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After reading the reviews for this whs I realized that most of them are quite old or short.Thats why I ve decided to write a review about this easily accessible whs.I visited Vicenca on sunday, november the 12th and monday morning, November the 13th.I had read quite a lot about this whs before I visited Vicenza and I had also marked all of Palladio's villas in the off-line map "maps.me" with different colors depending on priority. 

I arrived around 10.00 a.m in Vicenza and headed straight for the Palladian Basilica in the city centre. Since I knew that I was in a race against time I didnt intend to spend too much time visiting the villas closed to the public. I had pre-booked a guided tour at the "La Rotunda",Palladio''s masterpiece,at exactly 15.30. And on mondays almost all of the palladian places open to the public are closed.

I stayed more or less 20 minutes at the palladian basilica where I had bought a combi ticket(18€) for the following sites:the galleries of palazzo Thiene,the palladian basilica,the church of santa corona,the civic art gallery of palazzo Chiericate,the olympic theatre,the palladio museum+some other places like the natural history museum or the diocesan museum which were not part of the Vicenza whs so that I skipped them.I then visited Vicenza' cathedral Santa Maria Annuciata which is just a stone's throw away from the palladian basilica.I stayed there around 15-20 min. Then I went to the olympic teatre which turned out to …

I will focus on the coal mines of Asturias and the north of León, I have close family who have worked their entire lives in those mines and I know the place well.

In principle I consider that they should be separated from the rest of the mining deposits in other areas of Spain that have nothing to do with the coal mines on the northern slope. I consider that they have a special relevance although they have certain similarities with the mines of the Ruhr and the UK, they are mines that are more than a hundred years old, they were the main economic engine of Francoist Spain and at the same time points of rebellion and resistance against the regime and the Franco's fascist oppression, added to the harsh working conditions that took the lives of many miners.

In 2014, the European Union made the brilliant decision to force Spain to close its mines in order to buy cheaper coal from China.

I consider that the coal mines of Asturias and León constitute an industrial heritage of historical value, not only for Spain and Europe but also for all of humanity.

I almost missed out on this one. I had pre-booked a visit for 10 a.m. and drove there easily in an hour from Doha through the barren lands of Qatar. But when I arrived I encountered a disconcerting scene, which reminded me of what I had a week before at the Turaif District in Saudi Arabia. VIPs were getting out of their limousines, as well as some army people with impressive uniforms. The security guard came up to me and said “Closed”. “But I have booked a ticket for today”, I replied (which is free and not really necessary so it seems, and now it became clear that – like at Turaif – it surely did not guarantee a visit). Another guy came up and said, “Come back in 2 hours”. So holding onto that glimmer of hope I did a detour to the town of Al Ruwais for some drinks and snacks, and to the rock art of Al Jassasiya.

During this drive, I received an e-mail from the ‘Qatar Museum Customer Services Center’ saying that “Al Zubarah Archaeological Site will be closed today”. The e-mail was sent at 10.42 while my booking was for 10.00, so that was not very helpful. Would the site indeed be closed off all day and had the guards been wrong? Two hours later I approached the gate again, and the scene had totally changed. The guards were joking around, the extra cushions and tables used for the private military function were …

Other reviewers have spoken about the highlights of Valletta: the magnificent interior of St John’s Co-Cathedral (despite its plain exterior), the hilly grid layout with many Baroque buildings, and the spectacular view of the Grand Harbour from Upper Barrakka Gardens. One aspect that has not been mentioned, probably because it only opened in 2021, is the tour of underground Valletta. For 15€, one can join a tour of the tunnels that lie beneath the city. The tour begins from MUŻA, the art museum located in the Baroque building that was the Auberge d’Italie. There are several such auberges throughout Valletta, each of which hosted knights of the Order of St John from the various countries. The Auberge de Castille is the grandest of these, housing Maltese government offices, whilst the Auberge de Provence is now host to the National Archaeology Museum, well worth visiting as it includes artefacts from Malta’s two other WHS, the megalithic temples and the Hypogeum. Returning to the underground tour, after a short wait in MUŻA’s courtyard, each of our group of ten or so was given a hardhat fitted with flashlight and then led out through the streets to the entrance to the underground, hidden amidst the tables of an unassuming restaurant.

The tunnels here were built at the same time as the city above in the 16th Century to help survive any future sieges after their successful defence against the Ottomans in 1565. In World War II, the city and its strategic harbour …

I wrote this review to provide a brief overview of what visitors can currently expect from Aigai (September 2023). Most importantly, the palace site is still closed for construction works, the re-opening date is not known. The theatre is open to visitors, but there is not much to see (nothing more than on the photo in Solivagant's review). The new museum is open (since December 2022). And as mentioned in the previous review, photography is now allowed (without flash) in the Royal Tombs Museum.[Edit January 2024: the Palace of Aigai was reopened on January 7, 2024]

Here is my dialogue with the lady at the ticket counter at the Royal Tombs:Lady: Would you like to take a combined ticket?Me: What is included?Lady: The Royal Tombs museum, the new museum outside the town and the archaeological park.Me: Archaeological park? Is that the site where the palace and the theatre are?Lady: The palace is closed for construction work.Me: Do you know when it will reopen?Lady: They said at the end of the year. So maybe next year. Maybe (accompanied by a shrug of the shoulders).Me: And what about the other tombs that are even marked on Google Maps? For example, the Queen's tomb?Lady: Those are not accessible.Me: So it's just the theatre?Lady: Yes.Me: Isn't it a bit exaggerated to call it an "archaeological park" when it's just the ruins of a theatre?Lady: …. would you like to take the combined ticket?

So not more than the two museums? Basically …

A short update on one of the components, AlUla Old Town. It is now open to visitors although (re)construction works are still going on at the lower parts and men in yellow vests and hard hats are a common sight. These troops of Pakistani migrant workers really know their way with adobe!

The upper road (“Market Street”) has been turned into a wide shopping and entertainment street with restaurant terraces and live music. There are also a few information panels that hint at the former importance of the town, which was at a strategic position on trade and Hajj routes from the 12th to the 20th centuries. For the pilgrims, this may just have been a resting place – I did not notice any sites of specific religious importance.

A structure that stands out is the small stone castle that towers above the town. It is said to have 10th-century origins. Like the town that was considered a safe place to spend the night (the city gates were closed during the night), it provided a secure place for example for storing goods.

Žatec would be a great representative of a WHS dedicated to beer production if it were in the form it was in 100 years ago. Today the town is a shadow of its past. The monuments related to hop processing are neither distinctive nor spectacular.

Žatec itself is not a picturesque town. In fact, it is one of the last places I would want to invite a foreign visitor to the Czech Republic. The locals are proud that the town has been featured in a number of Czech and foreign films. However, it served as exteriors for scenes from the Second World War. Indeed, parts of the town centre are so run-down that they evoke the atmosphere of a town that has just experienced a Soviet offensive.

Visitors are drawn to the newly built Temple of Hops and Beer, which includes a nice museum. However, the Hop Temple itself, including the observation tower, looks rather cheap and doesn't offer much insight into history.

Aesthetically, by far the most interesting building is the so-called Dreher Brewery from 1898. At the time it was one of the largest breweries in Europe. It is a beautiful example of industrial architecture from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The neo-renaissance industrial building of the brewery is also unique in appearance. The red brick façades and ornamental sandstone details are interesting. Unfortunately, the buildings are deteriorating. If the city manages to renovate them in the future, I believe Dreher's Brewery …

There is a local legend saying that the cypress in Abarkooh was planted by Zoroaster himself. Cypresses, in general, are considered sacred trees by Iranians. Coming from Yazd, the site is a convenient stopover en route to Shiraz (Persepolis). One can properly "visit" it in less than 10 minutes (and I am not even the kind who rushes visits). The signage at the time of our visit in 2017 was only limited to information about its age and how it is believed to be the oldest living tree in the continent at 4,500 y.o. It thrives in a barren landscape, partly benefiting from a nearby qanat. They also say that the tree still blooms during spring! In nominating this serial property, Iran is becoming creative (or innovative?) in crafting potential OUVs though this has yet to be reflected well in its dossier -- the wording for Crit. VII is disturbingly flowery for me. There is a humble cafe on site. 

I visited the Churches of Bucovina on my trip to Romania in 2023. In my opinion it is one of the best WHS in Romania. Are Orthodox churches, colorful inside and outside with frescoes depicting biblical stories. I was able to visit four (Voronet, Humor, Sucevita and Moldovita + the Putna Monastery, which is not a UNESCO Site but is an important pilgrimage center in Romania. Votonet and Humor can be visited by electric bus from Gura Humurului, the rest I stayed at Casa Popa in Gura Humurului where the owner of the house offered to drive his car to the monasteries. I recommend staying at that accommodation. Of the four I consider Sucevita and Moldovita the most favorites.

All the essentials have already been covered by the previous 6 reviewers, but as things change quickly in Saudi Arabia I’d like to add some specifics from the perspective of my November 2023 visit.

What’s in a name

The site was inscribed as “Mada'in Saleh”, but is now known as Hegra. There was an official name change to the WHS in 2021, and also on the ground you will see the signposting call it ‘Hegra’. Hegra is the Ancient Greek name of the site, while Mada'in Saleh goes back to the Ancient Arabs. Why did the Saudis change it? Was it to make it more attractive to an international audience? Or did they want to get rid of the association with the Quranic story where this was seen as a cursed area?

The standard tour

There seems to be only one standard tour available nowadays, which takes 2 hours and can be done either on a big bus or by jeep. The latter is much more expensive but the itinerary seems the same.

We (on the big bus) visited four components in the following order:

1. Jabal AlAhmar: a pretty rock with carved tombs all around.
2. Qasr AlFarid: this is the biggest, a stand-alone tomb. It’s also the only one which would benefit from a visit in the late afternoon because of the position of the sun.
3. Qasr AlBint: the complex with the ‘best’ decorated facades. Only here you may enter one …

In March 2020 I visited Hama on the way to Aleppo, there are seventeen Wheels in Hama, I was able to visit the most central ones in the main squarethe Norias are centuries old and have survived many wars including the last one. They are admirable to see, the people of Hama go to spend time and have picnics and smoke Sisha around them. If UNESCO inscribed the Hama Waterwheels, they would have greater conservation and protection.

World's biggest Buddhist temple. Spectacular to visit. I visited in Nov 23, so was supposed to be raining and low season, but no rain. It was quite quiet. I stayed in Borobudur rather than Yogyakarta to get there early. 

However, since COVID, regulations have changed. There are NO sunrise tours any more. They now limit the number of people who can go onto the temple to 150 an hour - the earliest entry onto the temple is 9am - you get your ticket to allow you to enter starting from 8:30am. I went at 7am walked around the base of the temple and the grounds, before at 8:30am returning to the entry to get a guide and then return to enter the temple at 9am. There are various levels, with the lower ones have many kms of carvings showing the story of how Siddartha became Buddha. On the top level you have the Stupas themselves, each containing a Buddha. 

Highly reccomended visiting. The museum too is simple but shows interesting photos of 'before' and 'after' - beware, though, if you use the exit from the museum it forces you to walk through hundreds of tourist stalls wihout escape. 

Zadar was the first city I visited in Croatia, in the middle of the pandemic, so I was able to enjoy the city without crowds.

The city of Zadar itself is already very beautiful both for its location facing the sea and for its architecture, the area of ​​the Roman Forum, with the Cathedral and the remains of Roman and pre-Roman ruins around it, are places that deserve an inscription. 

Whilst Malta may bear many cultural and linguistic similarities to nearby Italy and North Africa respectively, prices seem to be more influenced by the period of British rule than their Mediterranean neighbours. In 2023, Heritage Malta offered a pass for 50€ that covers most of their sites, but not all. Indeed, the Hypogeum requires a separate ticket at an eye-watering 35€ and a reservation long in advance. The multisite pass does include all of the temples inscribed as WHS so I bought one for convenience in spite of the high cost. All of the temples are easily accessible by Malta’s extensive bus network, which I found very easy to use with the contactless Tallinja card purchasable from vending machines in Luqa airport. Ġgantija on Gozo was the most impressive to me and it’s clear why it was inscribed first. I visited in a day trip from Valletta, where I was staying, using the fast ferry to the port of Mġarr followed by a bus. As the ferry pulled into the harbour, I could see the bus leaving so timing is rather tight but another one came along 30 minutes later. However, I did have to fend off taxi drivers and tourist bus touts during the wait. Ta' Kola Windmill is very nearby to Ġgantija and worth visiting if you have bought the multisite pass for an insight into 18th and 19th Century rural life but I’m not sure I would have paid for the site on its own merit. On …

This one was a bit of a surprise. When I originally looked up UNESCO sites in Japan, this didn't come up, I think as there are multiple sites from Le Corbusier worldwide.

We went to Ueno Park (which has an incredible 6 museums and a zoo in the ground, so is well worth a visit), to find the Museum of Western Art, by Le Corbusier, and it was free to enter the grounds and the gallery itself.

I don't have a great understanding of architecture, but I didn't think it was that impressive a building, thouh it was still worth going to to see the works by Rodin, Picasso and Monet inside.

I visited this on a day trip in November 2023.

Easy to access from Tokyo using the JR Pass (just one change), it was well worth the visit.

Nikko has that mystical, Tolkien element to it, coated in moss, and magical on a misty day.

A day was just about enough to see the main shrines, but I wish I'd stayed longer to do some of the walks and see the waterfalls around.

Toshugu Shrine was the most iconic place, especially the walk up to the main shrine, and also the five-storied pagoda at the front.

The most unexpected was the Kanmangafuchi Abyss, with its rows of stone Jiva, in their little red hats.

Definitely up there with one of the best UNESCO sites I've visited.

In our July 2023 Japan quest we visited 6 of the Jomon Prehistoric Sites, 5 of them on Hokkaido. All sites visited by rental car.

As our first goal in Hokkaido was Shiretoko National Park, we “elegantly” missed the first possible Jomon Site, the Kiusu Earthwork Burial Circles. We could have visited it on the way back west, but as our route was along the southern shore of Hokkaido, we headed for Kitakogane Site as our first site.

The first thing we noticed was the huge, but totally empty parking lot. Either somebody though this site would attract a lot of people - or we arrived “out of season”. Entering the site (free of charge), we found a lush green area with some small replica buildings and several shell mounds. These mounds believed to be garbage at first, but really was burial mounds. Due to type of shells, they found out that the climate was warmer at the time and that they mostly caught fish in nets. There was also a holy place at the settlement. In addition, we found a small museum on site. As this was our first Jomon Site Museum and we found it rather informative and attractive. On display it was mostly everyday items like tools, pottery, hairpins, and combs but also pearls and figurines.

Next in line was the double site, the Irie Site, and the Takasago Burial Site. The Irie site had a slightly different approach by not showing a full …

March 2023 - after visiting Caserta we based ourselves on a campground in Pompeji. Perfect to visit Naples by train for a few €, which we did the next morning. From the train station we strolled over the fish market in the Via Sopramura where our daughter was invited to pet all kinds of Crustacea and Mollusculs, that we had never even be aware of. The walked through the neighbourhood rather fast, as it looked somewhat intimidating. However, we soon reached the Via San Gregorio Armeno with its kitchy crips and the first hordes of tourists appeared.

As we got hungry, we had our first 🍕 in the Antica Pizzeria di Matteo, and later at Gino Sorbillo, a Instagram hyped place, but boy the pizzas were worth returning to Naples any time. From here on, we liked Naples more and more. The streets were decorated as Naples was playing against Frankfurt that day, the architectural highlights were increasing as we walked towards the Castel Nuovo. We still had some wonderful icecream close to the Galleria Umberto, which tops Milanos, and slowly walked back to the train station.

We had a perfect day im Naples, but unfortunately missed two further highlights. 1. The Piazza del Plebescito 2. The Subway, especially the Station Toledo.

Hope to come back someday! This time I finally saw Naples, and I did not die.☠️

"Eoferwic was, and still is, the chief city of northern Englaland. It possesses a great abbey, an archbishop, a fortress, high walls, and a vast market. It stands beside the River Ouse, and boasts a bridge, but ships can reach Eoferwic from the distant sea, and that was how the Danes had come." - Bernard Cornwell (The Last Kingdom) from The Saxon Stories

My awareness of York (or Eoferwic) was primarily through literature, as illustrated in the passage. I had acquired only a vague understanding of the World Heritage label at this time (November 2007). In the 16 years since, my planning has certainly been influenced and enriched substantially by World Heritage travel. However, what led me to reserve my train ticket to York was the stories I had read.

Coming South from Edinburgh, I had a full-day to explore the city. While visiting the highlights of the "Historic Urban Core" my money quickly dwindled. In 2007 the exchange rate was equivalent to £1 per $2 (USD) and nearly everything in York seemed to have a sizable ticket price! I notice in 2023, the Visit York Pass is priced at £59, which seems reasonable if you plan a full itinerary (currently with a favorable exchange rate).

I prioritized the historic sites throughout the city that corresponded to various periods of York's rich history. Did I eat anything, a late breakfast, lunch? My poor travel companion! I cannot recall eating anything in York. Having visited only a few …

Visit June2023. It seems that most visitors of this site only visit the elements around Naha, the southern part of the Okinawa Island. Our Okinawa stay was three nights, and we visited all nine elements of this site. We picked up our rental car at the airport and drove immediately up to the northern part of the island. As we first visited the subtropical rainforests in the northern part of Okinawa (WHS), we approached these Gusukus of Ryukyu from north (or northeast).

The northernmost Gusuku is Nakijin-jô naturally became our first visit. Nakijin Castle Ruins are huge, probably the biggest site in this “collection”. It’s a ruin of a castle residing nicely on a hilltop and down the slopes in every direction. The walls are high and even though they probably are restored it gives a good impression of how it once was. In addition to the walls as part of the “main castle” there are living quarters and holy places around inside the outer walls. The surrounding area is lush green and on the hilltop it’s a nice rest for your eyes – looking all the way to the sea.

Next in line (although it’s far from a straight line) was Zakimi-jô which is a ruin of a castle as well. It is a little more than an hour drive from Nakijin. This site is probably the smallest site and the least interesting. It’s the only site without an admission fee, maybe because there is very little …