All of these places are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Europe has the highest concentration of historical and natural monuments in the world, including the largest number of sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Despite their historical importance, not all of them can be recommended to tourists.
As travel expert Ted Thornhill writes in the pages of the Independent, Rome or the Greek island of Santorini are crowded with visitors, the British Stonehenge is not really impressive at all from up close, and the archaeological complex of Pompeii may only be of interest to history lovers.
If we talk about places that do not have these drawbacks, the author of the article recommends paying attention to five UNESCO sites that are worth the hype.
Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
The park consists of 16 terraced lakes with aquamarine water, which stretch across a narrow limestone valley and flow into each other through 90 waterfalls. Swimming in the lakes is prohibited, but it is an ideal place for walking and taking Instagram selfies.
Meteora, Greece
It would have been just an interesting example of wind and water erosion of sandstone cliffs, if people hadn’t built their monasteries on the tops of the 400-meter-high rock formations. These incredible stone pillars in the center of mainland Greece were formed over a period of 30 million years and were just an interesting element of the natural landscape until monks began to settle on them in the 11th century. A total of 24 monasteries were built, and six of them are still active today.
Alhambra, Spain
The palace complex in the southern region of Granada is located at an altitude of more than 700 meters and has a history of more than 700 years. It is one of the most interesting monuments of Arab rule in Spain. In addition to its impressive decoration and lush gardens, the complex is also notable for its incredible engineering solutions for the Middle Ages, which are still admired today.
Mont Saint-Michel, France
It is one of the most amazing examples of European architecture and urban planning in general. It is a large monastery complex built between the 11th and 16th centuries on an 80-meter-high cliff. The most interesting part is that this cliff is located on a tidal flat that is flooded during high tides, about 400 meters from the coast. This means that the monastery complex becomes an island twice a day.
Old Town of Dubrovnik, Croatia
This is one of the most well-preserved medieval cities on the planet. It is rightfully called the “Pearl of the Adriatic.” The city miraculously survived the 1667 earthquake and the Croatian War of Independence in the 1990s, although it was partially destroyed.
