UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES

The UNESCO World Heritage list is made up of 1,031 sites that have been deemed by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as sites that are of special cultural, historical and physical significance. Some of the most well known examples include the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, Easter Island in Chile, the Great Wall of China in China, Macchu Picchu in Peru and the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

As someone who is incredibly passionate about history, I always seek out UNESCO World Heritage sites when I’m planning a trip to a country. Sometimes I even plan my trips around visiting sites such as the week I spent in Bavaria, Germany visiting UNESCO sites in Regensburg, Bamberg, Wurzburg, Trier and Cologne.

In the past, hunting out a World Heritage Sites has sent me to lesser known tourist destinations, small local towns and off the beaten path, especially in Europe.

Here is a list of all of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites that I have visited so far. I update this on a regular basis, including a link to my post on the specific site.

                  1. Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens (Australia)- Visited: Many Times
                  2. Sydney Opera House (Australia) Visited: 2000, 2009, 2013, 2014
                  3. Great Barrier Reef (Australia) Visited: 2003
                  4. Wet Tropics of Queensland (Australia) Visited: 2003
                  5. Paris, Banks of the Seine (France) Visited: Visited: December 2009 and March 2016
                  6. Palace of Westminster (UK) Visited: December 2009 and January 2016
                  7. Tower of London (UK) Visited: December 2009 and January 2016
                  8. Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd (UK)  Visited: December 2009
                  9. Vatican City (Vatican City)  Visited: December 2009
                  10. Historic Centre of Rome (Italy) Visited: December 2009
                  11. Mont St Michel (France) Visited: January 2010
                  12. Palace and Park of Versailles (France) Visited: February 2010
                  13. Lake system in the Rift Valley (Kenya) Visited: December 2011
                  14. Melaka and George Town- Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca (Malaysia) Visited: July 2013 and August 2017
                  15. Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long (Vietnam) Visited: August 2013
                  16. Halong Bay (Vietnam)  Visited: August 2013
                  17. Historic City of Ayutthaya (Thailand) Visited: February 2015
                  18. Changdeokgung Palace Complex (South Korea) Visited: July 2015
                  19. Hwaseong Fortress (South Korea) Visited: July 2015
                  20. Jongmyo Shrine (South Korea) Visited: July 2015
                  21. Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple (South Korea) Visited: July 2015
                  22. Gyeongju Historic Areas (South Korea) Visited: July 2015
                  23. Historic Villages of Korea: Hahoe and Yangdong – I visited Yangdong only (South Korea) Visited: July 2015
                  24. Historic Centre of Vienna (Austria) Visited: November 2015
                  25. Palace and Gardens of Schonbrunn (Austria) Visited: November 2015
                  26. Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg (Austria) Visited: November 2o15
                  27. Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps– I visited some at Lake Attersee (Austria) Visited: November 2015
                  28. Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrassy Avenue (Hungary) Visited: December 2015
                  29. Old Town of Regensburg with Stadtamhof (Germany) Visited: December 2015
                  30. Town of Bamberg (Germany) Visited: December 2015
                  31. Würzburg Residence with the Court Gardens and Residence Square (Germany) Visited: December 2015
                  32. Speyer Cathedral (Germany) Visited: December 2015
                  33. Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier (Germany) Visited: December 2015
                  34. Cologne Cathedral (Germany) Visited: December 2015
                  35. Seventeenth-Century Canal Ring Area of Amsterdam (The Netherlands) Visited: December 2015
                  36. Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (Wales) Visited: December 2015
                  37. Maritime Greenwich (United Kingdom) Visited: December 2015
                  38. Monastery of Alcobaca (Portugal) Visited: January 2016
                  39. Monastery of Batalha (Portugal) Visited: January 2016
                  40. Convent of Christ in Tomar (Portugal) Visited: January 2016
                  41. Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belem in Lisbon (Portugal) Visited: January 2016
                  42. Cultural Landscape of Sintra (Portugal) Visited: January 2016
                  43. Historic Centre of Oporto (Portugal) Visited: January 2016
                  44. University of Coimbra – Alta and Sofia (Portugal) Visited: January 2016
                  45. Old Town of Avila with it’s Extra-Muros Churches (Spain) Visited: January 2016
                  46. Old City of Salamanca (Spain) Visited: January 2016
                  47. Old Town of Segovia and it’s Aqueduct (Spain) Visited: January 2016
                  48. Historic City of Toledo (Spain) Visited: January 2016
                  49. Cathedral, Alcazar and Archivo de Indias in Seville (Spain) Visited: January 2016
                  50. Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzin in Granada (Spain) Visited February 2016
                  51. La Lonja de la Seda de Valencia (Spain) Visited: February 2016
                  52. Archaeological Ensemble of Tarraco (Spain) Visited: February 2016
                  53. Poblet Monastery (Spain) Visited: February 2016
                  54. Works of Antoni Gaudi (Spain) Visited: February 2016
                  55. Palau de la Musica Catalana (Spain) Visited: February 2016
                  56. Episcopal City of Albi (France) Visited: February 2016
                  57. Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne (France) Visited: February 2016
                  58. Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace, Episcopal Ensemble and Avignon Bridge (France) Visited: February 2016
                  59. Historic Site of Lyons (France) Visited: February 2016
                  60. Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch (Switzerland) Visited: February 2016
                  61. Old City of Berne (Switzerland) Visited: Visited: February 2016
                  62. Le Grand-Place, Brussels (Belgium)  Visited: March 2016
                  63. Belfries of Belgium and France (Belgium- Visited Bruges and Gent Belfries) Visited: March 2016
                  64. Historic Centre of Brugge (Belgium) Visited: March 2016
                  65. West Norwegian Fjords- Geirangerfjord and Naeroyfjord (Norway) Visited: March 2016
                  66. Bryggen (Norway) Visited: March 2016
                  67. Historic Centre of Florence (Italy) Visited: April 2016
                  68. Piazza del Duomo, Pisa (Italy) Visited: April 2016
                  69. City of Valletta (Malta) Visited: April 2016
                  70. Megalithic Temples of Malta, Gozo and Western Malta (Malta) Visited: April 2016
                  71. The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes (France)Visited: April 2016
                  72. Amiens Cathedral, Amiens (France) Visited: April 2016
                  73. Historic Centre of San Gimignano (Italy) Visited: May 2016
                  74. Venice and its Lagoon (Italy) Visited: May 2016
                  75. City of Verona (Italy) Visited: May 2016
                  76. Porto Venere and the Cinque Terre (Italy) Visited: May 2016
                  77. Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annuziata (Italy) Visited: May 2016
                  78. Costiera Amalfitana (Italy) Visited: May 2016
                  79. Skocjan Caves (Slovenia) Visited: May 2016
                  80. Plitvice Lakes National Park (Croatia) Visited: June 2016
                  81. Historical Complex of Split with the Palace of Diocletian (Croatia) Visited: June 2016
                  82. Stari Grad Plain (Croatia) Visited: June 2016
                  83. Old City of Dubrovnik (Croatia) Visited: June 2016
                  84. Natural and Culturo-Historic Region of Kotor (Montenegro) Visited: June 2016
                  85. Acropolis, Athens (Greece) Visited: June 2016
                  86. Archaeological Site of Delphi (Greece) Visited: June 2016
                  87. Meteora (Greece) Visited: June 2016
                  88. Monasteries of Daphni, Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni of Chios (Greece) Visited: June 2016 (Nea Moni only). 
                  89. Delos (Greece) Visited: July 2016
                  90. Giant’s Causeway (Northern Ireland-UK) Visited: August 2016
                  91. Old and News Towns of Edinburgh (Scotland-UK) Visited: August 2016
                  92. The Forth Bridge (Scotland-UK) Visited: August 2016
                  93. Heart of Neolithic Orkney (Scotland-UK) Visited: August 2016
                  94. Historic Centre of Krakow (Poland) Visited: August 2016
                  95. Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (Poland) Visited: August 2016
                  96. Historic Centre of Prague (Czech Republic) Visited: September 2016
                  97. Kutna Hora: Historical Town Centre with the Church of Saint Barbara and the Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec (Czech Republic) Visited: September 2016
                  98. Museuminsel (Museum Island), Berlin (Germany) Visited: September 2016
                  99. Historic Centre of Riga (Latvia) Visited: September 2016
                  100. Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn (Estonia) Visited: September 2016
                  101. Vilnius Historic Centre (Lithuania) Visited: September 2016
                  102. Historic Centre of Warsaw (Poland) Visited: September 2016
                  103. Boyana Church (Bulgaria) Visited: October 2016
                  104. Rila Monastery (Bulgaria) Visited: October 2016
                  105. Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) Visited: October 2016
                  106. Statue of Liberty (USA) Visited: October 2016
                  107. Sian Ka’an (Mexico) Visited: October 2016
                  108. Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen-Itza (Mexico) Visited: October 2016
                  109. Historic Centre of Mexico City (Mexico) Visited: October 2016
                  110. Pre-Hispanic City of Teotihuacan (Mexico) Visited: October 2016
                  111. Historic Centre of Oaxaca (Mexico) Visited: November 2016
                  112. Old Havana and its Fortification Systems (Cuba) Visited: November 2016
                  113. Vinales Valley (Cuba) Visited: November 2016
                  114. Port, Fortresses and Group of Monuments, Cartagena (Colombia) Visited: December 2016
                  115. Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) Visited: December 2016
                  116. Historic Centre of Lima (Peru) Visited: December 2016
                  117. Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu (Peru) Visited: January 2017
                  118. City of Cuzco (Peru) Visited: January 2017
                  119. Historical Centre of the City of Arequipa (Peru) Visited: January 2017
                  120. Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaiso (Chile) Visited: January 2017
                  121. Iguazu National Park (Argentina) Visited: February 2017
                  122. Rio de Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea (Brazil) Visited: February 2017
                  123. Singapore Botanic Gardens (Singapore) Visited: July 2017
                  124. Borobudur Temple Compounds (Indonesia) Visited: September 2017
                  125. Prambanan Temple Compounds (Indonesia) Visited: September 2017
                  126. Komodo National Park (Indonesia) Visited: September 2017
                  127. Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang (China) Visited: October 2017
                  128. Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in Beijing (China) Visited: October 2017
                  129. Temple of Heaven, an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing (China) Visited: October 2017
                  130. The Great Wall (China) Visited: October 2017
                  131. Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (the Terracotta Warriors)(China) Visited: October 2017
                  132. South China Karst (China) Visited: October 2017
                  133. Angkor (Cambodia) Visited: October 2017

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