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Mystras is awesome, I mean you're walking around ancient Sparta, when it became a medieval city.

Everywhere you go, the ruins look like the cover of a Black Sabbath album, which is one of the most incredible things ever. 

I've been twice, both times in the winter, once in 2002, and another time in 2017. There was hardly anyone else around, which also made it super cool. I don't know what it's like in the summer, but I always rent a car and drive around, and it seemed more remote on the Pelopenese Peninsula than most people would try to get to. I had a great time hiking around, but I'd also recommend exploring the general area, as people are friendly, the food is good, and there are great times to be had all around. Yasoo!

On the 1st of May 2024 Syria started issuing e-visas on condition the application went via a travel agency (otherwise the payment wouldn't go through) and this is how I spent my trip in the country a week later - with a guide/driver that would make sure we passed all the checkpoints. Right before we arrived to the village I saw many tanks in a shed (it was the first and only time in the trip). I wanted to take a photo, but the guide stopped me, telling me it was not safe. Other than this, I was told that right when the war started, many mosaics were taken indoors and locked (and the photo I am adding might not seem much, but this is the place where they are kept). From my photos the length of columns still standing was reduced, but I can't tell if this happened after Michael or Thomas' visit. Last but not least, probably the most striking image was that of goats that were roaming freely among the fragments of columns.

During our planned stay in Bilbao, the Gran Hotel Puente Colgante in Portugalete (adjacent to the bridge) was too appealing to ignore. With the Portugalete station nearby and the very useful Barik card (which also works for the Vizcaya Bridge), choosing Portugalete instead of central Bilbao turned out to be an excellent choice for us. 

We visited the platform just before sunset on our first day and the views were incredible. The vibrations you feel when the gondola is moving might startle some visitors. Since our hotel was less than 100 meters from the bridge, we woke up every morning with the bridge in our window / balcony view. We crossed multiple times over the next three days with our Barik card for groceries (yes we carried bags of groceries across), dinner/drinks, and shopping. Views of the bridge can be rewarding up and down both promenades that line the estuary or from viewpoints around the nearby Basilica on the hill.

Evenings were festive during the holiday season, so taking strolls on the promenade in Portugalete or Getxo was always appealing. Bilbao's efficient metro connected us easily with everything we wished to see in the city center. Understandably, Vizcaya Bridge is a relatively short visit for most travelers - either to the platform, the promenade views, and/or the gondola across. Yet, I would suggest considering Portugalete as an option worth considering for your accommodations. You will likely be rewarded with some beautiful mornings and sunsets. Moreover, the bridge remains …

Padova is my city, so my judgement is surely cloud by pride and attachment. However, I think that Padova is the Italian city where it's the most worth visiting the inside of buildings. If you just walk through the historical center you will find a charming and historical centre, but it won't be that much different from other former Venetian cities. Visiting churches and palaces, with their frescoes, is the real deal to see the beauty of Padova. In this sense, this WHS is a huge help to assist a tourist that wants to see the main frescoes landmarks. After some years from WHS declaration, I had the chance to visit all (expect one) sites in the city and I found overall good organization and easy access (which I was surprised about, especially for lesser sites). Padova also hosts another WHS (The Orto Botanico), and I think that there might be room for a third (something about the "Science City", with Anatomical Theatre, Specola Tower, Galileo's rooms, Il Bo), since these landmarks are thematically separated from each other: a "historical center" WHS wouldn't work.

As others wrote in this review's section, if Padova were in another country it would be a top touristic destination, something like Krakow. 

The Amalfi Coast is incredible! Driving there is an epic adventure filled with jaw dropping cliffs and views into the horizon and oblivion. The historic cities, churches, and coastal opportunities are inspiring. The vendors on the side of the precarious roadway add ambience with the bus drivers who hug the inside track. Worth every turn, not for the faint of heart, but it will steal your heart away. Go on the day of a saintly procession for even more adventure.

I lived in China for two years, and traveled pretty extensively throughout China and Asia. Longmen was a highlight. Our friend, who went with us, and is Chinese cried. He said that he didn't know his country had created something so beautiful. Indeed.

The Longmen Grotto is an incredible and breathtaking dive into beauty. The main group took my breath away, and the lovely river views were a sight to behold. 

We further explored Zhengzhou, Luoyang, and Dengfeng having adventures in China. We found a karaoke bar nearby that ironically had Judas Priest's song, Breaking the Law. We had an incredible time, as the Chinese very much like to party, and are curious of westerners so far in the interior of the country. We were the only westerners at the site during our visit.

Mdina, nicknamed the silent city and it's easy to see why when you are there. Explore the maze of narrow streets and alleyways and often you are the only person there, it's like stepping back in time to a more sedate pace of life.There are plenty things to see in Mdina, the old city walls, still intact and complete and offering great views of the surrounding countryside, Mdina Gate, the main entrance to the old city and the Baroque, St Paul's Cathedral (picture) are all worthy of your time. As you would expect in Malta, there is a plethora of churches to wander in and out of, encompassing every kind of architectural style.It seems that most of the dominant cultures in Europe have ruled here at some time, Romans, Greeks, Byzantines, The Knights of St John, the French and the British who have all left their mark in some way. And before them, the Phoenicians established a settlement here in the 8th Century BC.It's a delightful place to come to and escape the often overcrowded coastal towns and resorts and there's a good choice of facilities catering to the tourist trade.I really loved it and would go back if the opportunity arose.

Time of the visit: the 29th of nov. till the 2nd of dec.2024

Al-Balad,Jeddah's historic district,is an enchanting and bewitching place,hassle free,a quiet oasis in a big ocean of houses,shopping malls,traffic jams,and faceless and boring residential areas. I stayed there three nights,and I dont regret a single minute of it. Sure, I also visited some shopping malls,the corniche, its big aquarium ,tried to enterJeddah's refinery (tentative whs,the oil industrial heritage in SA)....in vain,walked along the "Tahlia" walkway from the Serafi mall till the end of the walkway (what a sight to see all those saudis walking on a safe pedestrian street sandwiched between two busy streets),and visited some other places outside Al-Balad. Nevertheless,most of the time I passed inside Al-Balad,inside its historic district.

Jeddah's historic heart with over 650 houses built by its mercantile families is full with surprises,different souhks,mosques,cafes,restaurants,and more and more saudi tourists.What is typical of its architecture are the facades of these mercantile houses: hanging latticed teakwood windows of great artistry and craftsmanship ( the so-called "rawasheen "pl,"roshan",singular). 

Restorations were underway everywhere, but without really causing too much disruption. Significant parts of the old town have already been renovated. There are now cafes everywhere and also places with tables and chairs, public places that are not assigned to a cafe, where you can just sit down after buying an iced mango juice or a karak chai in one of the numerous shops there.

The historic district's listing as The Gate to Makkah as …

The Mount Elgon Transboundary Ecosystem in Uganda was brought forward to the Tentative World Heritage Site list in 2024. The region is part of the Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot, which also includes existing World Heritage Sites such as Mount Kenya, Rwenzori Mountains National Park, and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Mount Elgon itself is an extinct volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya. I visited the Mount Elgon region in the summer of 2014, traversing the eastern slopes around Suam, at the Kenya-Uganda border, on the first part of my trip, and the western slopes up to Kapchorwa later on the trip. I was visiting the region with members of my church from Hawaii, and spent most of my time in villages, but was able to do a little bit of hiking on the mountain slopes near civilization, enjoying some beautiful views across the Ugandan and Kenyan countryside. 

Mount Elgon is incredibly lush, but the nature of my visit meant that I wasn't as focused on searching for wildlife. Still, I was able to see some monkeys, such as the mantled guereza, a black-and-white colobus, in the trees, as well as many birds (though not the endangered Sharpe's Longclaw or the Elgon Francolin, specifically referenced in the nomination package). I would like to have seen the elephants on the mountain, since Mount Elgon is well known for its elephants that burrow into caves to dig up salt. On a darker note, it was in one of …

Time of the visit: the 4th of dec.2024

I stayed for three days in Riad in order to get to know SA's capital a bit, and to visit the Al-Ahsa Oasis and the Turaif-quarter (both unesco whs).

I had booked my ticket online for the train from Riad to Hofuf just a few days earlier to make sure that I got one as I had read that that train is often booked out. However,the train was quite empty. I took the one early in the morning.

After my arrival in Al-Ahsa I took an ueber taxi from the railway station first to the Jawatha mosque. As I had read that the mosque is tiny I told my driver to wait for me as I would be back within 5-10 min. I stormed out of the taxi and saw a man leaving the mosque and the door wasn't closed when I was already inside. I took some pics and went out where the aforementioned man looked at me quite puzzled. As I was in a hurry I didnt start a conversation.We headed then to the mountain Jabel Al-Quarah. On the way the taxi driver,a former saudi policeman,gave me all the important infos to know about Hofuf which I wanted to know.I stayed inside and outside the mountain Jabal Al-Quarah for almost 2 h. And like my fellow member Martina I consider the swiss-cheese superrock the most interesting stop of that unseco whs.

The Jabal Al-Quarah is like …

Azougui is now a small village at the bottom of a valley just outside the city of Atar. Here lies a modest archaeological site dating back to the early Almohavids (11th century). It seems to be on the itinerary of every tour covering Mauritania, so we made a quick visit as well in the late afternoon. Those who later became known as the Almohavids chose a very fine setting, at the foot of the mountains. Their date palm groves still dominate the landscape.

The main site lies within a walled and gated compound, of which the key can be obtained in the white building across the street. So it is secured and not smeared by litter or graffiti. It’s about the size of a football field, filled with stone foundations of several structures (some may have collapsed fairly recently, the ICOMOS evaluation says that there were still upstanding remains of the fortress visible in the 1950s). Its main issue however is that excavations seem to have stopped at a certain moment and there are no plans to resume them (No Money). So there’s no interpretation on site and there seems so much more potential to be uncovered or restored. 

The Mauritanian version of its history (also told by our guide) is that the empire of the Almohavids hails from here. They controlled a territory stretching from Spain to Senegal and were responsible for the Islamisation of the western Maghreb. The Mauritanian proto-Almohavids returned to this fortress/palace at Azougui …

Living in Spain for a year, I have found that mine is an unpopular opinion for putting Avila among my top favorite cities to visit in Spain. Maybe I just happened to be in a a great mood during our November 2024 visit, but whatever the case I found Avila to be a charming place to wander around and see the beautiful architecture.

The city is jam-packed with impressive cathedrals (they boast to have one of the largest quantities in Spain) but be warned: even if they say they are free on your favorite Maps app, nearly every one of them actually charges a fee to visit inside. The repeated small costs can add up quick, and it is also difficult to fit seeing all of them into one day (without great intentionality) because they all close decently early.

As everyone on this site has mentioned, the Walls are the most important part of the site to visit (also with an early closing time) and your entry includes access to a looooong audio guide if you wish to listen to it. My wife and I also found the Church of St. Teresa and her nearby museum to be quite interesting. (We had read her book The Interior Castle before, however, so this probably increased our affection for learning more about the woman.)

Avila is one of the few locations where I feel like there was still more to see by the end of my time there …

I visited the pleasant small city of Vila Vicosa on oct. the 6th,2024, stayed there overnight, and left at 8.00 a.m the following day, on oct.the7th.

First of all...

V.V is the kind of place that you like to visit, that is pleasant, that pleases you, but that doesn't really stay in your memory for long.

I travelled by bus from Lisboa's Sete Rios bus station and arrived around 11.00 in V.V. 

My rented apartment was just a stone's throw from V.V's castle,the Castelo do Vila Vicosa, and its archaeological and hunting museum. I visited the inside of the castle and its museums later that day. The impressive hunting museum alone justifies the entrance fee.

I climbed the accessible castle walls and walked on them as far as I could....great view of the city and the cemetery of the Santuario de Nossa Senhora de Conceicao. I then visited the church itself and its cemetery. Afterwards I quickly went to the Prince's Palace, where I bought a combination ticket for the Ducal Palace and the Augustine Church (Igreja dos Agostinhos)...however, the Ducal Palace is closed at noon and doesn't open again until 2 p.m. I was told that the tour wouldn't start until around 2:20 p.m./2:25 p.m....I should please visit the Augustine Church first. That's what happened and I followed their advise.

The guided tour through the palace was quite interesting and informative, but nothing from another dimension. We were a big group ( sunday, …

I have visited The Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa (since 1956 The National Museum of Tartus) during my visited with a guide/driver in May 2024. The building is impressive both for what it is (a Romanesque/Gothic cathedral) as well as for the collection it holds (of which my favourites were the sarcophagi from 5-4 BC centuries). Unfortunately photos are not allowed inside (unless you manage to sneak a few if you're lucky so as to avoid the guard/ticket officer and cameras (?)

My interest in Al-Andalus and what came after was first perked with the novel 'The Lions of Al-Rassan' by Canadian author Guy Gavriel Kay. A major theme of the novel is the interplay between bigotry and tolerance. Zaragoza, a city under Muslim rule from the 8th century (around 718) to the 12th century (1118), is a city I longed to visit. However, it was not originally part of our itinerary for Barcelona and Bilbao, until I started researching trains. From Barcelona you can reach Zaragoza by high speed rail in 1 hour and 23 minutes. This inspired me to plan 1 night in Zaragoza and then continue on to Bilbao (slower train) the following day, happily my spouse agreed. 

We arrived in Zaragoza just after noon, the train zipped along at 300 km to 340 km per hour. Having the rest of the day, we visited La Seo and San Pablo and much of the city with ease. In the latter church (San Pablo), upon my inquiry the sole staff person gave an impassioned lecture about Mudéjar architecture, World Heritage status, and the small details within the church I should pay close attention to. As other reviewers mentioned, various non-inscribed examples of Mudéjar architecture are evident in Zaragoza. The staff person at San Pablo ever so slightly admonished UNESCO and the Spanish Government for only recognizing 10 examples, when indeed there are over 100 examples in the region of Aragon. I appreciated the information and obvious enthusiasm for History.

(Visited 2024.10)

In these years Venezuela seems to be a bit "removed" from the plan of international tourists. After an overnight bus from Caracas we arrived at Coro in early morning. We had some empanadas as our breakfast near the terminal, which is fair and delicious.

After the breakfast we walk ~15 min to the WHS area. San Francisco church is the most important building of this WHS and it would be your first impression. It was open when we arrived so we can enjoy the church without any problem. After we headed to Casa Balcón de los Arcaya, which opened later at 8. The house now houses a little museum but it's not that interesting. However the balcony did impress us a lot thus we took a lot of photos. In the morning of Saturday there's almost nobody on the street, only a few local residents were walking along. With this atmosphere we visited almost all WHS area. But unfortunately almost all museums are closed on weekends. (incl. the synagogue and Casa de Las Ventanas de Hierro)

Later after 10 the city started its activities, we settled down and had a short break at our accomodation. During the noon the temperature becomes red-hot so we decided to go to the Médanos later at 4. The park is not well-maintained now, but you can tell it was once full of visitors.

The follwed day we took the bus to Vela (its port). The buses shows "Velita" on their windows. You …

Like the Omo Valley, people visit the Saloum Delta mostly for A (birding) while it is inscribed for B (the tradition of shellfish gathering and the historical shell mounds). Fortunately, unlike Omo, Saloum is well-documented, with clear maps. The place to start your boat journey is the laidback town of Toubakouta, which lies conveniently close to the Gambian border if you have plans for an onward journey. The town can also be reached from Dakar or even Saint-Louis within a day.

My B&B offered a ‘menu’ of no less than 24 tours and other activities, but my eyes already stopped at #2: a late afternoon boat trip to L’île aux coquillages. So at 4.30 pm, boat guy Ibu and I stepped into the large wooden, motored pirogue and went out. The waters of the Saloum River tributaries are calm (though the Delta is tidal). It is a good area for fishing: one of the other guests had caught two large barracudas the other day, which we had for a delicious dinner in the evening!  

Close to the town, you can see wooden racks standing in the water. These hold nets for the artificial production of oysters. But the oysters also grow naturally on the roots of the mangroves, which are the predominant type of vegetation along the river banks. We saw several women collecting these molluscs during low tide. The mangroves also provide honey, which is sold by the locals to tourists.

After a short interlude …

Time of the visit: Varallo the 22nd of nov.,Varese the 24th of nov.2024

Varallo

I stayed one night in Varallo and two in Varese so that I had plenty of time to discover both" little Jerusalems".

When I arrived in Varallo it was heavily snowing as it had been the entire night before. That's why the snow was almost a half meter deep. I had to buy rubber boots because my shoes were completely unsuitable for climbing up a snow-covered hill. The climb is fairly easy under normal circumstances, but strenuous with heavy snow. I walked up the footpath near the cable car station and after visiting the area I walked down the "Salita Pedonale" from the cable car station on the hill to the town of Varallo.

The sacro monte of Varallo consists of the basilica and 44 chapels (inserted into monumental complexes or" palace-mausoleums") as well as a restaurant(closed) and some other buildings. Almost 6000 characters are depicted; 800 in life size polychrome clay and wood. The original idea was to represent a kind of representation of the life,death and passion of Jesus to the faithful christians who could not go to the holy land which was under moslem rule at that time.

Each chapel is numbered.....there are 44 numbers in total (the app has 46 numbers).

I for my part found chapel 39 and 27 very impressive. The entire hill is a kind of fantastic city populated by wood statues. I …

From my base at Kunming, it’s a 1 hour flight to the south-west town of Lancang close to the Myanmar border to get to Jingmai Mountain for the Ancient Pu’er tea plantation. For some reasons, both my flights to and from Lancang were delayed 2-3 hours. This seems to be the routine occurrence as I was told by my Lancang driver that it was due to airline trying to sell some last minute tickets. The Lancang airport is small with only 2-3 flights a days. Upon arrival, it’s easy to make arrangements with the airport taxis for a 5-6 hrs drive/tour of world heritage Jingmai Mountain to marvel at the ancestors of Pu’er tea plantation. Not quite one would expect of neatly manicured rows of tea growths as often presented in tea plantation pictures but, it’s almost like tea grown in the wild, and for the casual tourist, just a walk in the garden. Still, here is where one find the ancient tea trees and the beginning of the Old Tea Horse Road. To me, it’s China’s answer to Italy’s Val d’ Orcia…that is ‘what’s Jingmai Mountain to tea in China is what Val d’ Orcia in Tuscany to wine in Italy.

The drive out to Jingmai Mountain for the ancient tea plantation will include visits of some of the tribal villages of the Dai, Blang, Hani and Lahu tribes and further appreciation of their tea processing techniques and way of life. 

Wanuskewin is not the kind of place you simply stumble into; it's a site one would usually have to make quite a journey for. Most definitely, it once drew Native Americans in far greater numbers than it does today's tourists. However, I was lucky enough to visit Western Canada in July 2024 and figured it was the perfect time to make the journey all the way out here. A journey it was! Unless you live in or frequent Saskatchewan, it's a 6-hour drive from the big cities of Alberta over endless fields of grass, corn, and canola. At least Prince Albert National Park is just about a 2-hour drive away, to make the journey more worthwhile.

Located just outside Saskatoon, Wanuskewin feels a lot more rural and isolated than it really is. Many visitors probably just end up at their visitor center, which has a good exhibition on the site and the associated First Nation cultural heritage, as well as a great restaurant serving Native American cuisine. Others may be drawn by the opportunity to see their bison herd (personally, I'd suggest Elk Island National Park near Edmonton for that). The main draw for World Heritage Travellers, however, is the hiking circuit that takes you around the site to various scenic, historic, and spiritual points of interest. A quick overview of the historic points at a fairly fast pace took me an hour; a thorough and relaxed experience of the whole area could take 2-4 hours. 

Looking at …