When I first showed up in Europe, I started noticing that the word UNESCO was usually associated with some of the coolest sites and cities John and I had visited. That started a trend of us visiting a UNESCO-recognized site whenever possible.
By the end of 2013, I thought I had a pretty good list:
The original list in Nov 2013:
– Historic Centre of Salzburg
– Historic Centre of Brugge
– La Grand-Place, Brussels
– Historic Centre of Prague
– Palace and Park of Versailles
– Strasbourg – Grande île
– Paris, Banks of the Seine
– Würzburg Residence with the Court Gardens and Residence Square
– Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier
– Maulbronn Monastery Complex
– Town of Bamberg
– Museumsinsel (Museum Island), Berlin
– Piazza del Duomo, Pisa, Italy
– Cinque Terre
– Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch
The “Wanted to See” list from Nov 2013:
– Austria: Historic City of Vienna
– Croatia: City of Dubrovnik, City of Split, Plitvice Lakes
– France: Mont-Saint Michel, Lyon, Loire Valley
– Germany: Cologne Cathedral, Upper Rhine River Valley
– Italy: Verona, Vincenza, Florence, Naples, Rome, Siena, Venice
– Netherlands: Canals of Amsterdam
– Norway: Bergen
– United Kingdom: Bath, Liverpool, Stonehenge, Tower of London
– Vatican City: Vatican City
I actually didn’t realize that we had crossed so many off the list when I started writing down everywhere we had been in 2014, so it was definitely a surprise to see that the UNESCO list had more than doubled! The three trips to Italy in less than six months definitely crossed a bunch off the list, but we even added places that we hadn’t even intended on seeing:
The newest additions to the list:
– Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn
Schloss Schonnbrunn during the Christmas markets
– Historic Centre of Vienna
The Stephansdom in the middle of Vienna
– Upper Middle Rhine Valley
Bacharach – one of the towns in the UNESCO-recognized sections of the Rhine
– Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue
Looking at the Pest side from the Buda Castle
– Historic Centre of Rome
Was lucky enough to make two trips to Rome in one year!
– City of Vicenza
The main square in Vicenza!
– Venice and its Lagoon
Venice is as amazing as it seems in the pictures. Great city to wander around.
– City of Verona
Entrance to the main square of Verona, which has its own full-size Collosseum, and of course, the Juliet house!
– The Dolomites
The Dolomites lined our drive from Stuttgart to Vicenza. They were gorgeous!
– Old City of Berne
Spent a beautiful early spring day here. The biggest surprise was the actual bear park in town.
– Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes
Caesar on the UNESCO-recognized train route. We stumbled upon this on accident when we went to Chur, Switzerland to watch the Cows Come Home!
– Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey
Loved visiting this famous Abbey!
– Tower of London
Seeing the Crown Jewels was my favorite part of this visit!
– Old and New Towns of Edinburgh
The famed Edinburgh castle. I loved this city because it was so unique and not like anything I had seen before.
– Vatican City
The Vatican – such hallowed ground.
– Cologne Cathedral
This is not the Cologne Cathedral we saw – but this picture is the quintessential shot of a typical German town post-Allied bombings. The Cathedral was spared because the pilots used it as a reference point.
– Canal Ring Area of Amsterdam
It is quite easy to get turned around in this city! The canals are very beautiful!
The “Want to See” list (as of 11 Feb)
– Austria: Hallstatt-Dachstein / Salzkammergut
– Croatia: City of Dubrovnik, City of Split, Plitvice Lakes, Historic City of Trogir
– Czech Republic: Historic Centre of Český Krumlov
– France: Mont-Saint Michel, Lyon, Loire Valley
– Germany: Monastic Island of Reichenau, Old town of Regensburg
– Italy: Florence, Naples, Siena, Historic Centre of San Gimignano
– Latvia: Historic Centre of Riga
– Malta: City of Valletta
– Norway: Bergen
– Northern Ireland: Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast
– Spain: Alhambra, Granada, Historic City of Toledo,
– United Kingdom: Bath, Liverpool, Stonehenge
Stay tuned for the next UNESCO update. Fingers crossed the list doubles again by the end of 2015!
Adventures Abroad 
I’ve seen a few of these and didn’t realize they were UNESCO sites. Especially in Belgium, which is one of my favorite countries in the world. I’ve also seen a few UNESCO sites in Asia and have learned that if a place is labeled with this illustrious title, it’s definitely worth seeing!
Great idea. In Finland we have some UNESCO sites. I have presented some of them.