Expert Tips for Traveling to UNESCO World Heritage Sites

I browse the pages of the UNESCO World Heritage website the way avid foodies study restaurant menus and my husband pours over car magazines. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization sounds stuffy, but it’s actually the gateway to some of the world’s most exciting places. UNESCO has identified over 1,100 sites of significant cultural and natural importance — many of which are unknown to even experienced travelers. The website wasn’t intended to be a travel guide, but I can’t think of a more inspiring source for very special destinations. 

Twelve places were on the list when it was first published in 1978. Our visit to one of these, L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site in a remote area of Newfoundland, remains a favorite memory. L’Anse aux Meadows is the site of an 11th-century Viking settlement and it has the earliest evidence of European presence in the New World. It was thrilling to walk across this wild terrain on the shores of the North Atlantic, which was once home to Leif Erikson and other Norsemen who rowed boats from their colony on Greenland to collect hardwood. I loved sitting with costumed interpreter guides as they shared Norse tales, and I was fascinated by the story of the Norwegian couple who found the site in 1960. If you go, the nearby Norseman Restaurant at L’Anse aux Meadows is a great spot for lunch or dinner.

I’m not sure we would have driven all the way to L’Anse aux Meadows if it hadn’t been prequalified by UNESCO. Too many touted attractions turn out to be disappointing, but we’ve never had a bad experience with the places that qualify for this list. This includes the Galapagos Islands that were also on the 1978 list. This very carefully preserved destination was every bit the bucket list experience I’d anticipated.

There are quite a few UNESCO sites in Spain, and one of the most popular is Santiago de Compostela, the city at the end of the legendary Camino de Santiago. Both the pilgrimage trail to the city and Old Town Santiago are on the list. Unlike many supposed old towns around the world, this historic one is notable for a range of impressive monuments and narrow streets lined with Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical buildings. Other listed old towns in Europe include Corfu, Greece, and Siena, Italy. 

In Vietnam, the port city of Hoi An has also successfully preserved its “ancient town.” I loved wandering through the colorful produce market and watching clusters of women selling seafood. It’s also fun to shop for clothes here. For over 500 years, Hoi An tailors have specialized in the art of creating custom silk  garments. However, even more remarkable are the silk embroidery paintings that appear to have been created with paint. 

The UNESCO list is useful for learning about off-the-beaten-path places, but it also includes popular sites that draw big crowds. When Machu Picchu numbers skyrocketed, the government of Peru set a limit of 2,500 tourists a day, but this is still a lot of people. My advice for seeing this landmark without hordes of visitors is to stay near the site at Belmond Sanctuary Lodge. This makes it possible to enter as soon as it opens in the morning. 

I feel the same way about the Taj Mahal in India. The site receives more than 35,000 visitors a day, but if you stay nearby at The Oberoi Amarvilas Agra, the hotel can provide private transport first thing in the morning and at sunset — the two best times to be there. Rooms at the Oberoi also provide views of this 17th-century “monument to love.” It’s also best  to wake early to see Angkor Wat without crowds. I gasped when our guide said he was going to pick us up at 5:30am, but I was grateful when we saw the sun rise on this ancient temple complex in Cambodia. 

I browse the UNESCO list looking for new destinations to explore, but I inevitably stop and read about old friends. Two of my favorites are the stunning Sydney Opera House that opened in 1973 and the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France on the centenary of our independence.  

New friends, old friends: The UNESCO World Heritage List is the place to find the world’s most revered destinations. whc.unesco.org/en/list