route, this is a nice bonus, but it can be very significant if you’ve established trade relations with multiple other leaders in Civ 7. You will need to choose Qing as your Modern Age civilization if you want to build this Wonder.

You will need to have the Hegemony Civic and the Qing-exclusive Stabilizing Frontier Civic to build Chengde Mountain Resort.

The Chengde Mountain Resort was the typical summer palace for emperors during the Qing Dynasty. The resort’s temples are built in various architectural styles to reflect the different cultures within China as a symbolic gesture of unity. This representation of multiple cultures within the same country makes it a natural choice for a cultural Wonder in Civilization 7.