Well-travelled?

Perhaps you have heard of the UNESCO World Heritage List. It's a useful source of information on places around the world that are worth visiting for one reason or another.

Just wondering how many sites on this list people have visited, and if people have been to their local ones (if there are any); or does everyone just suppose there is nothing worth seeing in their own area?

Personally, I have seen (only?) 25 in total, and have not been to some in my own back yard as it were. I'll seek to rectify this, and have plans to visit a few more of the further-flung ones in the near future.

The most notable things I've seen, personally; have probably all been around the Washington DC area and parts of Virginia. Which is unfortunate, because I even lived in Canada for a few years; but in an area without a lot of attractions; Ripple Rock being the most notable of the few.

But, I'll be going to Australia over the summer, so maybe I'll put a few more under my belt.

The Grand Canyon.

That's about it.

Norway:
- Bryggen

Sweden:
- Royal Domain of Drottningholm
- Hanseatic Town of Visby
- Naval Port of Karlskrona
- Agricultural Landscape of Southern Öland

USA:
- Yellowstone National Park
- Everglades National Park
- Grand Canyon National Park
- Mammoth Cave National Park
- Statue of Liberty

There's a few more that are questionable (I can't remember).

I doubt I'll go see something just because it's on the UNESCO list, but most of those places would be things I'd look up if I was in the area for some reason.

Ecuador
City of Quito
UK
Blenheim Palace, Tower of London (No Oxford University?)

United States of America
Grand Canyon National Park
Redwood National and State Parks
Olympic National Park
Yosemite National Park

I really like Olympic National Park. This picture was taken at Kalaloch Beach, and these two were taken at Hoh Rain Forrest.

I don't see Chicago on the list, so apparently not :P

Although the mileage I put in while going to work from Streamwood ought to count for something.

only the statue of liberty (live in NYC and visited on a school trip) and independence hall on a vacation last year. I haven't travelled much only because time and money conspire against me.

In Japan, I've been to the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara, and a few of the sites listed under the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, specifically Kiyomizu-dera. That's about it, though. I haven't been to any of the places listed under the U.S.

Kiyomizu-dera was awesome and I really want to go back there some day. The water tasted amazing at the top. The temple at the base was also pretty cool, as was the shrine.

LO_ot said:

I don't see Chicago on the list, so apparently not :P

Yes, looking at the map, you're not exactly surrounded by them there. Though there is one in Illinois: Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. I'll be at one of your relatively local ones in July - Rideau Canal, Ottawa.

Bank: Yes, Australia clearly has some good stuff, but the distances are a pain. I'll be going to Fraser Island soon, so can let you know if it is worth the trek. I intend to do a big trip around the north and west of Western Australia at some point, but that's a big time commitment.

DeumReaper: Odd indeed that Oxford and Cambridge aren't on the list. Perhaps the universities don't want to encourage any more tourists than they already get, and so haven't put in an application. They certainly warrant inclusion. Well, Cambridge does, at least. :p

United States of America

Everglades National Park
Grand Canyon National Park (sort of)
Independence Hall
Mammoth Cave National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Statue of Liberty
Yellowstone National Park

USA:
Yellowstone National Park
Olympic National Park (that's like an hour from where I live)

That makes me sad, because I've been to like 38 states and all over British Columbia. I am well traveled, damnit. I guess that's what I get for my parents liking to go to places that aren't very crowded. :P

Also, whenever I see UNESCO, I think UNATCO and think it's some kind of conspiracy.

Italy
Historic Centre of Florence
Venice and its Lagoon
Historic Centre of Rome

Mexico
Historic Centre of Mexico City
Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent Mines
Historic Centre of Zacatecas

Panama
Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá

United States
Everglades National Park
Statue of Liberty


Thats really about it, and I'm surprised that Vatican City isn't mentioned on the list o_o

The only ones I'm sure of are Himeji-jo and the Hiroshima American Guilt-trip Memorial, but I was probably taken to most of the stuff on the Japland list during my high school exchange period.

Nothing on the USA list, but I remember, uh, going to the Alamo, which isn't on the list.

And I've never been to any other countries.

At a quick glance, the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks and Canterbury Cathedral are the only ones I noticed on the list. Seems kind of subjective, but then such lists always are, heh.

Oh, and kind of passed through the Redwood National and State Parks in the US.

Kirby said:
Thats really about it, and I'm surprised that Vatican City isn't mentioned on the list o_o

It's on the list as the Properties of the Holy See.

I visited the Tasmanian Wilderness before it was listed - maybe that doesn't count.

I think this is a complete list.

Australia
Great Barrier Reef
Sydney Opera House

Austria
Historic Center of the City of Salzburg

Cambodia
Angkor

Chile
Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaiso

China
Imperial Palace in Beijing
Mausoleum of First Qin Emperor
The Great Wall
Potala Palace, Lhasa
Mountain Resort & outlying temples, Chengde
Mount Emei scenic area w/ Giant Buddha of Leshan
Old Town of Lijiang

Colombia
Port, Fortresses, and monuments, Cartajena

Costa Rica
Area de Conservacion Guanacaste

Czech Republic
Historic center of Cesky Krumlov
Historic center of Prague

Egypt
Historic Cairo
Memphis & necropolis (pyramids)

Estonia
Historic center of Taliin

Guatemala
Tikal National Park

Vatican City

Italy
Historic center of Rome
Piazza del Duomo, Pisa
Venice and its lagoon
Villa Adriana

Jordan
Petra

Laos
Town of Luang Prabang

Lithuania
Vilnius Historic Center

Mexico
Chichen Itza

Poland
Krakow's historic center
Wieliczka salt mine

Russia
Historic center of St. Petersburg

UK
City of Bath
Westminster Abbey
Tower of London

USA
Yellowstone Nat'l Park
Statue of Liberty
Yosemite
Hawaii volcanoes

Vietnam
Ha Long Bay

Impressive - you've seen a lot (and no doubt much else that isn't on the list).

StupidBunny said:

Hawaii volcanoes

Right now I am planning how to see them - I've got a short (3 nights) stopover booked in Hawaii in a couple of months' time. I'm looking at staying in Kona and doing a full-day road/hiking tour, or one of the longer helicopter-based trips. I've also looked at Hilo and Waikoloa as places to be based on the Big Island. Any advice would be welcome.No need - a rather packed programme already chosen and booked.

My own list is as follows (asterisk means travel is booked for the future that includes them):

Australia
* Tasmanian Wilderness
Gondwana Rainforests of Australia
Fraser Island
* Macquarie Island
* Greater Blue Mountains Area
* Sydney Opera House

Austria
Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg
Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn
Historic Centre of Vienna

Canada
* Rideau Canal

Czech Republic
Historic Centre of Prague

Denmark [Greenland]
* Ilulissat Icefjord

Estonia
Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn

Germany
Cologne Cathedral

Iceland
Þingvellir National Park

Malaysia
* Gunung Mulu National Park
* Kinabalu Park

New Zealand
Te Wahipounamu – South West New Zealand
Tongariro National Park
* New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands

Norway
Bryggen
Vegaøyan - The Vega Archipelago

Portugal
Cultural Landscape of Sintra

Spain
Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture
Teide National Park

Switzerland
Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd
Ironbridge Gorge
Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites
City of Bath
Frontiers of the Roman Empire
Old and New Towns of Edinburgh
Maritime Greenwich
Dorset and East Devon Coast
Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City
Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape

United States of America
Yellowstone National Park
Grand Canyon National Park
Statue of Liberty
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Aside from London and Nova Scotia, I've really only been around the east coast of North America (from Florida to New Brunswick). Can't say if there were any notable sights around there, besides maybe Disney World or the Appalacians. Oh, and Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater.

Hopefully I'll rectify this in the summer when I take a trip to the Rockies.

Mine

United Kingdom
Stonehenge (seen from outside the fence, anyway. £75? fuck off)
Cornwall & West Devon mining landscape

France
Banks of the Seine, Paris
Notre-Dame (from a bus)
(And some cathedral on the north coast once, but i don't remember where, still if they havent included Ely and Lincoln on the UK one they probably havent included that one)

There's plenty of places near me that arent on this list but are well worth a visit, held off going to Denny Abbey, an old monastery related to the Knights Templar (of wacky conspiracies fame), for years despite the fact it was only like 15 miles away. Ely Cathedral is visible from my village (well OK the area around ely is mirror-smooth so that's hardly amazing) and beautiful. Havent been to Lincoln cathedral yet, better go, time's running out. Oh and the historic Cambridge colleges too, only 25-odd miles away

I can't find anything on that list I'm not much of an traveller.