Our travels in UNESCO World Heritage Sites: UNESCO Sites 1 to 50!

This post may contain compensated links. Find more info in our disclosure policy

There are 1052 UNESCO World Heritage Sites dotted across the world and it’s our mission to visit as many as possible! We’ve been lucky enough to come across a few of the designated UNESCO sites on our previous travels but the list maker in us wants to tick off a lot more. We like a challenge so we aimed to make it to 50 to get us started. We made it to 50 in 2015 (yay!), check out the sites we’ve visited below! For more of our UNESCO adventures, check out our adventures at sites 51 to 100 here, 101 to 150 here and 151 to 200 here!

UNESCO - cover1Pin

UNESCO: sites we’ve seen!

Check out our UNESCO World Heritage site sightings below! If you want to read more about our trips to the sites we’ve included links to our posts.

Austria

1. Historic SalzburgOur travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

Australia

2. Sydney Opera House (Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb: Sky High Fun in Sydney, Australia!)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

Brazil

3. Rio de Janeiro: Corcovado Mountain, Christ the Redeemer and Copacabana (Photoblog: Rio De Janeiro)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

Cambodia

4. Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom (Sunrise at Angkor Wat: a 5am jungle visit searching for the temples!)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

China

5. The Great Wall of China (The Great Wall of China: it’s a beautiful world!)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

6. Temple of Heaven, BeijingOur travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

7. Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties

Egypt

8. Pyramids of Giza (The Pyramids of Giza, Cairo, Egypt: a real life Wonder of the World!)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

9. Historic Cairo

10. Karnak and the Valley of the KingsOur travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

France

11. Paris, Banks of the Seine

UNESCO Sights Visited 100-150-20Pin

12. Palace and Park of Versailles

UNESCO Sights Visited 100-150-8Pin

Ireland

13. Sceilg Mhichíl (Skellig Islands, Kerry, Ireland: All aboard for Skellig Michael)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

14. Brú na Bóinne – Archaeological Ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne

UNESCO Sights Visited 100-150-4Pin

Hungary

15. Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue

UNESCO Sights Visited 100-150-50Pin

Israel

16. Masada (Blog: Israel, Jordan and Palestine trip!)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

17. Old City of Jerusalem (Blog: Israel, Jordan and Palestine trip!)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

The Vatican

18. The VaticanOur travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

Italy

19. Venice and its Lagoon

UNESCO Sights Visited 100-150Pin

20. Historic RomeOur travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

Jordan

21. Petra (Petra by Night: a candlelit visit to the ruins of Petra)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

22. Quesir Amra (Blog: Israel, Jordan and Israel trip – Part 2!)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

23. Um er-Rasas (Blog: Israel, Jordan and Israel trip – Part 2!)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

24. Wadi Rum (Blog: Israel, Jordan and Israel trip – Part 2!)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

Luxembourg

25. City of Luxembourg: its Old Quarters and Fortifications

UNESCO Sights Visited 100-150-9Pin

Mexico

26. Historic Mexico City and Xochimilco (Xochimilco, a Mexican twist on Venice!)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

27. TeotihuacanOur travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

New Zealand

28. Milford Sound, Te Wahipounamu (New Zealand South Island: Jucy cruise through Milford Sound)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

29.  Mount Doom (Mount Ngauruhoe), Tongariro National ParkOur travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

Palestine

30. Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem (A day trip to Bethlehem from Jerusalem: O Little Town of Bethlehem!)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

Spain

31. Poblet Monastery (Visiting Poblet Monastery: a day trip from Barcelona)

Barcelona Poblet Monastery Santa Maria de Poblet UNESCO-22Pin

32. Works of Antoni Gaudí (9 of the best gaudi sights in Barcelona: our favourite must see Gaudi works!)

Barcelona Gaudi Must See Sights-21Pin

33. Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona (Barcelona must see sights)

Barcelona Top Must See Sights-8Pin

Thailand

34. Ayutthaya (Ayutthaya: a day trip to the ruins of Thailand’s old city!)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

Turkey

35. Historic Istanbul (The best sights in Istanbul: Places we Love!)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

United Kingdom

36. Giant’s CausewayOur travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

37. Antonine Wall (Frontiers of the Roman Empire), Scotland

UNESCO Sights Visited 100-150-2Pin

38. Maritime GreenwichOur travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

39. Stonehenge (Stonehenge: a prehistoric day trip from London!)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

40. Tower of London

UNESCO Sights Visited 100-150-3Pin

41. Palace of Westminster and Westminster AbbeyOur travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

United States

42. Grand Canyon (Soaring over the desert skies: Las Vegas and Grand Canyon Helicopter tour!)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

43. Everglades National ParkOur travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

44. Independence Hall, PhiladelphiaOur travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

45. Statue of LibertyOur travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

46. Yosemite National ParkOur travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

Vietnam

47. Halong Bay (Halong Bay Cruise, Vietnam: cruising through the mythical waters of Halong Bay!)Our travels in UNESO World Heritage Sites ©thewholeworldisaplaygroundPin

48. Hoi An Ancient Town (Hoi An Full Moon Lantern Festival: a candlelit evening in Vietnam!)Hoi An Lantern Festival Vietnam (22)Pin

49. My Son Sanctuary (My Son: a trip from Hoi An)Vietnam - Week In Review (29)Pin

50. Complex of Hue Monuments (One day in Hue: 9 must see sights!)Vietnam - Week In Review (15)Pin

32 thoughts on “Our travels in UNESCO World Heritage Sites: UNESCO Sites 1 to 50!”

  1. Wow, that’s a lot of UNESCO sites! I also love visiting UNESCO sites, so it was nice to see the compilation to remind me of some I have not yet been to. 🙂

    Reply
    • Thanks Meli! I loved looking back through where we’d been. There were some surprises like the Statue of Liberty that I hadn’t realized were sites.

      Reply
  2. You’re well on your way with so many already checked off your list.
    I’ve seen quite a few on my travels and always make the extra effort to visit them when I’m travelling. I have to admit I have never been disappointed even once.

    Reply
    • That’s exactly what we do Natasha, always make an effort to visit them. It’s an incredible list, it’s hard to go wrong with any of the sites!

      Reply
  3. You guys have made a pretty good dent in the list and seen some incredible spots in the process. I love figuring out the UNESCO sites before I visit someplace new, as they are reliably memorable experiences. Such a nice collection of historically significant places.

    Reply
  4. What a great aspiration to have, to visit them all, and you’ve not got too many left either! I’ve seen a fair few but didn’t realise even half of those places were UNESCO sites. Keep up the good work 🙂

    Reply
    • 226 is AMAZING!! I think we are at around 70 but still totally obsessed! We absolutely loved Morocco, thanks for the greetings!

      Reply
  5. Love it … I have been to almost 200 now and still each one is unique and amazing to me! Something to inspire future trips and talk you out of your normal comfort zone … UNESCO has taken me on some rather weird adventures! Do you have a favourite few?

    Reply
    • Wow Jordan, 200 is amazing! How long have you been travelling to them? Are you aiming for them all?!!

      Lots of the popular ones are in my faves: Angkor Wat, Petra, Mont St Michael, the Great Wall and the Pyramids are definitely up there. Some, I think are unmissable, like Hiroshima, Auschwitz, but I wouldn’t describe them as favourites. Then I have some others like Tiya in Ethopia, the rock hewn churches of Ivanovo in Bulgaria and the Drakensberg Park in South Africa where we almost the only people there and they were fascinating! What about yours?

      Elaine

      Reply

Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.