All our reviews

The last reviews date already from some years ago, so I thought: ‘why not add a new impression?’, because I was very lucky to have a different way to enjoy the excavation sites just a month ago. In a descriptive way, I don’t think that there is much to add to the earlier reviews, but it is probably good to emphasize that work continues each summer and important findings still occur almost every year, underlining or probably even strengthening the OUV of the site. See for example a press release from this summer: https://www.labrujulaverde.com/en/2024/07/new-remains-of-850000-years-old-homo-antecessor-at-atapuerca/. 

On this early October Thursday, the season had ended and the troupes of archaeologists had gone. The one bus with visitors for that day was expected in the afternoon. Our party of four visited in the morning and we were guided through the site by a friend of mine who works there. We were very fortunate to get a tour in our own language (Dutch), that had plenty of time for anecdotes and Q&A’s, and brought us behind fences where tourists usually don’t go. It was a very enjoyable morning, for us as well as for my friend, even if his first remark was jokingly: ‘I know you’re only here to tick off the UNESCO list.’ 

The photo shows a layer with bone and tool fragments that hold prove of human cannibalism. True, if you want to see the bigger findings, you need to visit the museums where the skulls and tools etc. …

As the name 'Champaner-Pavagadh' suggests, this site comprises two (contiguous) parts: Champaner (the remains of an Islamic pre-Mughal city) and Pavagadh (a hill with an important Hindu pilgrimage site). They are linked through their prime setting, the hill providing the water the city needed. As it was still relatively early in my 2024 India journey, I deep-dived into it via a day trip on public transport from Vadodara (better known locally under its old name Baroda).

The bus ride to Pavagadh takes about an hour and costs 40~60rs. Buses frequently leave from bays 15-18 at the central bus station; signage is only in Gujarati but just follow the colourful pilgrims on board. From Pavagadh bus station you have to walk about 500m to the right around the walls of the citadel, to where you can see the Jami Masjid – there used to be an entrance right across the street from the bus station (still present in Maps.me), but it is closed off nowadays and looks overgrown.

So I started my exploration with the Jami Masjid, the main mosque and the highlight of the Champaner site. I arrived at the same time as a French tour group, and there were a few local visitors as well. I was immediately taken by the very delicate stone carvings. With their geometrical motifs, they reminded me a bit of the Chaukhandi Tombs in Pakistan. The mosque is walled, with fine gateways, and its design with two minarets against the hilly background …

We, Philipp and his son plus Randi and me, visited this site october. We had a rental and intended to see all the Saudia Arabia WHS’ plus most of the TWHS’ in an extended week. We met up late night in Riyadh airport, picked up the car and stayed overnight in a nearby hotel. The following morning, we headed for At-Turaif.

The parking is inconvenient a bit off the entrance. We parked in a parking garage which was convenient to avoid an overheated car, but we still had to walk to the site in the burning sun. I don’t remember exactly the temperature at that moment, but coming from norther Europe hitting 35-40 degrees Celsius is tough.

As previous reviewer says in his review you need a ticket to enter, but it is all online and free. It’s more like a registration. To start registration, you scan a QR code on a poster on the street outside the restaurant area. Only one of us scanned and registered all of us. After registration, we were free to roam (through the restaurant area and) into the ruin city. The only obstacle we had was we had one big camera, and we were not allowed to bring it into the site. We had to leave it at a counter in an office. Phones were all right, we could take the pictures we wanted with that device.

Our visit lasted for an hour and a half, and we could visit most …

I visited in June 2024 the section of the Grand Canal that is located in central Beijing. The inscribed part there consists mostly of Houhai, Qianhai and Xihai lakes, collectively known as Shichachai lake. These lakes are very lovely place to walk around with many trees providing shade from summer sunshine. The famous Beijing hutongs surround them with plenty of shops and restaurants to look for souvenirs or taste Chinese treats. Paddle boats seemed to be a popular activity with locals along with shopping, of course.

For Grand Canal purposes the most interesting site along the lakes is Wanning Bridge (pictured). The bridge is the oldest bridge in Beijing's central axis, originally dating from 1285, but obviously renovated multiple times since then. The bridge is still in active use with busy road going over it. Next to the bridge is 2 statues of water-harnessing beasts, probably dragons. The canal is a very pretty sight, with trees lining the canal and the water is crystal clear. You can see fish swimming in the canal and bright green plants growing at the bottom of the canal. Everything is very clean and recently renovated. The information signs next to the bridge were more concentrated on its relation to the central axis than the Grand Canal. Next to the bridge you can see also remains of a watergate besides the beast statues.

Other picturesque spot along the lakes is the small bridge between Qianhai and Houhai lakes. Very short walk away from …

I visited the beautiful city of Angra do Heroismo on the 15/16/and 17th of oct.2024.

During my stay I visited the usual places that every tourist probably visits there like the Se Cathedral of Angra,the church of our lady of Mont Carmel (3€ entrance fee) next to the palace Capitaes-Generais, the iconic church de Misericordia( free entrance) and the statue with Vasco da Gama in front of it or the Angra museum with the Guia church and the Sao Fransico convent.

On the first day I visited the Jardim Duque da Terceira park in the late afternoon and walked up to the memorial of Pedro IV from where the view of Angra is magnificent and breathtaking...especially at sunset. About a 2-minute walk from the memorial exit there is a workers' snack bar where you can get a sandwich and a cold beer and then return to the memorial to watch the setting sun and the panorama from there with beer and food. I repeated everything the following day at more or less the same time in the afternoon. ..just too magical, the sunset over the lovely and bewitching city of Angra.

Of course, I also climbed Monte Brasil, enjoyed the view from there, met exotic free-roaming chickens, had a short look at the local bird aviary with its wonderful birds, looked at the various anti-aircraft installations and military installations from more recent times, and had a look at the chapel and visited two different viewing platforms there. …

The first time I visited Korea in 2004, I recall that the beautiful Dongdaemun Gate stood at the centre of a large and unattractive roundabout with heavy traffic. Today, the Gate is no longer surrounded by cars and can be visited more easily. Although it still faces on 2 sides a busy junction, the gate has some space for visitors on the other 2 sides.

Seoul has been making efforts to beautify its urban fabric, including the restoration of the city wall. Another notable example is the opening up of the Seoul River, which has become a bit of an urban lung. However, the city has yet to fully address the main issue: heavy car traffic with aggressive drivers.

Present-day Seoul, known as Hanyang during the Joseon dynasty, was the capital of the dynasty. Korea, being a small country compared to its larger neighbours China and Japan, always required fortifications for defence. Many of these locations can still be visited around the city.

OUV

I find it difficult to see how this nomination creates a separate OUV:

• The wider Seoul metro area already has two fortifications on the list (Hwaseong, Namhansanseong).
• Seoul itself has three more World Heritage Sites (WHS) linked to the Joseon dynasty and its role as the capital.

Personally, I could only envision this as an extension to an existing WHS, not as a separate one. This would still not resolve the authenticity concerns, as large portions of …

Visited in January 2023.

The historic city, which was plundered even by Henry Morgan, but was added to the heritage list, as if because of its unique layout. There is a legend that the planning of streets and alleys of the city was specially made confusing, similar to a labyrinth, so that pirates would get lost in it. But if you put aside the legends, the layout here is like that of an ordinary historical European city. Usually, the Spanish built cities in their colonies with an irregular layout only in areas with complex relief, and they used their favorite grid method on flat surfaces. Camagüey is a rare colonial exception, which, together with the scale of the old city, makes it an good example of the transfer of European medieval urban planning traditions and techniques to the New World.

In my opinion, the city here stands out as the center of Catholicism in Cuba, with an ensemble of active churches, it is not for nothing that John Paul II visited this city during his historic visit to Cuba in 1998.

Visited in June 2024. As most visitors, we also visited only the Terracotta Army during our visit to Xi'an and skipped the actual mausoleum site. We arrived to the Terracotta Army site by a taxi which we took from Xi'an. The drive takes quite long so it isn't much faster option than taking the bus from Xi'an. We had bought the tickets online so there was no need to queue for tickets. As it was Saturday the site was very busy with Chinese tourists. The information signs around the entrance showed that this Terracotta Army site is just a small section of the whole mausoleum and there were signs towards the actual mausoleum, if you want to walk over there. We were only visiting the army as the weather was way too hot to walk over the mausoleum site.

From the entrance gate you have option to either walk to the museum site or take a shuttle bus. The walk isn't long so I wouldn't waste my time waiting for the shuttle. The actual museum area is divided in 4 buildings that you can visit. The famous Terracotta Army, which you see in all the photos, is located in the largest building, Hall 1, which is located right opposite the entrance. However, as we were hungry, we went first to eat and then decided to check out the exhibition halls from the smallest to the biggest. By the way, don't waste your time eating inside the museum area unless …

I visited the waldsiedlung Zehlendorf (also known as "uncle tom's hut settlement) in Berlin's affluent south west area on july the 12th as well as on july the 19th,2024.

The waldsiedlung Zehlendorf is located on both sides of the argentinische allee street in Berlin's Zehlendorf destrict ,on both sides of the metro tracks that practically divide the "forest settlement".

The waldsiedlung was built between 1926 and 1931. In total,the waldsiedlung includes over 1900 apartments,of which 1100 are multi-storey apartments and 800 are single-family homes.

Bruno Traut, who had previously designed the Hufeisensiedlung (WHS modernism housing estates), did the overall planning, but also Hugo Haering, who previously played a key role in the Siemensstadt large settlement=Grossiedlung Siemensstadt (WHS modernism housing estates), and Otto Salvisberg, who had worked on the Weisse City=Weisse Stadt designs ( whs modernism housing estates ) were involved on this project.

The metro station "Uncle Tom's hut"(line U3) is also part of the waldsiedlung zehlendorf and should not be missed. On july the 12th I had first visited the "kunsthaus dahlem"(typcial upper class museum,quite boring) and the nearby "allied museum"(quite interesting,the history of the allied forces in Berlin,free entrance) in Berlin's Zehlendorf destrict before I finally arrived by metro at the abovementioned metro station. At that time the sky was already dark as an approaching storm announced its arrival. I decided to explore the rietmeisterstrasse and the side streets leading off. After around 20 minutes the storm hit that area and I had to …

Hawaii is a vacation destination of choice for many on the US west coast, and for a while, I felt like one of the only people in California that liked to travel that had not been to Hawaii (not even once!). Hawaii, being that it is beautiful, tropical, and unique, is also very expensive and will make your wallet cry for help. Compared to the prices for other domestic trips, Hawaii takes the cake for most expensive.

But honestly, it was so worth the temporary bankruptcy! I had this idea in my head that because so many people visit Hawaii that it wouldn't be as cool to visit as people say it is because it would be too crowded or something. But now I understand why so many people go there in the first place! It is truly a unique and special place. And where else to see the unique volcanic quality and beautiful plants of the islands then in the Hawaii Volcanoes WHS?

Although the volcano was not erupting on my visit to the park, there is still plenty to see and experience that makes the park a joy to visit when the volcano is quiet. The park is located inside a beautiful rainforest with a nice collection of ferns and orchids. You can hike down into the volcanic area and walk over the crunchy lava. While I was hiking down there, some fog rolled in and made the caldera so mysterious. You can see the park …

After visiting the lovely old town of Franeker for the Eisinga Planetarium, my friend and I went back to Leeuwarden to embark on what was probably the craziest bike ride I have done so far. In the end, we cycled nearly 50-kms in total -- yes, on the regular thin-wheeled Dutch bike one can rent out at the stations-- to get to Zwarte Haan and back. I'm not sure if there could have been buses to get us there and back, but we never encountered any on the way. Also, I found the bike journey across rural Friesland rather enjoyable, something I never experienced in the more modern corners of the country. The journey was probably even more memorable than the destination itself, which in this case was the Wadden Sea. Upon reaching the seaside village, we had to climb the verdant dike that is dotted with sheep to finally set foot in the Wadden Sea. From the top on the dike, one can go to a viewing platform right in front of the HG Miedema Pumping Station to have a higher vantage point in appreciating the open views of the sea and the polder behind it. One can also move forward passing the tall grass, and get closer to explore the vast mudflats. On our visit, there was only one person there who was armed with long camera lenses, taking close-up shots of birds. We did not get too deep so as not to disturb the animals.

Given …

Like many other people's experience, I would agree that at first glance Colonia does not have many things to do. However, for me personally, it was a much-needed respite after the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires and Santiago. My family and I stayed at a quaint hotel for three nights near the city center, and we spent our days walking through the town and basking in the peacefulness and quiet that Colonia offers. 

The town is walkable, although the streets themselves can be a little precarious since they are very old and cobbled so if you have mobility issues take caution! We entertained ourselves by stopping by shops, visiting the paper museum, having high tea, and getting a guided South American bird tour throughout the town!

Although it may not be the most exciting heritage site, I have found that Colonia is always one of the first places I recommend to those who are planning South America trips. It's such a picturesque town, and I hope to be back soon. 

A great place to spend a couple of hours. The rocks are unique and the way that they have been used to build a fort around them and utilise the natural defensive nature of the rocks is impressive.Getting there is another matter, I was lucky enough to be staying with my friend in Serbia and we drove there but it is a fair way off the beaten track through miles of sparsely populated farmlands.Once there, the trip was certainly worth it, I've not visited anywhere that is similar before or since.There are facilities in the local town including a nice hotel and places to eat but nothing else much to see.

Visited in January 2023.

The Viñales Valley is located 200 km from Havana, in the province of Pinar del Rio. I booked a tour through the owners of an airbnb apartment in Havana.Europeans came to this valley among the Sierra de los Organos mountain range only at the beginning of the 19th century, three hundred years after the beginning of the colonization of the island. It turned out that the local climate is ideal for agriculture, especially for the cultivation of tobacco.Since then, the technology of this process has not changed much. Large-scale production with its mechanization is considered to have a negative impact on the quality of the product, so the villagers here still do everything by handwork. Each tour takes you to a tobacco farm, where you can watch how tobacco is processed and cigars are made. In principle, the service is unobtrusive, and it is really interesting to get acquainted with the process of making cigars. The continuity of tobacco traditions and the folk architecture of villages and individual farms have been considered World Heritage. The second factor in recognizing the UNESCO status is the karst formations, primarily mogote, isolated limestone mountains resembling domes. As usual in karst formations there are many caves, one of which, the Cueva del Indio, can be entered for a symbolic fee. The cave is not the most impressive of those I have been to, but part of the route has to be overcome by boat. It is also nice to …

I visited the head office and the garden of the Gulbenkian Foundation (open daily except tuesdays) on octobre the 7th,2024. The museum is a stone's throw away from both the metro station "Sao Sebastiao" and "Praca de Espanha". I went straight to the head office where I walked around inside the building for a few minutes. Afterwards I wandered around the garden until I reached the Center for Modern Art, where entry was free, so there was a fairly long queue. I wasn't in the mood to wait long, so I continued my wandering around the area. Finally I reached the headquarters again. Once again I entered it and looked at it from the inside again.An absolutely ugly building from the outside, pure brutalism. The inside reminds me of a typical culture palace in the former socialist countries of eastern europe. Many ordinary factories in the world have nicer and more attractive head offices. I don't see any OUV. On the contrary.....I personally wouldn't shed a tear for the ugly building if it were torn down.

Itchan Kala was perhaps the site in uzbekistan that surprised me the most. I honestly didn't expect to like it as much as I did. This was because of two reasons:

1. Itchan Kala is a small enclosed city almost devoid of people. A sort of open museum nowadays for all intents and purposes.

2. Itchan Kala is strikingly modern and homogenous. most of its buildings were built between the 18th and 20th century. and I have a strong preference towards old and heterogeneous cities. 

So it wasn't looking good... 

The visiting method was also rather strange and a bit frustrating. There's a ticket you need to buy to enter most sites inside the city. It includes kunya arq, toshvoli palace and a near infinite array of frankly terrible museums. I seriously recommend passing on most of them. 

The actual highlights of the city are the two palaces (kunya arq and toshvoli) and the pahlavi mausoleum. The Friday mosque is interesting though the comparisons to the great mosque of corduba are rather exaggerated. 

Now onto why I liked the place. 

Khiva represent imo the epitome of decoration in Uzbek architecture. The Pahlavan mausoleum and the royal halls are covered head to toe in bright blue and white faience, giving the walls an almost kaleidoscopic effect. A far cry from the much more restrained walls of the gur e amir.

Khiva also brings to the table the very best sculpted pillars in uzbekistan …

Visited on a group tour in April 2023.It is a pity that this ancient city suffered twice; during the civil war there was a four-year battle for control of the city, which led to the destruction of a significant part of the historical center. And only the city began to rebuild when it became the epicenter of a terrible earthquake in February 2023. I was there a couple of months after this tragedy; it was scary to see whole blocks of ruins. But at the same time, people do not give up. It was nice to see the citizens who were walking in the central square near the Citadel, eating ice cream, listening to music. A sense of normal life in a half-destroyed metropolis.Aleppo was located in a strategically important location, on the main route of the Great Silk Road, which led to Antioch and was further divided into sea routes.Here, too, it turned out to be a place of constant clash of civilizations; it logically ended with the construction of the largest fortress of the Islamic world in the 12th and 13th centuries. A modern city was formed under its walls. Its old part is a labyrinth typical of Arab cities with densely built-up buildings, diluted with endless mosques, madrasahs, khans, a huge souk (more precisely, a conglomerate of niche markets), and compact quarters of religious minorities with their own temples. I would especially like to mention the factory for the production of the famous local soap, which we …

Fayd is the most convenient location of this TWHS as its on route between Hail and Riyadh. Also an important one, as it’s halfway to Mecca from Kufa. So we also decided to visit Fayd. The visitor experience has improved a lot since Martina and Ivan were there. While the 2 wells described in the first review are visible from the fence, the palace is actually the main site to visit.

A big visitor center was built in front of the entrance, where the local guide Saud and the security responsible Fayez received us with the fantastic Saudi hospitality we had experienced throughout the country.The videos (with English subtitles), info boards and expositions give you an insight of the importance of Fayd and the this route as well as other relevant cultural site in the region. Saud guided us through every room, explaining the history of the Darb Zubaydah with passion.

The castle is not much more than a pile of rubble, but the remains of other parts are clearly visible. There is a big cistern, remains of the mosque, the outer wall and remains of rooms that were used as some kind of free hotel for the pilgrims. The whole site is still rather like a classical archaeological site and not a fake reconstruction. I hope it remains like this.

I am rather sceptic about the attempt to inscribe 3 different Hajj WHS, but at least a combined version should be inscribed and Fayd for sure …

I feel kind of bad rating Vilnius only 3.5 stars because I really liked it but had to accept that it was very similar to countless other central European cities but without a real wow factor. If you like an eclectic mix of architecture Vilnius has Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque all cheek by jowl as well the cities ancient fortifications yet while it remains "interesting" it never hits the wow! in the way that, say, Riga does, or Krakow.The city highlights are the Cathedral and its quirky, stand alone bell tower (pictured), the Gothic splendour of St Anne's Church and the countless baroque churches that seem to be present on every street.Gediminos tower, one of the cities old fortifications, affords an excellent rooftop view of the city while the tower itself is no great shakes. Maybe I'm being overly harsh, like I said, I DID enjoy being there, it's a pleasant break but just don't expect too much.

During our easter holiday this year we visited some islands in the Lesser Antilles. The French Island of Martinique was one of them and naturally we visited this new WHS. We arrived at Fort-de-France, the islands main city, by ferry from Castries St Lucia, a ferry trip of 1 ½ hour. After a bus ride to the airport for picking up the rental car we were on our way to our next WHS.

The buffer zone of this site covers a major part of the northern part of the island, but the core zone is divided into two smaller areas. Our route took us through the southern WHS area which contains The Pitons du Carbet, but we opted for passing through the green and lush lower areas as it was already afternoon. Even though the drive is beautiful the main site for us would be the Mount Pelèe with its 1397 mas in the norther core zone. The mountain area is visible from a distance – if there’s any visibility. We were lucky.

We went for the parking on the southeastern side which is about 800 mas to figure out how to “attack” this mountain the following day. From the parking there is little to see. The visibility was good enough, but you only see the first bit of the climb. The better view was from a distance. Our survey did nothing for us other than we could see that the hike starts with a steep climb up …