Throughout our travels, occasionally a UNESCO World Heritage Site would pop up. But sometimes, I wouldn’t know this information until after we’d been there, or in browsing other sections of travel guides in bouts of envy during which I wished I could spend the rest of my life travelling full time, I’d realizing a place I’ve always wanted to visit was a World Heritage Site. So this got us thinking – after our year in Europe, and out of all our experience travelling, how many World Heritage Sites have we seen?
The following is a list of World Heritage Sites in North American and Europe that we’ve seen.
NORTH AMERICA
Canada
- Dinosaur Provincial Park WG only
- Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks WG only
- Historic District of Old Quebec
- Gros Morne National Park WG only
- Old Town Lunenberg WG only
- Waterton Glacier International Peace Park WG only
- Rideau Canal
Mexico
- Historic centre of Oaxaca and Monte Albán WG only
United States of America
- Yellowstone National Park WG only
EUROPE
Belgium
- Belfries of Belgium and France (Bruges Belfry tower)
- Historic Centre of Brugge
Czech Republic
France
- Palace and Park of Versailles
- Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments
- Palace and Park of Fontainebleau WG only
- Paris, Banks of the Seine
- Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace, Episcopal Ensemble and Avignon Bridge
- Belfries of Belgium and France (see Belgium)
Greece WG only
- Acroplis, Athens
- Archaeological Site of Delphi
- Archaeological Site of Olympia
- Archaeological Site of Mycenae and Tiryns
Italy
- Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura
- Historic Centre of Florence
- Piazza del Duomo, Pisa
- Venice and its Lagoon WB only
- Historic Centre of Naples
- Historic Centre of Siena
- Archaeological Areas of Pompei, Herculaneum and Torre Annuziata WB only
Portugal
Spain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Stonehenge, Avebury and Associate Sites
- City of Bath
- Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret’s Church
- Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine’s Abbey, and St Martin’s Church
- Tower of London
- Old and New Towns of Edinburgh
- Maritime Greenwich
Collectively, we’ve seen 39 out of 936 World Heritage Sites around the world.
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Looking at the list, I feel simultaneously grateful I am so well-travelled, and yet in utter awe how I’ve seen such a miniscule percentage of the entire list of World Heritage Sites not only in the world, but just in North American and Europe. It just goes to show how many fantastic things there will always be to discover, no matter how long and how hard you look.
Yea the amount of world heritage sites out there are crazy! Seeing all of them is on my bucket list :)
I know, it’s insane! I know I’ve seen a lot compared to the average person, but it made me realise just how little of the whole world I’ve actually seen!