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Great Britain isn't a big country by most standards, the record for cycling the length of the country, for example, is 41 hours, less than 2 days, so you get my point? Yet head out to Pembrokeshire in West Wales and the tiny cathedral city of St David's and it seems a long, long way from everywhere.The journey is worth it though, St David's, no bigger than a village really, is a charming city, the smallest in the UK and is blessed with the Cathedral of St David and the Bishop's Palace, a ruin.Dating from the 13th and 14th centuries, the site itself is much older, going back to the 6th century and is one of the most important religious sites in Wales. William the Conqueror is said to have made a pilgrimage here in 1081.Like many religious buildings in England and Wales though, The Bishop's palace was to fall victim to the reformation.However, the site is still home to St David's cathedral, that despite facing many challenges of its own over recent centuries, stands testament to the resolve of the Welsh as it has become the most important religious site in the principality.Would I make a trip to see it? Probably not, but if you are in the proximity, as I was, then it's definitely worth a detour, be warned though, it's still probably a long way from where you start!

What do you do when you visit a world heritage building that is a private property and not open to the public?

You walk around the perimeter. Take photos of the exterior. Touch the wall and whisper to it that it still has value...

There are places where you proclaim that a picture does not do them justice. You declare that one cannot feel its wonderfulness unless you see it in person. Maison Guiette is not one of those places. A photo certainly does it justice.

Maison Guiette is not in central Antwerp, but it is simple enough to get to it by public transit. No inspiration can be found in the area immediately surrounding the building. A parking lot, a highway, and high-rise apartment buildings are Maison Guiette's neighbours.

However, around the bend from Maison Guiette - that is to say, to the southeast of Le Corbusier's building - is an early 20th century planned neighbourhood built on the lands that previously belonged to della Faille de Waerloos family. There are some nice terraced residential houses here, especially on Varenlaan. Den Brandt Park, and its namesake castle, is also in the neigbourhood.

Hiring a car to visit this site is your best option for a number of reasons. Public Transport is sporadic, organised tours are restrictive with times and there are numerous other sites of significance in the area that can be explored including other Nuraghi and Domus de Janas sites (Tentative UNESCO listed for potential inscription in 2025). We were based in Cagliari and hired a car for the day visiting this site as well as 2 other Nuraghi and 3 Domus de Janas sites making it a very worthwhile trip.

This particular site cannot be visited without an organised tour guide, which is included in the price and there were a number of languages of the guides at the time. Having arrived at the site around midday in mid-June 2025, we only had to wait about 10 minutes for our tour guide and tour. The tour lasts for about 20 - 30 minutes which includes a history of the site and points of interest both outside the main defensive towers but inside as well. Climbing into the towers is not difficult with steps and platforms, however there are narrow entries through the towers and stonework which some may find challenging. The tour takes you to the central location within the defensive tower from which you can then freely explore the area and other towers. There are no other information signs in the facility itself (not needed), with the tour guide remaining in the area to answer any questions if needed. …

I visited Canterbury in June 2025, a return to my old university stomping ground! Although I lived in Canterbury for three years, and graduated from Canterbury Cathedral, I have never visited St Augustine's Abbey or St Martin's Church (2/3 of the components of the Canterbury WHS). On my WHS journey, this was a mistake that needed to be rectified!

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, I drove to Canterbury and parked opposite St Augustine's Abbey in Longport Car Park. As can only be expected for a busy Saturday afternoon, the car park was rammed and I was lucky to find a small space at the rear of the car park. St Augustine's Abbey usually costs approximately £11 for an adult, but luckily for me is free with an English Heritage membership. You enter into a long building which takes you through the chronological history of St Augustine's Abbey from its inception as an Anglo Saxon monastery, to its rebirth under Norman rule, to a Tudor royal palace. The displays are interesting, if a little formulaic.

Next stop was the ruins themselves! I declined the audio guide as I find these very cumbersome and annoying, but I managed sufficiently well with the information boards and some Googling. The ruins are fairly standard for England following Henry VIII's dissolution, but there are some very interesting areas such as the graves of Anglo Saxon kings, and the original foundations of the Anglo Saxon monastery. After an hour or so wandering round the ruins, I …

Our next trip from our temporary base in Grado was the fortress town of Palmanova, located in the lowland part of Friuli. It is easily accessible both by bus (running hourly from Udine and Grado) or by car (at the crossing of the motorways). Interestingly, you can enter the town only by driving through the gates by traffic lights. Parking is not a problem in Palmanova, you can park anywhere and without charge.

The city offers countless trails of varying length and difficulty. For a standard stroller, only the one around town inside the fort is easily passable. The others often lead along paths between meadows and are only accessible with difficulty with an all-terrain stroller. We opted for a combination. It is thus possible to visit both late Renaissance lines of fortifications, and the third one from the Napoleonic period, as well as the hinterland buildings in the town. There are signs all over the city with a map of these routes, as well as explanatory signs in Italian and English. One gets an idea of the fort's operation, which is enhanced by the possibility to view virtual reality on a mobile phone at selected locations thanks to QR codes. Currently, the Cividale Gate is under scaffolding and also part of the walls, which are being cleared of overgrowth plants.

The city suffers somewhat from the fate of all existing fortress cities, that after the loss of the purpose of such fortresses and the subsequent abandonment of a large …

The current name for this TWHS is a bit misleading. The old town of Bar is not what you expect, when visiting an old town, but rather an archaeological site, with entry fee and opening hours. It is, unlike the other old towns I visited in the area, not at the sea, but up in the hills. The whole complex is surrounded by massive town walls and includes the remains of churches, towers, palaces and a citadel. From the citadel you will have the best view on the aqueduct and the mountains.

The old town is a popular tourist attraction in Montenegro and therefore comes with the needed infrastructure. There is a big parking lot you will share with numerous tour buses. Going there on an organized tour is probably the best option, if you don’t drive. Around the town walls there is some kind of newer old town, with nice Ottoman style houses. Each of them is either a restaurant or a shop.

In general, this makes for an enjoyable visit and if you only have time for one thing along the coast of Montenegro, Bar is a good choice. It would, in my opinion, also deserve a spot on the list, as it is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Balkans.

Baden bei WienAlthough I've been trying to travel around UNESCO sites for several years (but not exclusively), I've only now decided to write my first review. And just at the time when I have the nicest travel restrictions - an 11 month old son - so my travel is not as frequent as it used to be. So I'll do my best in this and the next review to follow the issue of accessibility with a small child.

On our way to our first family holiday to the seaside, in Grado, Italy, we needed some sort of stopover for about 2 hours. So the spa town of Baden bei Wien was ideal. From this serial entry, I have already visited Karlovy Vary, Mariánské Lázně in the Czech Republic and very briefly Montecatini Terme in Italy (and I plan to spend a few days in Františkovy Lázně in autumn 2025). So I have the opportunity to compare.

The town is easily accessible, close to the motorway from Vienna to the south, and there is plenty of parking in the parking houses. Unlike other parking houses in German-speaking countries, it is also easy to pay by credit card here.

And now to the review of Baden itself. The city is very pleasant, easily accessible, without any steps, with a stroller ideally passable and very compact. There are plenty of places to have a snack or go to a café. A spa park adjoins the development to the north. …

Visited June 2025

Good news! A day in the Flow [it rhymes with cow] Country was not so bad… I can even say it was a very nice and interesting journey. I started in Inverness, taking the morning train all the way to Forsinard (West Halladale component). I arrived at the empty station 10:30 – I was the only passenger leaving the train there (and only few passengers continued their journey probably to Thurso, the final station). Just at the right moment – the lady from nearby research centre came to open the old station building which now houses the visitors’ centre with interesting presentations (and a video on TV screen) about the region and the blanket bogs and peat. I asked her about the plaque with WHS/UNESCO information, and she said that it was a simple one in front of the train station (just behind the fence) but it’s been gone a couple of weeks ago… And she went back to the research and management building. Visiting the centre is free, but you can leave a small donation or buy postcards/magnets – pay by putting some money into the box.  

Depending on time you have, you can spend up to 3 or 6 hours there – until the trains back to Inverness stop at Forsinard. You have two possibilities: 1. follow the Dubh-Iochain Trail – it is a very short one that takes you through the blog and peatland pools to the lookout tower; from the top …

What a wonderful National Park. We hired a car to visit this Tentative site at the same time of visiting Old Bar and the extension of the Tentative Primeval Beech Forests extension for Montenegro. In essence this Tentative site includes the Beech Forest Extension area as well. I am not sure if Montenegro included the Beech Forest extension in 2018 to provide more substance to this nomination as this site has been sitting as a tentative site since 2010. This National Park though is much more than just Beech Forest's, although we saw a substantial area of Beech Forest walking the park.

We drove from Ulcinj to reach the Park and we stayed along the Tara River just outside the Park after we visited. The entrance to the park is via a boom gate with an entrance fee of 4 Euro per person with strict instructions that the Park closes at 8pm. You don't need a 4wd to drive to the main carpark area near and it is bitumen until you arrive at Biogradska Gora Lake, which is central to the park. We visited ion 1 July 2025 and to our surprise it was quite busy with finding a carpark somewhat challenging initially in the small area provided. There were rangers present to assist with walking trail information, a small restaurant, toilet facilities and lots of picnic tables and areas for day visitors to enjoy. You could also hire kayaks and small rowing boats to enjoy the lake from …

Family holidays as a contact sport

Naples is dirty, scruffy, hectic, covered in graffiti and ABSOLUTLY FUCKING BRILLIANT.We based ourselves in the heart of the historic centre for a week in February 2025 and had a really great family holiday. Now admittedly after two days my seven year old daughter did ask if we could go somewhere that didn’t have rubbish on the floor, men shouting and mopeds weaving around, however by the end of the week these didn’t seem to be concerns on the march to one of the plethora of local gelaterias.

We had 7 days to explore the city at a child friendly pace, (including side trips to Paestum, Pompeii and Caserta) but really could’ve spent several more days here without exhausting our options, it isn’t unsurprising that a city with 3,000 years of history kept on throwing up things of great interest.

Our love of this city, was almost the opposite of Clyde, whilst we enjoyed some of the major sites, it was what he categorised as the ugly sprawl between them that we found most captivating. They are mostly grey, sometimes rather dilapidated and at times bland buildings. They were plastered in graffiti, or housing unique shops or food stalls, or a resident drying their laundry from a balcony, and quite frequently all of the above. And this is what made the city so utterly vibrant and life affirming. 

From 10 metres below your feet to 20 metres above your …

My adventure began at Pohnpei Airport on a Saturday late afternoon, stepping off the famous United Island Hopper with my sights set on Nan Madol tomorrow. The plan was simple: rent a car, explore Pohnpei at my own pace, and lose myself in the shadows of one of the Pacific’s most enigmatic wonders on Sunday. Of course, travel rarely goes according to plan. The rental car mishap was my first hurdle! the local agency had completely forgotten my booking. Thankfully, the airport's free Wi-Fi saved the day, and an hour later, I was finally behind the wheel of a reliable 4WD to my hotel. However, I soon discovered that Micronesia isn’t part of my mobile roaming coverage. With the telecom office closed until Monday, I would have to navigate the island old-school with downloaded maps, instinct, and a dash of blind optimism.

Driving through Pohnpei is a dream in itself. The roads are narrow but scenic, winding through emerald jungles and sleepy coastal villages where locals wave as you pass. After about an hour of driving southeast from Kolonia, I turned off the main road and entered what could only be described as a slow-motion obstacle course. The final stretch leading to Nan Madol was an unpaved dirt road, riddled with potholes and in truly rough shape. Before entering this last section of local road, I paid a $25 entrance fee, and just before the walkway, an additional $3 for land access, as part of local arrangements with private …

Provins was inscribed as a World Heritage Site for its role as an early trade fair town dating back to the 11th century, so I figured the best way to experience the city would be to visit during its annual fair. Two weeks ago on a Saturday morning I boarded a train from Paris that slowly filled up with peasants and knights and ladies and... elves? Yes, this was the right place to be for Les Médiévales de Provins.

The central location of Provins in northeastern France and its connections via overland trade routes to much of Europe made it a prime location for annual trade fairs. The city is walled and built on a rocky outcrop, which provided protection for the merchants in attendance. The streets of the upper town are wide for carriage traffic, and interspersed with squares, where the fairs would be held. The merchants would store their goods in underground vaulted cellars while conducting their trade. These medieval fairs were not intended to be primarily recreational, and were more akin to modern day trade shows, with merchants selling wool and cloth and leather and furs.

The annual medieval festival in Provins is intended to be recreational, but it gives an approximation of how busy the town must have been when the fairs were in their medieval heyday. When I visited, the cobblestone streets of the city were lined with vendors and food stalls, and musicians wandered about, entertaining the visitors gathered in the squares. …

As Els pointed out, there aren’t many reviews out there to help plan a visit to Mount Kenya. This is Africa’s second-highest mountain, reaching 5,199 meters, and most people associate it with demanding multi-day climbs. But what about a day hike? Is it even possible—and is it worth the steep $50 park entry fee?

We decided to find out for ourselves.

We sorted out the e-ticket the night before. Entry to Kenyan national parks now has to be booked and paid online through the E-Citizen platform, which isn’t exactly suited for foreigners. And because we also have to pay for a car, the payment has to be done twice, one for the car in KES, and for us in US$. But with a bit of effort—and using Edge browser on a PC—we got it to work this time. It feels good to have the E-ticket on hand when we arrived at the gate. 

We left Naro Moru Lodge on a clear, beautiful morning around 8:30 AM, and could even see the summit of the mountain from afar. It’s about a 30-minute drive to the Naro Moru Gate where we were warmly welcomed by a friendly ranger. She asked whether we were planning to hike or just drive up to the Meteorological Station. That answered one big question—we could drive to Met Station! We were not sure about that. The station is located at around 3,000 meters and about 8 km from the gate. If you want to …

My family and I arrived in Aquileia from Grado, which served as our base for the week. The connection between Grado and Aquileia is good, with buses running between the cities every hour, and tickets can be bought at a vending machine or at the counter at the bus station in Grado. Unfortunately they don't have a platform for strollers so we had to go by car. Parking in Aquileia is not a problem, there are several paid parking lots.

Although Aquileia was one of the largest cities of the Roman Empire in ancient times, today it is a small city. Only part of the original area has been excavated so far, and individual Roman sites are scattered throughout the city. The city is easily accessible with a pram, even some of the sites are wheelchair accessible thanks to platforms, as is the patriarchal basilica (with the exception of one crypt). It takes about an hour to walk around all the excavations. At the time of our visit, the colonnade of Roman columns, which is often pictured, was under scaffolding. Although the sites are interesting, especially the remains of the harbor, the main sight is the patriarchal basilica, which I recommend saving for last. The floor mosaics are impressive, and the scenes of marine fauna are interesting, although the downside is that only small parts of the walkway above are visible. The mosaics in Sicily's Villa Romana del Casale, for example, can be viewed in much better detail. Similarly, …

Lüneburg's town hall is considered one of the best examples of secular Mediaeval architecture north of the Alps. Unfortunately, no photos are allowed inside and you can only visit with a guided tour. Although the complex is fairly large you can also enter four big rooms and two smaller ones, but at least three of the rooms are impressive and worth a visit. The Gerichtslaube is the highlight with well preserved glass paintings and a wooden ceilings covered with multiple paintings.

In a different time Lüneburg would have had no trouble entring the list. Its town hall is artistically more significant than Bremen, for example. However, similar to many other former candidates, most noticeably in Germany, it has probably missed the train.

In my humble opinion, Versailles is a must-see in one's lifetime, even though it has its drawbacks. First of all, the palace is frequently unbearably overcrowded. And, being the early inspiration of grand royal residences, it is exceeded in splendor by some of its imitators, so if you've been to places like Peterhof or Schönbrunn, you may not even rate Versailles all that high. I don't expect that many people would make a return trip to it unless they are bringing first-time visitors with them. In April of 2025, I came to Versailles for the third time in twenty-five years, for the benefit of my youngest child, who's never been before.

The interiors of the vast palace can be explored via several circuits, of which ninety-nine per cent of visitors would only go on one. The Royal Apartments consist of a couple of dozen luxurious spaces that are largely empty of furnishings, save for statuary, occasional paintings, and a bedroom or two. Fireplaces are always impressive, but ceilings and crown mouldings are the standout features of practically every single room. You also get a glimpse of the Royal Chapel and eventually reach pièce de résistance - the incomparable Hall of Mirrors. On a normal day, you will share the hall with a few hundred people at any point in time - a small price to pay for seeing its splendor.

Group tours frequently do not include the gardens in their program, so the vast Versailles grounds do not …

I visited Shennongjia on a Monday in June. I took a train from Wudangshan in the afternoon to Xingshan. It takes about 2.5 hours and involves a change in Xiangyangdong.

From Xingshan, I took a bus to Muyu from the bus station which is about 5 minutes walk from the train station to the right. The bus took less than 1.5 hours. It is a beautiful ride with pretty views towards the right side for most of the trip.

I did not have much information on Shennongjia before my visit, just that there are several scenic areas and that there should be busses. The guesthouse where I was staying did not have any specific information on buses either. The town street was under reconstruction in typical Chinese style, all the streets were being renovated in one go. Probably incredibly efficient but it was rather unpleasant to move around. The tourist transfer center was closed too, probably due to the road works.

So, not much wiser except knowing that I wanted to give priority to the Shennongding Scenic Area, I ventured out around 7 am next morning and randomly hailed a passing minibus. I was lucky as it took me and it went along the entrance to Shennongding scenic area for RMB 10. I paid my entrance fee (RMB 130) and bus ticket (RMB 60) without knowing what would happen next and waited in an empty bus, soon to be joined by a full tour group. The group …

In January, I visited Naumburg Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site nestled in the small town of Naumburg in eastern Germany. The day was cold, biting, and gray - the kind of winter weather that makes you question why you left the house. But to my surprise, at least 20 other visitors braved the chill that day, a sign that Naumburg’s historic and artistic reputation continues to attract people even in the off-season. Naumburg Cathedral is often described — by guides, brochures, and some passionate admirers — as the most beautiful cathedral in Germany. While I agree that it’s striking and certainly unique, I personally think calling it the "most" might be a bit of a stretch. It’s beautiful, yes; but its charm lies more in its distinctiveness and historical character than in jaw-dropping grandeur.

The most defining feature of the cathedral is its double-choir layout, with both an east and a west choir, a rare architectural choice in cathedrals. This design is not unique to Naumburg alone, as a few other churches in Germany, like Bamberg and Speyer, also have dual choirs. However, Naumburg's execution is what makes it remarkable. The west choir, in particular, is unlike anything I’ve seen in other cathedrals. It was designed not for worship, but as a tribute to the cathedral’s founders, featuring the famous 12 donor statues carved by the mysterious Naumburg Master around 1250. These sculptures are astonishingly lifelike, emotional, and individualized especially the statue of Uta, often …

I visited one of the locations in August 2017. I was hoping to see more locations during my recent visit in November 2024, but unfortunately, I didn't get to visit any (it was raining and the wind was extremely strong). 

In 2017, I visited Fort Diemerdam just outside Amsterdam. I was staying near Amsterdam Centraal. I took the #26 tram to the IJBurg stop and walked the rest of the way (about 15-20 minutes). Fort Diemerdam has a few bunkers left on the site. The site is now an events venue. Near the bunkers, there is now a pavilion (Paviljoen Puur). There was an event happening at the time I went, so there were quite a lot of people near the pavilion, but there were still a lot of bunkers to explore away from it. The pavilion looks pretty cool, though - looks like a shell. 

Along with the not-so-great weather, I was also with my girlfriend the last time I was in Amsterdam. While I enjoy looking for UNESCO World Heritage Sites, this isn't for everybody, and the Dutch Water Defence Lines locations are not exactly a must-visit on any traveler's list. Also, I'm using the World Heritage - UNESCO List app, and the app only lists 9 locations. It's good to know that this site shows more locations.

Tucked quietly on the northern fringe of bustling Kuala Lumpur lies the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), an ecological treasure that remains surprisingly unknown to many, even among locals. Despite being just a short drive from the city center, FRIM is often overlooked in favor of other well-known attractions. Yet it offers something far more meaningful: a rare, immersive glimpse into Malaysia’s forest conservation efforts and the quiet beauty of tropical reforestation. FRIM features two main attractions, the public Skywalk and the restricted Forest Walk on the Keruling Trail. While the Skywalk provides sweeping views above the canopy, the Forest Walk offers a more intimate, ground-level experience of the forest’s biodiversity and scientific significance. I opted for the Forest Walk, and it turned out to be the highlight of my visit though getting there took some effort. Booking the Forest Walk requires advance planning. The process is somewhat bureaucratic: you must email the FRIM office, await a reply, and then manually transfer the 150 MYR guide fee to a designated government bank account. There’s no online portal or instant booking system, which may feel outdated, especially for foreign visitors. However, once confirmed, the experience more than justifies the hassle. 

Our guide was outstanding, informative, passionate, and deeply connected to the forest. What sets FRIM apart is that it’s not just a recreational park or nature spot. And importantly, FRIM is not a botanical garden. Unlike botanical gardens, which often cultivate plants in manicured, landscaped settings for display and educational …