The list seems heavily biased towards Ashkenazik Schuls. How about Shearith Israel in New York, and The Synagogue in Florence.

We need awe inspiring Jews as well as awe inspiring Shuls. Have a Good Year.

I'm surprised the Synagouge in Rome is NOT mentioned here. To me is one of the most beautiful both externally and internally.

Zoltan Jakal Cantor at the Chabad synagogue in Hungary sez: really? reb jakal? did chabad build it or 'appropriate' it to themselves by default after the war?

Without a doubt One of the most beautiful and least known is the synagogue in Kimberley, its was built more than a hundred years ago. there are a handful of Jews left there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvWxoYULWrw

the synagogue was used as a TV studio for long years, and Chabad took it back for the jews :)

I AM NOT SUPRISE THAT THE SYNAGOGUE OF FLORENCE -ROME- ANCONNNA, EXCT....NOT MENTION ,ANYWAY ALL GOOD JUDAISM WITH COM SENCE CAME FROM SPAIN

I visited this magnificent shul two years ago. It is truly awe inspiring.

In Sao Paulo, my Litvaker Shul is much more beautifull than the BetEl Temple. I'm going to there for the Kol Nidrei.

BETH EL IN BORO PARK GETS MY VOTE FOR MOST SPECTACULAR SHUL IVE SEEN.ANYONE DISAGREE?

This is one you shouldn't have forgotten http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Choral_Synagogue

Does anyone know the synagogue in Casale Monferrato, Italy? One of the most beautiful in Europe!

is ugly because it looks just like a church.

Truly one of the most beautiful synagogues in the world, and much deserving of mention is in Sofia, Bulgaria. I davened there in June. It is reportedly the largest Sephardic synagogue in Europe and was recently renovated through the generosity mainly of the Lauder Foundation.

ALL GORGEOUS! We should be so proud of everything we have built and contributed to the world.

for showing us all these shuls.

North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe Illinois(USA) is a beautiful modern synagogue near the lake Michigan. It is a unique architectural structure full of light and harmony.

Temple Beth Shalom in Marquette, MI needs to get some props. It has very beuatiful stained glass and specatular achitecture. Worth looking into.

This synagogue have something special on the air , apart from being very very beautiful . The people and the construction make it very special.... http://www.betham.com/ Natan PS : I visited this congregation and I am not a member of it. .

I think it's a shame that the best synagogues are situated outside the Jewish homeland. It's the fact of life that most Jews live now in Israel. Where is our Jewish pride? Why the churches and mosques are so prominant here and the synagogues look like slums? No money? I propose to introduce a religious tax to support the Jewish institutions here in Israel.

which have been built in the second half of the 19th century look like churches !!

decorations, other than that, they look great, two thumbs up.

If you need a magnificent synagogue to pray , it's the same as clothing : It's not the synagogue that counts , it are those who pray .

The greatest synagogue I know is at Nieuwe Kerkstraat in Amsterdam. Not because of its splendour but because of the warm, spiritual atmosphere. Mr Aronson (91) and his son performed a wonderfull Jom Kipur service. Once Nieuwe Kerkstraat was home to dozens of small shuls, now the "Nidchei Yisrael Jechanes" shul is the sole survivor. The shul is known as well as "The Russian Shul" and the visitors love to hear a good drasha while drinking a fair amount of high quality vodka's and whiskeys. A movie about the shul "Jiddisjkeit" (by Lex Bolle) tells the story about this wonderfull shul.

Cathedrals are - and this is to make Catholics feel small in the presence of God – synagogues are not built to intimidate its congregation. I’m not sure there are any Synagogues in Israel that measure up to the size of these huge ostentatious Synagogues built outside Israel. Which, one again, shows the difference between an Israeli Jew and a Diaspora Jew.

http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/1,7340,L-3235147,00.html

By this answer I understand that you did not read the part in Tora where it is written about Beit HaMikdash and the kilim. As I understand you are not planning to visit 3 Beit Hamikdash, as it will be to much magnificent! And btw to dress nice and clean is in the halaha, but for real Israeli modest people this halaha is not importent....

Could the other philanthropist for the Great Synagogue in Budapest possibly be Helene Curtis?

By far the most beautiful and breathtaking temple I have ever seen.