San Cristobal de La Laguna

San Cristobal de La Laguna UNESCO World Heritage Site, Spain

From the World Heritage inscription for San Cristóbal de La Laguna: The historic ensemble of San Cristóbal de La Laguna has outstanding universal value is an urban design that represents the concept of the ‘town-territory’ as the first example of an unfortified town laid out and built according to a complete plan based on navigation, …

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Visiting Teide National Park

Teide National Park - UNESCO World Heritage Site, Spain

Mount Teide is the highest point in all of Spain, and it sits at the center of Teide National Park on Tenerife in Spain’s fascinating Canary Islands. The park itself is a giant caldera with geologically recent lava flows from the Teide volcano, and a desert-like environment stretching far into the distance, wherever you look. …

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The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces

Lavaux Vineyard Terraces, Switzerland

The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces begin on the eastern outskirts of Lausanne, Switzerland and cover a roughly 30 km along the stretch of Lake Geneva’s northern shore in the canton (similar to a state) of Vaud. This is a stunning area and a wine route through the Lavaux vineyards is a popular activity for travelers hoping …

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Eating Our Way Through Valencia

This guest post is written by Lillie Marshall who blogs at AroundTheWorldL.com. We traveled together for about a week in the Valencia Region of Spain in April, 2010. All photos used here were taken by Lillie. Stalking Gary As I stared at the sixth course of our third five-star dinner in Spain, I realized: this …

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Everything You Need to Know About the Overseas Territories of France

Everything You Need to Know About the Overseas Territories of France

This article focuses on the Territories of France. It is part of a three-part series explaining the current day situation of the remnants of the colonial empires of the early 20th century, almost all of which are small islands scattered around the world. Other parts of the territories series examine the status of British territories and U.S. …

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Visiting the Wachau Cultural Landscape, Austria

Visiting the Wachau Cultural Landscape, Austria

The Wachau Wachau Cultural Landscape is an Austrian World Heritage Site location along the Danube River approximately between the towns of Krems and Melk. It is one of the most popular world heritage sites in the country attracting thousands of riverboat passengers each year, as well as visitors from the nearby capitals of Vienna, Bratislava, …

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The Old Town of Cáceres

The Old Town of Cáceres UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the Old Town of Cáceres World Heritage inscription: The Old Town of Cáceres is an urban ensemble of 9 hectares surrounded by a wall of 1,174m, located in the Autonomous Community of Extremadura in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Cáceres has been a trade route city and a political center of the local …

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Historic Center of Riga

Historic Center of Riga, Latvia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the Historic Center of Riga World Heritage inscription: The Historic Centre of Riga is a living illustration of European history. Through centuries, Riga has been the center of many historic events and a meeting point for European nations, and it has managed to preserve evidence of European influence on its historical development, borders between …

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Vilnius Historic Center

Vilnius Historic Centre UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the Vilnius Historic Centre World Heritage inscription: The Vilnius Historic Centre began its history on the glacial hills that had been intermittently occupied from the Neolithic period; a wooden castle was built around 1000 AD to fortify Gedimino Hill, at the confluence of the Neris and Vilnia rivers. The settlement did not develop as …

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