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Unfortunately not much of what was Carthage remains today. The museum however, explains really well its tragic past and former glory. Beautiful statues, figures and parts of buildings abound in the museum. The museum is right next to a Christian Cathedral that is worth visiting. We also got to see the Roman Amphiteathre and the Antonine Baths - the remains of the Roman Empire that conquered the Carthaginians. Carthage abounds with many historical places and we had planned only a day tour of the area and thus managed just a few sites. I would suggest spending a longer period to visit Carthage and the nearby towns and Capital city.

El-Jem is a small town in the middle of the desert. We passed there by train from Sousse, and were impressed by the sight of the colosseum sprouting out of nowhere! The Colosseum is superb! It is indeed much better preserved than that of Rome. And the museum nearby having Roman mosaics and statues is also well kept. A must-see site! We then got back to Sousse by using the Luage system - cheap and well organised.

In our travel around Spain we have been to the National Park of Doñana, situated on the right bank of the river Guadalquivir at its estuary in the Atlantic Ocean, important above all for its population of birds, with 5 endangered species. It is also one of the largest heronries in the Mediterranean region and the most important wintering site in Spain for waterfowl.

The first thing to say is that if you want to enjoy fully your visit to the park, you have to book one of the guided tours, starting generally from the Visitor Centre of Acebuche (the most important of the five), with which organized companies bring you with a bus to explore the inner parts of the park and to watch birds. There is one tour of the northern part of the park and one of the southern; there is also a boat trip on the Guadalquivir from Sanlúcar de Barrameda that shows you the right bank of the river, included in the park, staying outside of it. But we couldn’t do that because we didn’t know before our travel in Spain in which date we could arrive to the national park, because our itinerary wasn’t based on precise time planning.

If you want to visit places similar to those included in the National Park, you might visit the Natural Park (it surrounds the National Park in 4 sections and acts as a kind of Buffer Zone) that has 2 Visitor Centres and 7 Trails and …

In our travel around Spain we have been to Santa Coloma de Cervelló to visit one of the seven works of Antoni Gaudí i Cornet included in this WHS, the crypt of the Colònia Güell. It was commissioned to Gaudí in 1898 and he reflected for ten years on the project before beginning the building in 1908; only the crypt was built when the work was interrupted in 1914.

We have seen only this Gaudí’s work because we haven’t been in Barcelona this time because it takes to much time to visit it for combining it with the tour of almost all Spain. We decided also to visit the church apart from the travel, programmed for the future, to Barcelona, because it is hard to reach it from the city by public transports, even if it isn’t far away.

We arrived to the Colònia Güell (from the motorway A2) when the church was closed, because its opening time is from 10 to 14 and from 15 to 19 (on Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 15. So we visited before it the village (about which you can find information on the web site http://www.santacolomadecervello.org/municipi/colonia/colonia.htm), where a community working in textile industry lived. I think that the whole industrial village, even if it isn’t even on the Spanish Tentative List, can be inscribed on the WHL separately from the WHS of Gaudí’s works (in which is inscribed only the church being the only one Gaudí’s building in the village). It is …

I have visitd these forests many times. As a young Funchalense, my parents would take me on picnics to Santo da Serra, Poiso, and Ribeiro Frio (very impressive trout hatchery located there), where we would enjoy hiking through these woodlands. These forests are breathtakingly gorgeous. You truly feel like you are in a scene from "Lord of the Rings". The trees are so gnarled and thick, and the air is so fresh and cool. The Madeiran government has done a superlative job preserving these forests and I hope they remain protected for posterity. My only fear is that the extensive and invasive forests of Maritime Pine, Douglas Fir, Chestnut and Eucalyptus found throughout the island don't encroach too closely and compromise these primordial Laurisilva forests.

I must admit that sometimes I have to really motivate myself to visit the Industrial sites on the list, after a few dull visits I wasn’t imagining this one to be much different. The website didn’t give me much hope, displaying adverts for the shops that now inhabit Salt’s Mill selling lots of expensive things that you don’t really need. However I really quite enjoyed my visit.

The main site is Salt’s Mill, which is an impressive building, when it was built it was the largest factory in the world, and its on a strip of land between the railway, one of the worlds first and the hugely important Leeds-Liverpool canal give a great idea of how the industrial infrastructure at the height of the industrial revolution worked. The Mill now houses an extensive collection of David Hockney’s art, including his own paintings of Saltaire, which were nice I really liked his photomontages and opera sets. Although the rest of the mill was given over to some fancy shops it was actually interesting to walk around and you got to see the architectural details, such as the Iron frame of the building. The shops themselves were actually pretty decent and the restaurant is supposedly one of the best in the area.

Next to the mill is the village of Saltaire, this was one of the earliest examples of housing designed for employees of large industrial factories. The average life expectancy in Bradford at the time of building was very low; …

I visited the ruins in July 2003. The site can be covered with a (mandatory guide, Spanish only) in about 45 minutes. It is located on the outskirts of the small town of Mamotambo, a 20 minute bus ride from La Paz Centro, which is accessible by frequent buses from Leon or Managua Ask to be let off at Las Ruinas and from there it's a ten minute walk down a dusty road to the ruins. Few facilities in the town or at the site. There had been fewer than ten visitors in the past three days according to the guest register. It is a very hot and humid location so bring water but it is well maintained. Especially interesting are the cathedral, a massive stone structure, given the overall size of the settlement and the governor's house, the layout of which is still the norm in nearby Leon. Plaster casts of the founders, one of whom killed the under, lie together under the cathedral vault. Monuments to the Spanish rulers and Indians who rose in revolt against them attest to the brutal, bloody history of the settlement. A final must is the climb to the top of the old fort for a stunning view of the nearby volcanoes and the lake.

On a cold and very rainy day I took the subway out of Cologne to the small town of Brühl to tick off another WH site. The bad weather had one advantage - I had both palaces completely to myself. Apart from that, they are not particularly remarkable, and the 5-kilometre walk to Falkenlust and back was not really worth it. Augustusburg is a nice enough Baroque palace, but I have seen plenty of those already. There was an interesting exhibit on state visits to Germany, though, when I was there. When nearby Bonn was still the capital, all foreign heads of state were grandly received at Augustusburg. Now everything takes place in Berlin, and this palace once again enjoys its traditional tranquility.

Right in the middle of the town hall square stands the 35 meter high Holy Trinity Column, erected in honour of faith, God and gratitude for the ending of the plague in 1716.

If you only want to see the column it could be done in 10 minutes but the town of Olomouc has much more to offer to the few tourists that eventually end up in this brilliant place.

Filled with beautiful churches, cathedrals, castles and other prominent buildings, Olomouc is a town to linger in for a couple of days just to enjoy and celebrate the fact that all tourism in the Czech Republic seem to be stuck in Prague and so far yet not discovered the rest of this historically rich country. Olomouc is one of its true pearls and as is both a religious centre as well as a leading university town.

Once you are here, don't forget to enjoy the local culinary delicacy in Olomouc – the soft-cheese Olomoucì Tvarŭžky served with butter, red onion and paprika…mmmmm!

An hour's train ride south of Olomouc is the small Czech town with the unpronounceable name Kromeriz. The locals will probably laugh behind your back if you try an English pronunciation but the correct way of saying the towns name is something I leave you to discover for yourself when you approach the small town that was once the Achbishops own town and Chateau, between the 12th and the 19th century.

One of the Chateau's more recent claims to fame is the fact that it figured in Milos Formans film Amadeus and it is no wonder that it some of its rooms and halls was picked as background. Some are absolutely the best of best of baroque architecture and design. Next to the park is the beautiful Podzámecka Garden that unfortunately was quite a wet experience at the time of my own visit. But as the rain passed by and I had moved across town to discover the castles Flower Garden, I was blessed with the sunny side of Kromeriz parks and castle.

Kromeriz is easily accessed by train if you are in Olomouc and is a perfect excursion for a day.

Being no particular fan of industrial history, I just went to Essen to see another WH site, but I was pleasantly surprised. Zollverein is a really big (14 sq.km) industrial complex that was the biggest coal mine of its day (1920s and 30s), and the grand industrial architecture served the purpose of impressing visitors with the mine owner's wealth and power. I took a guided tour that took almost 2.5 hours - the guide was really great and very informative. Now I know everything I never thought I wanted to know about coal-mining and especially about the miserable and dangerous lives of the miners there. The site is interesting for its architectural as well as economic and social history, and definitely deserves a visit.

The Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape is sometimes described as "the pearl of South Moravia' and even if the two castles - once the domains by the Dukes of Lichtenstein - are impressing, its is the parks, the forests and the landscape that strikes you the most.

A gigantic English park surrounds the Lednice castle, filled with lakes, rivers and fanciful buildings like artificial ruins - temples, walls and sculptures that surprise you as you stroll through the park. The small river Thaya flows gently through the landscape and on a warm summer day there is nothing better than to spend a couple of hours on a small river boats from where you have one the best views over this splendid central European river and forest landscape.

The Lednice-Valtice landscape takes days to visit and though if I've read several different figures on the size of it, it is recommendable to rent yourself a bike if you want to see as much as possible. It's a place that I will remember for long and recommend to fellow travelers.

I spent some more time in Andalucia so i coulnt skip all the WH site which are located here.

I started with Seville - it is a town which absolutely deserves the WH title. It is a vibrant town with great food, architecture and people.

Cathedral from outside maybe doesn't look like the biggest gothic one but as you are inside you start to believe it. Next of all those pillars holding the ceiling you feel so small. Cathedral itself is surrounded with several chapels and with former minaret and now a bell tower - Giralda. There are no stairs inside just a ramp where horses were used in past. View from the top is breath taking.

Later i visited Alcazar and its gardens. This is for me the top of Sevilla. I could spend there whole day without even realising it. Palace is divided in parts - gothic and mudejar (which is nicer). In comparison with Alhambra i liked this place more. So the best advice is to plan at least 2 hours for visiting Alcazar.

Among the somewhat excessive number of Mexican historic “colonial” town centres on the UNESCO list Morelia’s special claim lies in is its very “Spanish” feeling/atmosphere. As the Rough Guide says “you might easily be in Salamanca or Valladolid” – and indeed the city had this latter name for almost 300 years until it was renamed after the local Independence hero (whose birthplace in the city centre is something of a shrine and worth a quick visit).

The city is pleasant enough and one certainly wouldn’t say “Don’t visit it” but it is difficult to put one’s finger on any particular attraction. It has an enormous late 17th/early 18th century cathedral (photo 1) but this lost most of its riches to pay for Mexico’s wars and now has a late 19th century interior. The inscription emphasises the overall unity of the centre in design and appearance and this has certainly been maintained everywhere in a slightly “blocky” way (photo 2). Our hotel, 2 blocks behind the main street, was not an old building but was faced with the ubiquitous reddish stone – from the back however it was grotty red brick! There are however many genuine old buildings built on a grid pattern which still follows the original plan – it is interesting to read on the tourist “plaques” the detailed instructions sent out by Philip II as to how “exactly” cities in the New World were to be laid out and the buildings designed – real micro management! The main …

Tlacotalpan is the “odd man out” among Mexico’s plethora of UNESCO-inscribed old “colonial” towns. Whilst others have expanded way beyond their original size, this sleepy backwater has regressed from the importance it once had. The result is a very pleasant lethargic mood. Now largely devoid of boats, the river, the original reason for Tlacotalpan’s founding, slips sluggishly by, remarkably few cars disturb the quiet streets, and the rows of mainly well restored brightly painted and “classically” arcaded houses (photos) provide a civilised, refined ambiance (the town appears to have had a considerable “brushing up” in advance of its inscription). There are no “great” buildings or sights but even a few hours (we spent an overnight and morning) here will relax and recharge the spirit.

The town’s peak was reached around 1880-1910 and, following many fires, few buildings are any earlier. We were there in March, a relatively cool time, but there was still a sultry, soporific, humid atmosphere – rainy season might not be so pleasant! I understand that the town gets very busy at the Festival of Candelaria (when there is “Bull running” and a river boat procession of the Virgin) but at other times it remains its sleepy self. There are a few hotels and also a number of guest houses, a couple of restaurants on the very pleasant Zocalo and on the waterfront – fish/sea food is a speciality here. Everywhere is easily walkable.

Getting there is relatively slow from/to Vera Cruz along a road …

With a population of c1.4 million, the city of Puebla was by far the largest of the WHS-inscribed provincial “colonial” Centros Historicos we saw during our tour of Central Mexico in Mar 2008 (as well as being the 7th we had visited in 11 days!). As a result I was somewhat doubtful both whether it would have preserved much worth seeing and whether it could really offer anything new. On both counts I was pleasantly surprised.

The compact central area (50 blocks or so) is well preserved and conveys a distinctive impression which sets it apart from other Mexican cities. This is partly due to a significant external use of “azulejo” tiles which have traditionally been made in the region (photo 1). Most of the buildings are 19th century but with reasonably large numbers from the 17th/18th Centuries too – with the later ones managing to maintain the overall feeling of “grandeur”.

Now we were getting pretty “churched out” on our trip and Puebla’s enormous Cathedral seemed, to our taste, rather oppressive in atmosphere and mawkish in iconography. However, when we moved on the 4 blocks to the Rosary Chapel we were just “blown away” by its magnificence. Nowhere before have I ever seen so much decoration so tightly fitted in to such a large area as the walls and ceiling of this chapel (photo 2). It is of course totally OTT, but this ultimate in “Baroqueness” should definitely be seen. In my view this building alone justified our visit …

the great thing about this City is the fact that it survived about 2500 years inhabited and almost intact.the Romans, Nabateans, Byzanthine, Umayyad Muslims all left traces in it..it is simply an open museum. make sure to read about it before visiting or at least get a guide book to the numerous sites you are about to see or you will be lost and not really appreciate what you are seeing.

you might wanna know how important it is to the Eastern Christians since it was a center of archbichop and it has many intact ancient churches. alo very important for muslims since in it prophet Mohammed has met the monk Buheira who was the first to forsee the child Mohammad's prophesy. It was also the second Nabatean capital after the sacking of Petra by the Romans.

truely a must see if you are spending longer than a few days in Syria.the area also has many other ancient classic cities like Shahba, Qanata(Qanawat),Izraa, Salkhad..etc

I have visited almost all Dacian fortresses in 2007. Almost all the places are located in the remote, mountaineous area (you should have a good local map to get there or at least have enough luck to find a person that show you the right direction, 4 wd car is also recommended). The places itself are extremely worth visiting as they are the only surviving examples of once powerful culture of pre-Roman Dacian state. The most important monument is Sarmisegetuza Regia, remnants of Dacian capital with its sanctuaries, walls and other buildings. It is one of Romanian touristic "must".

For a spectacular view if the mountain, take the 7am flight from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan (home of the orang-utans and turtles). That early the air is clear for an uninterupted view.

We enjoyed taking the canopy walkway near the Poring hot springs,to stroll through the treetops.

The brilliant orchid flowers made a colourful display in the forest.

Buses from Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan stop at the park entrance, but the it is such a large area that you really need you own transport to get around.

I had the pleasure of visiting Speyer several times during my tour of duty in Germany. The Cathedral is stunning; I hope to be able to see it completely restored to its original state. Remnants of the walls of the old city are still extant at various places around the basilica and they give you some sense of how important the church was in this city. The best view of the church? From the bridge across the Rhein River you can see this large, yet simple church on the hill fits into the geography of the town around it. You also have a great view of the other beautiful churches in Speyer. After the Koelner Dom, this was my absolute favorite building in Germany.