I already mark the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site as visited (#74 on my list) on the strength of the brief stop in 2015. Considering that the inscription lists 414 locations, a passing look at a single one clearly stretches the definition of “visited”. Improvements are welcome.…
On my third visit to Edinburgh, a full day exploring the wonderful city center was the least I had to set aside, including several landmark visits and a large walkabout circuit. The skies were dreary in the morning, turned cloudy blue for a short time midday, and then reverted to…
While in Orkney on the recent trip, we mixed a history-seeking outing into our scotch-centric itinerary. A group of monuments known as the “Heart of Neolithic Orkney” offers a remarkable record of life on this remote archipelago that dates back 5,000 years. Of the four locations, two can be visited…
The World Heritage site in Panama City, inscribed for being the oldest continuously occupied European settlement on the Pacific coast of the Americas, comprises two components. Both somewhat confusingly have the moniker “old” in their names. Casco Viejo (or Casco Antiguo) is the historic heart of the city but is…
The capital of the French Riviera may enjoy continuous fame as “the playground for the rich”, but it is in essence a big city with big-city attractions. Certainly, there are plenty of visual highlights to be found in town, and yet its cultural offerings – museums, theaters, varied cuisine –…
Israel has ten World Heritage sites – and on my first trip a few years ago, I visited nine of them. The tenth – Bet Guvrin-Maresha National Park, inscribed on the list for its fairly unique conglomeration of distinct-purpose cave complexes – was on the itinerary back then as well,…
This is far from a tremendous addition to my Jerusalem portfolio first started in this post. There are several overlapping reasons for the paucity of my photographic output on this recent visit. I will not bore you with them. A few reasonably good shots are in here somewhere. The doors…
On my only past visit to Padua some years ago, I focused on at the time its only World Heritage property, the botanical garden. In 2021, Padua acquired another World Heritage designation, an eight-part site exhibiting 14th-century frescoes that revolutionized the art of mural painting. The town is less than…
Every guidebook to Venice out there mentions three lagoon islands – usually sequenced as Murano, then Burano, then Torcello – as fairly unmissable targets on a Venetian itinerary. I hold a potentially unpopular opinion that only Burano rises to a must, while the other two are more of a special-interest…
In a true walkabout manner, let’s start this set with assorted canal views, the majority of which represent sestiero of Dorsoduro. And a few façade close-ups. That last one above is the standout neo-Gothic house known as La Casa dei Tre Oci, the Three-Eyed House, located on Giudecca. The three…
Let’s continue our wanderings around La Serenissima. Starting with yet another elevated viewpoint – the top landing of Scala Contarini del Bovolo. It is not as high as some of the other platforms we already visited. Nonetheless, it offers excellent perspectives toward major landmarks. Close proximity of rooflines provides a…
I walked a lot in Venice. (And occasionally took the vaporetto.) The map of the city on my phone contained well over a hundred various points of interest – museums, churches, squares, bridges, etc. – and every day I followed a route that loosely led me from one to another.…
Hardly anyone who comes to Venice – be it for the first time or the fifth time – does not make a beeline for Piazza San Marco. I can’t claim any immunity from being awed by that monumental public space, so my first full day in Venice was almost entirely…
A couple of weeks ago I was on a business trip in Chicago. This being my first long-distance foray since Austin, I had to incorporate a bit of sightseeing into the itinerary. As may be easily predicted these days, I focused on the World Heritage places that I had not…
I love Rome! Unsurpassed quality of its historic and artistic treasures aside, it is very likely the most satisfying city in relation to my traveling preferences. I like to walk and see what awaits me beyond the next turn, hoping to find something to admire. Central Rome, like practically nowhere…
It is well covered within this space that we rarely prioritize nature over culture on our travels. Especially whenever exploring a natural wonder veers into could be dangerous territory – such as, for instance, going up an active volcano. My focus in the last decade or so on visiting World…
Syracuse is geographically closer to Noto than Catania is, but it enjoys a separate World Heritage recognition as an exceptional record of the development of Mediterranean civilization over three millennia. The WH site is actually a three-part collection that includes the archaeological park of Neapolis over a mile northwest of…
The second-largest city in Sicily was even less of a certainty on our itinerary than Palazzolo Acreide. It is part of the same Val di Noto World Heritage site as Ragusa, Noto, Scicli, and since a big city always requires a bigger allocation of time, we initially considered leaving it…
Our original itinerary for Sicily had Palazzolo Acreide as a “probably not”. It does not readily feature on any recommendations. It would not increase my WHS count, being part of the same serial site as Noto, Ragusa, and Scicli. Anyway, it is not inscribed as a whole, with only two…
While Scicli is fairly off the beaten path, Ragusa is a common popular feature on Sicilian itineraries. How can it not be?! Just look at this perspective of a quintessential Sicilian hilltop village. What we see here is Ragusa Ibla – the historic and medieval in topography part of Ragusa.…