UNESCO World Heritage Sites I’ve Visited

UNESCO World Heritage Sites have long held a fascination for me. 

In the same way reading about the ‘7 Wonders of the World’ did when I was a young, UNESCO World Heritage sites capture my imagination as an adult.

To be included on the list, sites need to show that they have an outstanding universal value, and meet at least one of the ten criteria listed here.

Forget all those ’20 Best Places to Visit in X’ articles, this right here is the ultimate bucket list of must-see destinations.

With over 1,000 sites on an ever-growing list, it’s nearly impossible to get to them all, but when I’m planning trips, I always check to see if there are any nearby we can visit, and often change our itinerary to include them.

Below is my personal list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. 

If you want to see the full list, then head over to the UNESCO World Heritage Site website or go to the fantastic WorldHeritageSite.org, an independent site that has user reviews of all the locations.

My UNESCO List

TO VIEW ALL POSTS THAT INCLUDE A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE CLICK HERE

My Early Years UNESCO Heritage Sites

1. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Blenheim Palace (England)
2. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 City of Bath (England)
3. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 The Great Spa Towns of Europe (Bath, England)
4. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey (England)
5. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 The English Lake District (England)
6. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey including Saint Margaret’s Church (England)
7. 🇫🇷 Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay (France)
8. 🇿🇦 Maloti-Drakensberg Park (South Africa)
9. 🇿🇦 Robben Island (South Africa)
10. 🇿🇼 Most-oa-Tunya/Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe)

2006 UNESCO Heritage Sites

11. 🇵🇪 Historic Centre of Lima (Peru, September)
12. 🇵🇪 City of Cusco (Peru, September)
13. 🇵🇪 Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu (Peru, September)

2008 UNESCO Heritage Sites

14. 🇿🇼 Historic Centre of Prague (Czechia, October)

2009 UNESCO Heritage Sites

15. 🇮🇹 Piazza del Duomo, Pisa (Italy, July)
16. 🇮🇹 Historic Centre of Florence (Italy, July)
17. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (England, Unknown)

2011 UNESCO Heritage Sites

18. 🇭🇺 Budapest including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrassy Avenue (July, Hungary)

2013 UNESCO Heritage Sites

19. 🇱🇨 Pitons Management Area (St Lucia, September)
20. 🇩🇪 Cologne Cathedral (Germany, November)

2014 UNESCO Heritage Sites

21. 🇮🇹 Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fouri le Mora (Italy, February)
22. 🇻🇦 Vatican City (Vatican City, February)
23. 🇦🇹 Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg (Austria, June)
24. 🇪🇸 Works of Antoni Gaudi (Spain, September)

2015 UNESCO Heritage Sites

25. 🇫🇷 Bordeaux, Port of the Moon (France, July)
26. 🇫🇷 Jurisdiction of Saint-Emilion (France, July)
27. 🇿🇦 Cape Floral Region Protected Areas (South Africa, September)

2016 UNESCO Heritage Sites

28. 🇫🇷 Paris, Banks of the Seine (France, May)

2017 UNESCO Heritage Sites

29. 🇸🇨 Vallée De Mai (Seychelles, October)
30. 🇲🇹 Valletta (Malta, November)
31. 🇲🇹 Megalithic Temples of Malta (Malta, November)

2018 UNESCO Heritage Sites

32. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Edinburgh Old Town (Scotland, February)
33. 🇹🇭 Khao Yai Forest Complex (Thailand, April)
34. 🇹🇭 Historic City of Ayutthaya (Thailand, May)
35. 🇱🇦 Town of Luang Prabang (Laos, May)
36. 🇱🇦 Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang – Plain of Jars (Laos, May) ^{_{*technically this wasn’t a UNESCO site when we visited as status wasn’t awarded until 2019 however, we visited fairly certain it would be added to the list.}}
37. 🇱🇦 Vat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within the Champasak Cultural Landscape (Laos, June)
38. 🇰🇭 The Temples of Angkor (Cambodia, June)
39. 🇰🇭 Temple Zone of Sambor Prei Kuk (Cambodia, June)
40. 🇻🇳 Hoi An Ancient Town (Vietnam, July)
41. 🇻🇳 My Son Sanctuary (Vietnam, July)
42. 🇻🇳 Complex of Hué Monuments (Vietnam, July)
43. 🇻🇳 Trang An Landscape Complex (Vietnam, July)
44. 🇻🇳 Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long – Hanoi (Vietnam, July)
45. 🇭🇷 Plitvice Lakes and National Park (Croatia, October)
46. 🇭🇷 Venetian Works of Defence – Zadar and Sibenik (Croatia, October)
47. 🇭🇷 Cathedral of St James in Sibenik (Croatia, October)
48. 🇭🇷 Historic City of Trogir (Croatia, October)
49. 🇭🇷 Historic Complex of Split (Croatia, October)
50. 🇭🇷 Stećci Medieval Gravestones (Croatia/Bosnia Herzegovina, October)
51. 🇭🇷 Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar (Bosnia Herzegovina, October)
52. 🇭🇷 Old City Dubrovnik (Croatia, October)
53. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites (England, December)

2019 UNESCO Heritage Sites

54. 🇧🇪 Historic Centre of Bruges (Belgium, March)
55. 🇧🇪 Belfries of Belgium and France (Belgium, March)
56. 🇧🇪 Flemish Béguinages (Belgium, March)
57. 🇦🇺 Royal Exhibition Hall (Australia, July)
58. 🇦🇺 Gondwana Rainforests (Australia, August)
59. 🇦🇺 Greater Blue Mountains Area (Australia, August)
60. 🇦🇺 Australian Convict Sites (Australia, August)
61. 🇦🇺 Sydney Opera House (Australia, August)

2020 UNESCO Heritage Sites

Ummm – Covid!

2021 UNESCO Heritage Sites

62. 🇦🇺 Budj Bim Cultural Landscape (Australia, February)

2022 UNESCO Heritage Sites

63. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Dorset & East Devon Coast (England, June)
64. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ironbridge Gorge (England, June)
65. 🇦🇺 Willandra Lakes Region (Australia, November)

2023 UNESCO Heritage Sites

66. 🇦🇺 Tasmanian Wilderness Area (Australia, March)
67. 🇦🇺 Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (Australia, July)
68. 🇯🇵 National Museum of Western Art (Japan, November)
69. 🇯🇵 Shrines and Temples of Nikko (Japan, November)
70. 🇯🇵 Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Japan, November)
71. 🇯🇵 Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara (Japan, November)
72. 🇯🇵 Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area (Japan, November)
73. 🇯🇵 Himeji-jo (Japan, November)
74. 🇯🇵 Itsukushima Shinto Shrine (Japan, November)
75. 🇯🇵 Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Japan, November)
76. 🇯🇵 Mozu-Furuichi Kofun Group: Mounded Tombs of Ancient Japan (Japan, November)
77. 🇯🇵 Fujisan (Japan, November)

2024 UNESCO Heritage Sites

78. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Blaenavon Industrial Landscape (Wales, April)
79. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (Wales, April)
80. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Derwent Valley Mills (England, April)