Albi, in the southern France region of Occitanie, is hailed on the World Heritage list as a complete ensemble of urban development dating from the Middle Ages. The height of town’s prosperity and importance falls on the later part of the 13th century, when a powerful local bishop built Palais…
The tiny walled town of Villefranche-de-Conflent dates from the 11th century and, owing to its strategic position in the Catalan region of Conflent, changed hands between France and Spain a number of times in its long history. In the second half of the 17th century, French Marshal Sébastien Le Prestre…
There are several serial properties on the World Heritage list that inscribe prehistoric rock and cave art. The most extensive of them – in fact, somewhat excessively extensive – is the Rock Art of Mediterranean Basin of Iberian Peninsula, which comprises 758 individual locations in the eastern part of Spain.…
Brú na Bóinne is an archaeological site recognized on the World Heritage list as the largest concentration of megalithic art in Europe. In terms of visual gratification it does not compare at all to the magnificent vistas of places such as the Causeway Coast. And yet, it is the significance…
I had an unexpected extra free day in Dublin. The weather was gorgeous – spring at its best. By all rights, I should have been exploring the city with my camera. Instead, obsessed World Heritage chaser that I am, I got into a car and drove half the island of…
I ended my favorite sights vignette of Vienna several years ago with a promise to take hundreds of pictures on my next trip to the city. Such trip came about recently – and I fulfilled that promise to a certain degree. I now have a reasonable amount of good shots…
Graz’s recognition on the World Heritage list is primarily due to the treasure trove of its architecture in the historic center. It is literally one of those towns whose streets you want to explore over and over again. I started my acquaintance with the town at Schloss Eggenberg, located some…
Recognized as a masterpiece of civil engineering, Semmering Railway is a 41-km-long stretch of tracks across Alpine landscape. I ended up traversing it twice in both directions on my recent trip to Austria. The way from Vienna to Graz lies over the same tracks, with the speedy train only slowing…
Schönbrunn Palace and Gardens, on the World Heritage list as an outstanding example of Baroque architecture and design, should have been #40 on my chronological tracker of visited sites. On the first visit to Vienna, in 2005, it was initially part of the itinerary. But after spending a day exploring…
It took three visits to Toledo for me to finally gather a reasonable portfolio of shots of this wonderful town (my limited World Heritage feature is found here). And the town is more than deserving dedicated photographic efforts. It is full of narrow sloping street such as these… …small shaded…
University town of Alcalá de Henares is recognized on the World Heritage registry for being the first such planned town and a model for subsequent others. As is often the case with so recognized locales, it is cute and lively without having any knockout features: just a really nice place to…
Once a trip – hardly ever more than that – I decide to get up early enough to photograph famous vistas in the serenity of dawn. A single night in Barcelona at the conclusion of our recent Costa Brava vacation gave me an opportunity to improve my portfolio of Gaudí…
Think “Barcelona architecture”, and the first name that comes to mind for majority of people is likely that of Antoni Gaudí. It is well-deserved, since a number of Gaudí’s creations are veritable symbols of Barcelona. But there are other tremendous architects who also contributed to this fantastic urban landscape. Among…
French town of Carcassonne, a little bit over an hour from the Spanish Catalan border, is fairly laconically recognized on the World Heritage list as an excellent example of a medieval fortified town. It truly is very impressive in this aspect and we took a day on our recent stay…
There are properties on the World Heritage list that have words “cultural landscape” in their name. These sites are relatively large areas whose history and development was directly influenced by the features of the landscape. The Andorran valley of Madriu-Perafita-Claror is one such site, offering an insight into how people…
My well-known affinity for sacred architecture did not translate into significant appreciation of Poblet Monastery. The World Heritage inscription mentions majestic architecture on more than one occasion and uses the word “important” with a variety of emphatic modifiers to describe its place in the history of Catalonia. I saw an…
An attractive city to the south-west of Barcelona, Tarragona’s claim to UNESCO recognition revolves around its Roman past, as evidenced by a significant number of architectural remains. The long history of the city means that the medieval, Renaissance, and modern architecture in the center coexist with remnants of Roman glory. Here is…
On a recent sunny Sunday afternoon I was able to close one of the gaps in my World Heritage portfolio – re-visit and properly photograph the Independence Hall, the site that is the second geographically closest to me. The principles of freedom and democracy enshrined in the Declaration of Independence…
The town of Canterbury in English Southeast has several monuments collectively recognized by UNESCO for being the historic seat of the head of the Anglican Church. If you have been following my blog for any period of time, you have heard me express my admiration for religious architecture. Canterbury Cathedral…
You will most likely spend less time admiring Stonehenge than it would take you to drive there from London. You will have to keep to the designated tourist path, never getting closer to the humongous rocks than a few dozen yards. There will be plenty of other visitors sharing the…