by There are various obvious indications that summer has arrived completely: the end of the school year; the inevitable travel chaos at our main airports; Traffic jams on the way to Cornwall.
One of the highest quality indicators is the revelation of the latest list of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. This usually depends in July, since the cultural arm of the UN gives its official rubber stamps to the places around the world that are considered outstanding value for humanity “.
From this year, this amounts to 1,248 significant places in 170 countries – from palaces in France to coral ports in micronesia.
The latest announcement that was created this week has added another 26 “enrolled properties” to this shiny portfolio – some of them in relatively remote corners of the planet such as Tajikistan and Malawi, others closer to Italy, Greece and Germany.
The following fresh ones are worth at least a long weekend:
1. The palaces of Ludwig II, Germany
The absurd idea that the German architecture is Tauer and lifeless is refuted by the castles between 1864 and 1886 by the castles that were scattered over the hills and the heights of Bavaria of Bavaria.
As a man of the extravagant taste, Ludwig commissioned three separate state characteristics-neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Herrenchiemsee -lahrend of his 22-year reign and introduced each of them as a refuge from the apparent mouth of the court life in Munich.
All three of them (plus a villa on Schachen Hill near Garmisch-Barkirchen) are part of the new UNESCO listing or it is Neuschwanstein, with its dreaming sparks, which have become the region’s postcard icon.
UNESCO says
“The palaces inspire themselves by Versailles, German fairy tales and Wagner’s operas and show historical styles and advanced 19th century techniques. Carefully integrated into breathtaking landscapes, they embody Ludwig’s artistic vision.”
How it works
Neuschwanstein Castle is one of the highlights of the 12-day Fairytale Bayern & Three Rivers Cruise, which is offered by Great Rail Journey (01904 734 152). From £ 3,399 per person, including return trips to London.
The Minoan places of Crete, Greece
Of all the stories that emerge from ancient Greece, the story of Theseus, who persecutes and kills the bull’s head in a labyrinth, perhaps the most fantastic. But behind the myth is stuck. Knossos, the alleged place of this magical labyrinth, was very real.
The foundations of the city still exist outside of Heraklion, the modern capital of Crete – in the sun as an echo of Minoic civilization, which from 3100 to 1100 BC. Chr. Hof took place on the island. Knossos is one of six Cretan archaeological sites that will receive the UNESCO seal of approval this year. The ruins of Zakra, Phaistos, Kydonia, Zominthos and Malia are the others. Everyone offers a good reason to climb from their lounger during a summer holiday.
UNESCO says
“The locations represent Minoan civilization. They served as administrative, economic and religious hubs with progressive architecture, urban planning and lively frescoes. They reveal early writing systems, maritime networks and cultural exchange.”
How it works
Martin Randall Travel (020 3936 0353) leads a nine-day escort tour through the island of through-Minoan Crete: History & Archaeology-, which fits depth during this time. Next departure March 27 (2026). From £ 3,510 per person, flights extra.
The Megaliths of Carnac, France
Almost every year one of the new UNESCO locations is something special that they cannot believe that he has not been the club for decades. The standing stones from Carnac are the example of 2025-3,000 plates of handmade granite, which are near the southwest coast of today’s Brittany Peninsula in about 3300 BC.
Many of the megaliths had created clear purposes to create Dolmens (Graves) and Tumuli (Burial mound). You may be better understood than Stonehenge, which in the past of around 3100 BC. BC was built-but they share its air of the Neolithic secret.
UNESCO says
These monumental stone structures – arranged in relation to each other and to characteristics such as terrain and waterways – reflect a sophisticated understanding of their environment. Rich engravures and other various artifacts further illustrate the cultural complexity of the companies that lived in this part of the European Atlantic coast.
How it works
Andante Travels (01722 466 243) offers Brittany: Carnac and beyond; A tour of the region accompanied seven days. Two descents are still in the diary for this year (September 1; September 7) from 3,790 GBP per capita (including trains).
The ‘Killing Fields’, Cambodia
Not every new UNESCO website is a tribute to the best instincts of mankind. The arrival in the cultural list of the most important places connected to the Khmer -Rouge – the brutal regime, which during a terrorist rule over Cambodia, which lasted from 1975 to 1979, tortured and killed around two million people – is strong evidence.
Two of these malignant hell holes – Tuol Sleng and Choetung EK – are located in the capital Phnom Penh. While you have now devoted yourself to the memory, do not hide the brutality of what you saw half a century ago. Visitors do not run out in a bright form of intellectual form, but the story they tell should not be ignored.
UNESCO says
The three component parts represent the widespread violence in this time-the-das former M-13 prison (early repression), the TUOL Sleng nurse museum (former S-21 prison) and the Choeing EK Genocidal Center (former location of S-21). These places have been preserved and remembered since the autumn of the regime.
How it works
Inside Asia tours (0117 409 0270) sells a 12-day route to the heart of Cambodia, which deals with the darkest hours of the country in Phnom Penh and is most remarkable at Angkor Wat. From £ 2.340 per capita (flights extra).
Port Royal, Jamaica
It is the achievement that is remembered for more than three centuries as “the most evil city on earth” after they have effectively stopped. But the reputation of Port Royal – a former nest of pirates and villains, which was built on a peninsula off the south coast of Jamaica, was so unappetizing.
The fortified settlement in 1692 was largely captured by the Spaniard, captured by Great Britain in 1655 by Great Britain. What remains in 2025 (most ruins are below the waves) is a half-sleeping outpost of bars and restaurants, in which you can hear the strange ghost cackle.
UNESCO says
Today, its terrestrial and underwater remains offer rare insights into the urban colonial life. Once an important hub for the transatlantic trading insert, the trade in Africans-delayed Port Royal a deep water port and six defensive forts, some were now immersed … and served as an unmistakable marker of the British colonial presence in the Caribbean.
How it works
Port Royal and Jamaica are part of the 17-day Miami by Los Angeles Voyage, which is operated by Oceania Cruises (0345 505 1920). The next departure is planned for December 3 to 20. From £ 3,414 per person, without flights.
