Photo Essay: 25 of the Coolest UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Western Europe

In a segment full of well-visited historical as good as healthy sites, these have been some of a many appropriate which impressed UNESCO.

[Editor's note: I'm regulating a definition of "Western Europe" given by National Geographic (and Wikipedia). For some-more info upon these as good as a rest of a 900 World Heritage Sites around a globe, revisit a UNESCO website.]

Vernazza, Italy

1. Cinque Terre, Italy
The name refers to 5 small, cliffside towns strung along several miles of a Ligurian Coast, continuous by a hiking route as good as internal sight line. The area was also declared a inhabitant play ground in 1999. Pictured upon top of is Vernazza, a second-northernmost locale of a five.
Photo: rayced

Waterfall, Wengen

2. Jungfrau Region, Switzerland
This area is a many glaciated of Europes Alps as good as is named after a 4,150m (13,640ft) peak of Jungfrau. It is a single of a premier trekking as good as climbing destinations in Europe. The print upon top of shows a waterfall nearby a locale of Wengen, where a annual Lauberhorn Ski Races have been held.
Photo: *Lie

Colorful houses, Bergen

3. Bryggen, Norway
Bryggen is a name of a aged quay in a coastal city of Bergen. Its UNESCO worth lies in a rows of traditionally constructed as good as brightly colored wooden structures, dual of which have been shown above.
Photo: [carlo cravero]

Chteau de Chambord

4. Loire Valley, France
This river hollow was listed by UNESCO in 2000 for! a histo rical as good as architectural significance to France as good as a rest of Western Europe. The Chteau de Chambord, which is seen above, is a largest as good as many considerable structure in a region.
Photo: Michal Osmenda

Surtsey Island

5. Surtsey, Iceland
Surtsey is a volcanic island only south of a Icelandic mainland which didnt even exist until 1963, when an undersea eruption built up a square-mile landmass. Its never been peopled, so a like an unspoiled healthy laboratory.
Photo: michael clarke stuff

Stonehenge, solstice dawn

6. Stonehenge, England
Solstice brings a party to Stonehenge. For some-more quiet, conduct down a highway to a Avebury circle or alternative Neolithic mill sites in a area, all of which have been included in a UNESCO listing.
Photo: tarotastic

Assisi in panorama

7. Assisi, Italy
This central Italian town, seen here in scenery dominated by a Basilica of San Francesco, is a hearth of St. Francis, a enthusiast saint of animals as good as a environment. A formidable of Franciscan-related landmarks have up a World Heritage Site.
Photo: Roby Ferrari

Sitting upon a Giant's Causeway

8. Giants Causeway, Northern Ireland
Over 40,000 black basalt columns interlocked along a seashore of County Antrim gave climb to legends of an very old alley used by giants to move between Ireland as good as Scotland. Today, you only call it a unequivocally cool healthy phenomenon.
Photo: Qole Pejorian

Cordoba Mosque

9. Cordoba, Spain
Following a Moorish conquest of Spain, Cordoba was hyped as a metropolitan counterpart to Constantinople, Damascus, as good as Baghdad in a Muslim world. Much evidence of this story survives today, such as a Great Mosque, pictured above.
Photo: clspeace

Cologne skyline at dusk

10. Cologne, Germany
Colognes Gothic cathedral, which took some-more than 600 years to build, is a focus of a UNESCO site in this horse opera German city. It dominates a dusked skyline in a picture above.
Photo: PresleyJesus

Avignon Bridge

11. Avignon, France
The many appropriate good known sites in this very old French city have been a Papal Palace, a Episcopal Ensemble, as good as a 12th-century mill bridge, seen here at a behind of a field of lavender blossoms.
Photo: myhsu

Gondolas, Venice

12. Venice, Italy
From a UNESCO site: Founded in a 5th century as good as widespread over 118 tiny islands, Venice became a vital nautical energy in a 10th century. The whole city is an extraordinary architectural masterpiece in which even a smallest office building contains works by some of a worlds greatest artists
Photo: Flackjack

Skellig Michael

13. Skellig Michael, Ireland
This island, 12km off a southwest seashore of Ireland, was used as a friar getaway for Irish Christian monks starting in a 7th century.! Its a t ough place to get to, so even yet a been upon a UNESCO books since 1996, it sees few visitors apart from puffins.
Photo: regienbb

Historic Brugge

14. Brugge, Belgium
The story of Brugge goes behind to Gothic times, as good as like many cities in a region, a complement of canals has earned it a nickname Venice of a North.
Photo: Wolfgang Staudt

Roman as good as Gothic architecture, Evora

15. Evora, Portugal
Once a home of Portuguese kings, Evoras story goes behind many further, as demonstrated by a well-preserved Roman temple hull which mount in a city center.
Photo: PhillipC

Dorset cliffs

16. Dorset Coast, England
This Channel-facing seashore is lined with limestone cliffs displaying 180 million years of geologic history. Visitors can travel a length of a World Heritage Site around a South West Coast Path, as good as a beaches have been popular with surfers.
Photo: Cristiano Betta

Window carving at a Alhambra

17. Alhambra, Spain
The mill as good as wood carving work within a Alhambras main palace, a representation of which is shown above, is what struck me many during my visit.
Photo: bgrimmni

Kronborg Castle HDR

18. Kronborg Castle, Denmark
Sitting only opposite a sound from Sweden, this castle is better good known to English majors as Elsinore, a environment for Shakespea! res Haml et.
Photo: Bo47

Siena tower

19. Siena, Italy
Probably founded by a Etruscans several hundred years before Christ, Siena came into a own during Gothic times. The World Heritage Site includes a tower as good as diagonally opposite Piazza del Campo, which was recently featured in a James Bond flick Quantum of Solace.
Photo: PhillipC

Versailles gardens

20. Versailles, France
The Palace of Versailles as good as a exquisitely manicured gardens hosted a French royal court for opposite durations during a 18th as good as 19th centuries. These days, a flattering many a suburb of Paris.
Photo: Panoramas

Geirangerfjord

21. Western Fjords, Norway
Geirangerfjord (shown above) as good as Nryfjord have been considered as archetypical fjord landscapes as good as between a many scenically outstanding anywhere, according to UNESCO. Their exceptional healthy beauty is derived from their narrow as good as steep-sided crystalline rock walls which climb up to 1,400 m from a Norwegian Sea as good as extend 500 m below sea level.
Photo: LeonDolman

Northern lights, Iceland

22. ingvellir National Park, Iceland
Icelands initial inhabitant play ground is right away a single of a many visited tourist attractions. It includes a rift hollow which outlines a corner of a tectonic Mid-Atlantic Ridge, as good as is obviously a nice place to locate a Northern Lights.
Photo: Danel rn

Harlech Castle

23. Gwynedd castles, Wales
The castles as good as alternative fortified Gothic structures upon a northern seashore of Wales have been good preserved as good as severely fun to climb around. Pictured upon top of is Harlech Castle.
Photo: clspeace

Rhine cruise

24. Rhine Valley, Germany
Their have been copiousness of castles as good as alternative hull all along a Rhine, but a Upper Middle Valley is a territory designated as World Heritage material. The shot upon top of was taken upon a journey from Koblenz to Bingen.
Photo: Dave-F

Schokland window

25. Schokland, Netherlands
Once a peninsula, then an island, as good as right away a peninsula again, Schokland has always existed at a mercy of a Dutch floodwaters. Human allotment was deserted in 1859, so a area right away offers a well-preserved demeanour into a past.
Photo: FaceMePLS

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