Living in Culture

UNESCO, standing for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is a fabulous organization full of great resources if you are wanting to learn more about unique cultural sites around the world. Their website includes ways to get involved, publications and podcasts, and my personal favorite page, their list of World Heritage Sites (linked here).

This page details 1223 sites, all unique from the next. Italy has the most sites located in one country with sixty spread out over the “boot”. Below is a map detailing the amount of World Heritage Sites per country, however this map is from 2016 so the exact amount may vary slightly. UNESCO sites vary from the Great Barrier Reef in Australia to the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks.

Condé Nast Traveler details 39 of the most beautiful World Heritage Sites (linked here), but I wanted to talk about three of my personal favorite that I had visited.

Cinque Terre, Italy

In July of 2023, my family took a vacation to Italy. We stopped in many cities Rome, Florence and Venice, but we took two days to explore five small towns on the western side of Italy. “Cinque” meaning five in Italian represents the five towns on the water, Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare. You can hike from town to town, stop for a delicious bite of lemon gelato, swim in the crystal clear water, or just stroll around the bright colored streets. My favorite of the towns is the biggest, Monterosso al Mare. It is gorgeous, but each town is beautiful and unique.

Cinque Terre became a UNESCO site in 1997, after people became amazed with its landscape and beauty. I would highly recommend anyone going to Italy to take a few days to visit this breathtaking location. We stayed in a town called Levanto and took the train or a boat to the different cities. This was one my favorite parts of my vacation, and I hope to go back again!

Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch, Switzerland

Jungfrau is a summit in Switzerland known as the “top of Europe” at 13,642 feet. It is the highest accessible point in Europe through a train station called Jungfraujoch. When I visited this location in June of 2022, it was extremely cold and covered in snow, as to be expected in this high elevation. At the top of the mountain, there is a building known as the Sphinx Observatory that explains the creation of the Jungfraujoch railway, stores and cafes, and an area fully made out of ice, even the floors! There is also a Lindt Chocolate store packed to the brim with every type of chocolate imaginable.

Jungfrau became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, but was expanded in 2007 to include over 203,615 acres and renamed Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch to replace Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the “top of Europe,” even though it was cloudy, so we were unable to see the vast mountain landscape. Traveling to Jungfrau made me feel so insignificant, as I stood so high above the ground, but I absolutely loved seeing the wintery landscape.

Historic City of Toledo, Spain

Located 70 kilometers outside of Madrid, lies a historic city that was the former capital of the Spanish Empire. During the Middle ages, three religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all cohabitated. There are unique buildings on every corner, with the architectural styles mixing all over the city. However, over time, the positive relations between the religions began to fade, and the Jewish and Muslim communities were expelled from the city in 1492 and 1502 respectively. Churches were built on the foundations of temples and mosques. Now, there are museums, temples, churches, and mosques open for tourists to visit.

Toledo’s date of inscription was in 1986. The main reason for its’ addition was due to the three main religions that existed there. When we visited in April of 2023, we spent one day in Toledo and spent time walking among the historic streets meeting talented vendors selling damascene handicraft (an ancient craft that involves decorating steel with gold) and experts that explained the deep history of this city. I loved spending time in this city, and would love to go back to learn more as I do not think I even scratched the surface all of the 2,000 years of history packed into this beautiful city.

In conclusion, there are wonderful, beautiful locations all around the world that many may not know about. Through UNESCO, you can learn so much about breathtaking sites filled with culture. The UNESCO website is also a great resource to learn or get involved.