After three or four hours in Graz I was left feeling pretty underwhelmed, however by the time I left 24 hours later I viewed it as a city I would …
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


Toledo (Inscribed)
Toledo
I was in two minds about visiting Toledo, not because I didn’t think it would be a worthwhile trip, but I was unsure if I could give it enough time …

Les passages de Bruxelles (On tentative list)
Les passages de Bruxelles
Apparently Galerie St Hubert was the first shopping gallery in Europe and it is rather nice. I have been to other and better examples around Europe but this is certainly …

Wachau Cultural Landscape (Inscribed)
Wachau Cultural Landscape
A trip to the Wachau valley really is an impressive day trip from Vienna.
I started off my trip with a guided tour of the abbey at Melk. It really …

Tallinn (Inscribed)
Tallinn
This was a great place to spend a cold mid-winter weekend. I don’t think I have ever visited an historic centre that is so thoroughly preserved as Tallinn. It seems …

Kronborg Castle (Inscribed)
Kronborg Castle
New Year’s eve and New Year’s day are always awkward times to visit world heritage sites, and for the third year in a row I found myself locked out of …

Semmering Railway (Inscribed)
Semmering Railway
It is not that often that traveling between one World Heritage site and another will mean you visit a third. However if you catch a train between Vienna and Graz, …

Roskilde Cathedral (Inscribed)
Roskilde Cathedral
Having seen a lot of cathedrals in the process of visiting World Heritage Sites, it takes something a little different to linger in my memory. Roskilde certainly does that. As …

Lednice-Valtice Cultural Land… (Inscribed)
Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape
This site had been a thorn in my side for a few years. 3 previous attempts to visit were abandoned, and it sat there taunting me for not 'completing' all …

Gyeongju (Inscribed)
Gyeongju
I found Gyongju to be a pleasant place to be based during my first few days in Korea. Some guidebooks seem to go over the top with their praise of …

Grand Canal (Inscribed)
Grand Canal
It looks like this site may be China's proposal in 2014. As such I decided I could attempt to get in a pre-emptive strike at what I hope may be …

Summer Palace (Inscribed)
Summer Palace
Much to my surprise, this turned out to be my favourite site in Beijing. I had originally only scheduled a few hours to explore it, however a bit of a …

Haeinsa Temple (Inscribed)
Haeinsa Temple
Once or twice every year I try and put a little bit of extra effort into visiting a certain World Heritage Site. This is in the hope that it will …

Peking Man Site (Inscribed)
Peking Man Site
There is not much I can add to the existing reviews. If you are in Beijing then this should probably be the lowest priority WHS to head for. Having said …

Malbork Castle (Inscribed)
Malbork Castle
There is something about big sprawling castles that unlocks the child in me. Malbork certainly did that, for as soon as I had traversed its draw bridge and penetrated its …

Gdansk - Town of Memory and F… (On tentative list)
Gdansk - Town of Memory and Freedom
Well I guess Gdansk's WHS aspirations are the victim of other sites success. I doubt this will get a place on the list, not because it is undeserving, but mostly …

Hwaseong Fortress (Inscribed)
Hwaseong Fortress
Sometimes things just come together to make a visit a little more enjoyable. That was the case with my visit to Suwon to see this fortification.
I had already had …

Jongmyo Shrine (Inscribed)
Jongmyo Shrine
From reading the other reviews it seems there is a bit of a split in people’s views of this shrine. I will say I am in the baffled camp. It …

Great Wall (Inscribed)
Great Wall
Well it didn't disappoint. This is one of the World Heritage Sites that I always reel off when people ask me what places are included on this list I am …

Royal Joseon Tombs (Inscribed)
Royal Joseon Tombs
I didn’t really do this site justice; my experience was limited to one group of tombs at Seollung in the south of Seoul. These are by far the most accessible …