For every great world city that I have visited in this World Heritage hunting malarkey I seem to have visited some previously obscure town that has never really troubled a …
Ian Cade
United Kingdom \ Member since December 2005
#132 324 53 8
I discovered the World Heritage list whilst studying in the Czech city of Olomouc in 2003, and since then I have spent a fair bit of my time visiting the sites and boring people with information about them. World Heritage Sites provide a great way to hunt out the best bits of countries and can give you a look at some great parts of a destination that you would otherwise not see. A few of my favourite sites have been the ones that I have made a special effort to get to see because of their place on the list; Sceilg Mhichíl, Guanajuato and Preah Vihear
I mostly take short trips around Europe, making the most of budget airlines special offers, seeing some of the continent's great cities, visiting friends and dragging them to some pretty obscure places.
I try to travel outside Europe at least once a year and hope to tick off a few of the places on my wish list when money, politics and time enable this.
It's not about the shark!:
Whilst the World Heritage Sites themselves are the focus of my travels, they are more a means to an end, the real joy of travelling comes from interacting with people, waiting for trains at hitherto unknown corners of the world then eating and drinking the tasty (and not so tasty) delights on offer.
My most impressive site: Angkor
My proposal for a new site: Major Buildings of the Chicago School of Architecture
Check out my website: https://letterboxd.com/meltwaterfalls/
Recent Visits
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40Feb. 23, 2025Cilento and Vallo di Diano, Naples, Pompei, Royal Palace at Caserta
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10Sept. 13, 2024Eisinga Planetarium
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20July 29, 2024Beijing Central Axis, Via Appia
Top 10 Missing
About Ian Cade
- Member since
- December 2005
- Country of Origin
- United Kingdom
Visits
- Rank
- #132
- WHS
- 324
- Tentative Sites
- 53
Website Participation
- Reviews
- 316
-
Ratings
Ratings
World Heritage Sites
- Rome 5.0
- Bauhaus Sites 5.0
- Angkor 5.0
- Yellowstone 5.0
- Mexico City and Xochimilco 5.0
- Grand Canyon 5.0
- Mesa Verde 4.5
- Chaco Culture 4.5
- Prague 4.5
- Auschwitz Birkenau 4.5
- Vienna 4.5
- Brasilia 4.5
- Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve 4.5
- Guanajuato 4.5
- Venice and its Lagoon 4.5
- Ellora Caves 4.5
- Sceilg Mhichíl 4.5
- Istanbul 4.5
- Convent of Christ in Tomar 4.5
- Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles 4.5
- Plantin-Moretus Museum 4.5
- Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings 4.5
- Grimeton Radio Station 4.5
- Ajanta Caves 4.5
- Naples 4.5
- Aquileia 4.0
- Le Havre 4.0
- Medina of Marrakesh 4.0
- Palau de la Musica Catalana & Hospital de Sant Pau 4.0
- Stonehenge and Avebury 4.0
- Yosemite National Park 4.0
- Bamberg 4.0
- Split 4.0
- Vatican City 4.0
- Kyiv Cathedral and Lavra 4.0
- Preah Vihear Temple 4.0
- Villa Adriana (Tivoli) 4.0
- Funerary and memory sites of the First World War 4.0
- Edinburgh 4.0
- Tallinn 4.0
- Luis Barragán House and Studio 4.0
- Mostar 4.0
- Pampulha 4.0
- Cilento and Vallo di Diano 4.0
- Salzburg 4.0
- Pompei 4.0
- Gwynedd Castles 4.0
- Segovia 4.0
- Great Wall 4.0
- Summer Palace 4.0
- Granada 4.0
- Cesky Krumlov 4.0
- Paris, Banks of the Seine 4.0
- Dougga/Thugga 4.0
- Zollverein 4.0
- Sintra 3.5
- Frontiers of the Roman Empire 3.5
- Beijing Central Axis 3.5
- Temple of Heaven 3.5
- Bordeaux 3.5
- Hwaseong Fortress 3.5
- Graz 3.5
- El Escurial 3.5
- Quedlinburg 3.5
- Rammelsberg and Goslar 3.5
- Regensburg 3.5
- Piazza del Duomo (Pisa) 3.5
- Volubilis 3.5
- Gammelstad 3.5
- Churches of Peace 3.5
- Route of Santiago de Compostela 3.5
- Old City of Berne 3.5
- Teotihuacan 3.5
- Abbey of St Gall 3.5
- Westminster 3.5
- Sydney Opera House 3.5
- Kraków 3.5
- Budapest 3.5
- Amsterdam Canal Ring 3.5
- Sambor Prei Kuk 3.5
- Major Town Houses 3.5
- Works of Antoni Gaudí 3.5
- Tugendhat Villa 3.5
- Santa Maria delle Grazie 3.5
- Florence 3.5
- Rietveld Schröderhuis 3.5
- Strasbourg 3.5
- Würzburg Residence 3.5
- Valletta 3.5
- Syracuse 3.5
- Thingvellir 3.5
- Cordoba 3.5
- Saint-Emilion 3.5
- Puebla 3.5
- Monastery of Batalha 3.5
- Monastery of Alcobaça 3.5
- Xochicalco 3.5
- Rio de Janeiro 3.5
- Riga 3.5
- Wartburg Castle 3.5
- Jodrell Bank Observatory 3.5
- Everglades 3.5
- L'viv 3.5
- Rabat 3.5
- Medina of Fez 3.5
- Popocatepetl monasteries 3.0
- Imperial Palace 3.0
- San Miguel de Allende 3.0
- Eisinga Planetarium 3.0
- Via Appia 3.0
- Museumsinsel (Museum Island) 3.0
- Belfries 3.0
- City of Luxembourg 3.0
- Villa d'Este 3.0
- The Porticoes of Bologna 3.0
- Oporto 3.0
- City of Bath 3.0
- The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales 3.0
- Rhaetian Railway 3.0
- Brú na Bóinne 3.0
- Stoclet House 3.0
- Versailles 3.0
- Upper Middle Rhine Valley 3.0
- Hal Saflieni Hypogeum 3.0
- Val di Noto 3.0
- Great Spa Towns of Europe 3.0
- Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai 3.0
- Reims 3.0
- Warsaw 3.0
- The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier 3.0
- Taos Pueblo 3.0
- Lake District 3.0
- Bursa and Cumalikizik 3.0
- Statue of Liberty 3.0
- Holy Trinity Column 3.0
- Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines 3.0
- University of Coimbra 3.0
- Belem 3.0
- Maritime Greenwich 3.0
- Medina of Tunis 3.0
- Amphitheater of El Jem 3.0
- Kerkuane 3.0
- Ironbridge Gorge 3.0
- Telc 3.0
- Litomysl Castle 3.0
- Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes 3.0
- Mont-Saint-Michel 3.0
- Avignon 3.0
- Pont du Gard 3.0
- Orange 3.0
- Lyon 3.0
- Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou 3.0
- Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District 3.0
- Plitvice Lakes 3.0
- Seville 3.0
- Durham Castle and Cathedral 3.0
- Stone Circles of Senegambia 3.0
- Kunta Kinteh Island 3.0
- Amiens Cathedral 3.0
- Vilnius 3.0
- Studley Royal Park 3.0
- Altamira Cave 3.0
- Sukhothai 3.0
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus 3.0
- Verona 3.0
- Gyeongju 3.0
- Haeinsa Temple 3.0
- Malbork Castle 3.0
- Roskilde Cathedral 3.0
- Wachau Cultural Landscape 3.0
- Heritage of Mercury 3.0
- Skocjan Caves 3.0
- Fagus Factory 3.0
- Hallstatt-Dachstein 3.0
- Pilgrimage Church of Wies 3.0
- Meknes 3.0
- Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape 3.0
- Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland 3.0
- Central University City Campus of the UNAM 3.0
- Querétaro 3.0
- Monticello 3.0
- Van Nellefabriek 3.0
- Primeval Beech Forests 3.0
- Trogir 2.5
- Medina of Sousse 2.5
- Megalithic Temples of Malta 2.5
- Town Hall and Roland, Bremen 2.5
- Asturian Monuments 2.5
- Rideau Canal 2.5
- Stevns Klint 2.5
- Kutna Hora 2.5
- Flemish Béguinages 2.5
- Grand Place, Brussels 2.5
- Trier 2.5
- Canterbury 2.5
- Brugge 2.5
- Carthage 2.5
- Kairouan 2.5
- Kew Gardens 2.5
- Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk 2.5
- Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust 2.5
- Aachen Cathedral 2.5
- Beemster Polder 2.5
- Arles 2.5
- Medina of Essaouira 2.5
- Lübeck 2.5
- Luther Memorials 2.5
- Santiago de Compostela 2.5
- Ayutthaya 2.5
- Elephanta Caves 2.5
- Hildesheim Cathedral and Church 2.5
- Mantua and Sabbioneta 2.5
- Vicenza and the Palladian Villas 2.5
- Fontainebleau 2.5
- Rock Carvings in Tanum 2.5
- Grand Canal 2.5
- Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple 2.5
- Changdeokgung Palace Complex 2.5
- Mudejar Architecture of Aragon 2.5
- Toledo 2.5
- New Lanark 2.5
- Engelsberg Ironworks 2.5
- Laponian Area 2.5
- Centennial Hall 2.5
- Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque 2.5
- Saltaire 2.5
- Longobards in Italy 2.5
- Classical Weimar 2.5
- Torun 2.5
- Gorham's Cave Complex 2.5
- Champagne 2.5
- Stari Grad Plain 2.5
- Cathedral of St. James in Sibenik 2.5
- Forth Bridge 2.5
- Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region 2.5
- Potsdam 2.5
- Giant's Causeway 2.5
- Burgundy 2.5
- Reichenau 2.5
- Maison Carrée of Nîmes 2.5
- Schönbrunn 2.0
- Kinderdijk 2.0
- La Lonja de la Seda 2.0
- Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro 2.0
- Dong Phayayen - Khao Yai 2.0
- Roman Walls of Lugo 2.0
- The Four Lifts 2.0
- Palmeral of Elche 2.0
- Dutch Water Defence Lines 2.0
- Dorset and East Devon Coast 2.0
- Tower of London 2.0
- Semmering Railway 2.0
- Greater Blue Mountains 2.0
- Viking Age Ring Fortresses 2.0
- Kernavė 2.0
- Jelling 2.0
- Speyer Cathedral 2.0
- Cahokia Mounds 2.0
- Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France 2.0
- Cologne Cathedral 2.0
- Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal 2.0
- Drottningholm 2.0
- Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin 2.0
- Chartres Cathedral 2.0
- Euphrasian Basilica in Porec 2.0
- Nesvizh 2.0
- Camino Real 2.0
- Aranjuez 2.0
- Avila 2.0
- Alcala de Henares 2.0
- Skogskyrkogarden 2.0
- Antequera Dolmens Site 2.0
- Royal Joseon Tombs 2.0
- Messel Pit 2.0
- Trebic 2.0
- Stralsund and Wismar 2.0
- Mining Cultural Landscape Erzgebirge 2.0
- Blaenavon Industrial Landscape 2.0
- Mining Sites of Wallonia 1.5
- Stecci 1.5
- Valongo Wharf 1.5
- Modena 1.5
- Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai 1.5
- Venetian Works of Defence 1.5
- Imperial Tombs 1.5
- Muskauer Park 1.5
- Peking Man Site 1.5
- Schokland 1.5
- Falun Great Copper Mountain 1.5
- Fortifications of Vauban 1.5
- Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape 1.5
- Kronborg Castle 1.5
- Kladruby nad Labem 1.5
- Botanical Garden, Padua 1.5
- Tower of Hercules 1.5
- Blenheim Palace 1.5
- Gardens and Castle at Kromeríz 1.5
- Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe 1.5
- Hahoe and Yangdong 1.5
- Donana National Park 1.5
- Berlin Modernism Housing Estates 1.5
- Royal Palace at Caserta 1.5
- Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz 1.5
- Holasovice 1.5
- Jewish-Medieval heritage of Erfurt 1.5
- Morelia 1.5
- Independence Hall 1.5
- Wadden Sea 1.0
- Prehistoric Pile Dwellings 1.0
- Moravian Church Settlements 1.0
- Ir. D.F. Woudagemaal 1.0
- Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa Dolmen 1.0
- Mafra 1.0
- Mir Castle 1.0
- Colonies of Benevolence 1.0
- Struve Geodetic Arc 1.0
- Derwent Valley Mills 1.0
- Jongmyo Shrine 1.0
- Corvey 1.0
- Birka and Hovgarden 1.0
- Danube Limes 0.5
- Lower German Limes 0.5
- Par force hunting landscape 0.5
Tentative Sites
- Chiang Mai
- The Rise of Systematic Biology
- Zadar - Episcopal complex
- Nuruosmaniye Complex
- Palais de la Culture, Rio de Janeiro
- The Archeological complex of Banteay Chhmar
- Les villes antiques de la Narbonnaise
- Kyiv: St. Cyril's and St. Andrew's Churches
- California Current Conservation Complex
- Eglise et Monastère de Sao Bento
- Le noyau historique médiéval de Gand
- Noyau historique d'Antwerpen -Anvers
- Trakai Historical National Park
- The Royal Sites of Ireland
- Moulay Idriss Zerhoun
- Pombaline Lisbon
- Early Chicago Skyscrapers
- Phnom Kulen
- Leuven
- Brazilian Fortresses Ensemble
- Ellis Island
- Les Mausolées Royaux de Numidie (Tunisia)
- Via Francigena
- Thingvellir National Park
- Pont sur la gorge du Salgina
- Cathédrale de Saint-Denis
- Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
- Capital Fortifications of Hanyang
- City of York
- Rouen
- Olympic Park Munich
- Central Park
- Mdina (Citta Vecchia)
- Diocletian's Palace and the Historical Nucleus of
- Oasis de Gabes
- Gdansk - Town of Memory and Freedom
- Extension of Prague WHS
- Civil Rights Movement Sites
- The Walk of Peace from the Alps to the Adriatic
- Coastal Cliffs
- Les passages de Bruxelles
- Brooklyn Bridge
- Le Palais de Justice de Bruxelles
- Maltese Catacomb Complexes
- Centre ancien de Sarlat
- Astronomical Observatories of Ukraine
- Amalienborg and its district
- Cittadella (Victoria - Gozo)
- Le complexe hydraulique romain de Zaghouan-Carthag
- Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo's Home-Study Museum
- Knights Fortifications around Harbours of Malta
- L'oeuvre architecturale d'Henry van de Velde
- Médina de Sfax
- Chapultepec Woods, Hill and Castle
- Primosten Vineyards
- D-Day Landing Beaches, Normandy, 1944
- Domaine de Fontainebleau
- Le champ de bataille de Waterloo
- Alvaro Siza's Architecture
- Les citadelles mosanes
- Trading Posts and Fortifications on Genoese Trade
- VIKING MONUMENTS AND SITES / Thingvellir NP
- Francke Foundation Buildings
- Caves of the Buda Thermal Karst System
- Victoria Lines Fortifications
- Aire du Dragonnier Ajgal
- 323 66
- Locations
- 0
- Zones
- 0
Reviews by Ian Cade


Stralsund and Wismar (Inscribed)
Stralsund and Wismar
Well I will give those Baltic Red-Brick Gothic architects’ one thing: they can certainly build a massive church. That was the main thing that struck me after my visit to …

Quedlinburg (Inscribed)
Quedlinburg
During the day I thought Quedlinburg was rather nice. However an evening stroll started to reveal an even more charming side to the city. The winding streets of half timbered …

Segovia (Inscribed)
Segovia
I think Segovia may be my favourite WHS in Spain of the 19 that I have visited so far. The mixture of an amazing monument, charming cobbled old town and …

Alcala de Henares (Inscribed)
Alcala de Henares
Initially I was rather underwhelmed by Alcala; it just seemed like an unremarkable commuter town. However a slightly rambling wander finally saw me arrive at the grand edifice of the …

El Escurial (Inscribed)
El Escurial
A hungover traipse around this massive and austere royal palace/ monastery complex wasn't really motivating me to get out of bed after a great night of tapas and bar hoping …

Avila (Inscribed)
Avila
I think I caught Avila on a bad day. It seems that a Monday morning in November doesn’t show this city in its best light.
Being a Monday in continental …

Aranjuez (Inscribed)
Aranjuez
Strapping on my camera and backpack I did my duty and after a short hop on the commuter train from Madrid I landed at yet another European Royal Palace complex.
…

Rideau Canal (Inscribed)
Rideau Canal
The stretch of canal in the Canadian capital Ottawa turned out to be a rather pleasant surprise, as did much of this charming capital city.
My first glance of the …

Yellowstone (Inscribed)
Yellowstone
Simply magnificent!
Natural World Heritage Sites are not really my specialty; however when one is as impressive as this it really has an effect. This was WHS number 200 for …

Chaco Culture (Inscribed)
Chaco Culture
I’ll admit it; this was the site in the South West that I was visiting purely because I was in the area rather than because I had a strong desire …

Taos Pueblo (Inscribed)
Taos Pueblo
The main thing that stuck with me after my visit was how "authentic" the Pueblo was. With the exception of the odd bit of plastic guttering and a portable-toilet there …

Mesa Verde (Inscribed)
Mesa Verde
There are some sites that I want to visit from the first time I see a picture of them. The Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde has been one of them …

Venetian Works of Defence (Inscribed)
Venetian Works of Defence
Unknown to me, John S. below has written almost word for word my summary of this town. Though I probably wouldn’t use the word ‘boring’, more just ‘laid back’, though …

Aquileia (Inscribed)
Aquileia
I wasn't expecting it, but the Basilica of Aquileia was astounding, one of the finest churches I have been in during all my World Heritage Site hunting.
As the other …

Skocjan Caves (Inscribed)
Skocjan Caves
I was rather impressed with this magnificent cave complex and the wonderful surrounding countryside. Whilst I don’t have a huge amount of knowledge to judge the quality of these caves …

Longobards in Italy (Inscribed)
Longobards in Italy
My first taste of this site, which is spread across Italy, was in the delightful town of Cividale del Friuli tucked up in the North East near the Slovene boarder. …

Euphrasian Basilica in Porec (Inscribed)
Euphrasian Basilica in Porec
As the others have said below Porec is a pretty town that can seem somewhat lost under tourist paraphernalia; however the basilica and especially its mosaic decorated apse are really …

Heritage of Mercury (Inscribed)
Heritage of Mercury
“…and if I hire a car I could make it to the disused mercury mine!” little did I know that this ‘obscure’ holiday destination that I was trumpeting in the …

Mudejar Architecture of Aragon (Inscribed)
Mudejar Architecture of Aragon
The three parts of this site located in central Zaragoza provided me with a great weekend break in yet another lively Spanish city.
I was particularly impressed with the Aljafería …