Western Europe Archives | World Heritage Sites

An arch with images of Jesus and saints in the tympanum.

Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France

Seventy-eight locations along four medieval pilgrimage routes leading to the Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

A beautiful view from on top of a mountain over hilly forests.

Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe

Primeval forests of European beech trees that survived the last Ice Age and then spread across Europe, now protected in 93 locations across 18 countries.

A brick church with a block-like tower at its front.

St Mary’s Cathedral and St Michael’s Church at Hildesheim

Two 11th-century churches exemplifying Ottonian Romanesque architecture and art.

An arched stone bridge over a dry moat leads to a massive wall with a small gateway in it.

Fortifications of Vauban

12 sites designed for Louis XIV by the innovative military engineer Sebastien de Vauban in the late 17th-18th centuries.

A black bull painted onto a rock surface.

Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vézère Valley

A collection of shelters used by prehistoric people, many containing impressive Paleolithic works of art.

A red train curves to the right onto an arched stone viaduct over a deep gorge. At the other end of the viaduct is a tunnel into the side of a mountain.

Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes

A railway route through the Swiss Alps that represents an outstanding early-20th-century engineering and architectural achievement.

Metal construction that spans the canal and divides it into 2 sections.

The Four Lifts on the Canal du Centre and their Environs, La Louvière and Le Roeulx (Hainaut)

A feat of hydraulic engineering from the Industrial Revolution, used to move vessels between very differing water levels.

A dirt floor with a glass cylinder on the far side of the space.

Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes (Mons)

A site dating to thousands of years ago where flint was mined to create axes and other tools.

The lighthouse as seen from near the end of the walkway - tidal pools and rocks on either side.

Cordouan Lighthouse

A grandiose 17th-century lighthouse meant both for navigation and for projecting an image of royal power.

Semi-circular bas-relief in white stone.

Vézelay, Church and Hill

A Romanesque masterpiece and the charming village around it, historically significant in terms of medieval Christianity.

Two sides of the cloister, with its porticos on the ground floor.

Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay

A monastic community whose ideals of poverty and self-sufficiency are reflected in the structures they built.

The rounded altar end of the cathedral with flying buttresses resting on the chapels.

Bourges Cathedral

A magnificent Gothic cathedral with stunning stained-glass windows.

View down the nave of the church, with the ceiling painted in rectangular panels.

Abbey Church of Saint-Savin sur Gartempe

A Romanesque church painted with vivid murals dating to the 11th and 12th centuries, important in the study of medieval Christian art.

Classical temple seen from the front, with six corinthian columns supporting a triangular pediment.

The Maison Carrée of Nîmes

A well-preserved classical Roman temple from the 1st century AD, dedicated to the heirs of Emperor Augustus.

A row of pastel buildings along a canal.

Water Management System of Augsburg

An innovative hydraulic system that has provided clean water and power to Augsburg for centuries.

Amiens Cathedral

A 13th-century Gothic cathedral of extraordinary workmanship and beauty.

A row of buildings decorated with gold leaf and with ornate gables.

La Grand-Place, Brussels

The central plaza in Brussels, surrounded by beautiful old guild houses, a Gothic city hall and other impressive historical architecture.

A dirt road stretching ahead, with a single cyclist - vineyards on both sides of the road.

The Climats, terroirs of Burgundy

Precisely-defined plots of land with distinct geological and climatic conditions that contribute to a centuries-old tradition of winemaking.

Bordeaux, Port of the Moon

A port city of opulent architecture, especially classical and neo-classical, and the center of a centuries-old wine-producing region.

View over the village of houses with red tile roofs with a church tower looming over them.

Jurisdiction of Saint-Emilion

A picturesque area of countryside and villages surrounded by a vineyard landscape; also an important pilgrimage stop.

Notre-Dame Cathedral, towering over neighboring buildings.

Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai

A 12th-century cathedral with a mix of Romanesque and Gothic elements.

Rows of walls on a hill show the contours of the terraces. The lake below and snow-capped mountains in the distance.

Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces

A beautiful vineyard-covered landscape of terraced hillsides, almost a thousand years old.

The side of the cathedral with much decorative stonework.

Aachen Cathedral

A monument of religious architecture from the Carolingian period of European unification under Charlemagne.

A direct view down a straight garden walkway to the central entrance to the palace.

Palace and Park of Fontainebleau

A magnificent 16th-century royal palace, particularly important for its artwork.

Wachau Cultural Landscape

A picturesque segment of the Danube Valley with beautiful scenery and charming towns and villages.

A white castle with many turrets, set on a series of arches over the Loire River.

The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes

A beautiful river valley landscape dotted with stunning castles and charming medieval towns.

Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace, Episcopal Ensemble and Avignon Bridge

Palaces and other structures that tell the story of the 70-year sojourn in France of the Catholic papacy in the 14th century.

Looking straight down the canal, a small bridge crosses it, with a bicycle passing over it.

Canal du Midi

A 360-km canal plus locks, tunnels and bridges: a 17th-century feat of engineering.

Looking up at the front of the cathedral: two square towers, very lacy with many vertical gothic openings, rose window at the center above the central entryway, lots of statue niches with figures and also gargoyles.

Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Rémi and Palace of Tau, Reims

Three medieval structures central to the history of Christianity and coronations in France.

Seen across the square, a stately building - a palace - in an 18th-century baroque style.

Place Stanislas, Place de la Carrière and Place d’Alliance in Nancy

Three elegant 18th-century city plazas.

A marea with black paving stones on the ground, a wall of standing stones at the far end.

Taputapuātea

An ancient site of great historical and cultural significance to indigenous Polynesians.

A row of 2-3 story houses, the nearer ones painted white and the furthest one red brick with a small round turret.

Flemish Béguinages

Centuries-old architectural ensembles in Flanders that once housed religious communities of women.

Looking down a canal with large red-brick warehouses lining both sides.

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District with Chilehaus

An ensemble of warehouses and office buildings resulting from Hamburg’s port trade in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

View of the front of the building: red brick, symmetrical, and wider than it is tall.

Ir.D.F. Woudagemaal (D.F. Wouda Steam Pumping Station)

The largest and most powerful steam-driven pumping station ever built.

A pillared building with a shallow pool in front of it.

The Great Spa Towns of Europe

Towns in seven countries where an early tourism industry thrived around natural hot springs.

A view from above of a long stretch of beach lined with palm trees and a pedestrian and bike path.

Nice, Winter Resort Town of the Riviera

An early example of a city that developed due to tourism.