history

Three statues, with more behind them that are barely visible, support a large flat stone, forming a table. The statues have human faces wearing headresses and carrying clubs of some sort.

San Agustín Archaeological Park

Burial mounds and statuary from a complex pre-Columbian culture.

A view between trees down a path to a small church with a steeple.

Landscape of Grand Pré

An agricultural area that commemorates the history of the Acadians and their expulsion from Canada.

Looking through a thick stone doorway to a row of arches and through them to the palace in the distance.

Anjar

Remains of an 8th-century Umayyad town that offers insight into Umayyad town planning and architecture.

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.

A view of the central circle at Stonehenge

Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites

Two mysterious prehistoric stone circles: one, the most sophisticated in the world; the other, the largest.

A bright yellow house on a sloping hill.

Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaíso

An important 19th-century port city that preserves its urban industrial architecture to this day.

Looking up at a dome on the mausoleum showing beautiful decorative tile work.

Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi

An unfinished mausoleum and mosque that allows an understanding of Timurid construction methods.

Itchan Kala

An excellent illustration of the traditions of Islamic architecture in Central Asia.

Sunrise, with the temple towers silhouetted in the foreground, the forest spreading out behind that, swathed in cloud, and the sun breaking through the low clouds in the distance.

Borobudur Temple Compounds

A massive and intricately-carved 9th-century Buddhist temple.

View of a bridge across a river leading to a pretty town of white buildings with red roofs, a steeple peeking up above them.

Old City of Berne

A unique example of urban planning from the Middle Ages that has developed over time while still respecting the original plan.

A massive tree fills most of the picture, forming a neat ceiling of a sort over a pedestrian area.

Historic Town of Guanajuato and Adjacent Mines

A colonial-period silver-mining center, with subterranean streets and Baroque architecture.

On a hill above the lake, a palace and a pagoda.

Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in Beijing

A summer retreat for China’s emperors, with extensive classical gardens, an artificial lake, and a collection of palace buildings.

A large round pagoda with three roofs and concentric walls around it, each higher than the one outside it.

Temple of Heaven: an Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing

A religious complex used by Ming and Qing dynasty emperors that is significant both symbolically and architecturally.

A street in Lijiang: shop houses along the right, with red lanterns hanging from the eaves. Motorbikes parked, a child walks in the street, willow trees overhang the street on the left.

Old Town of Lijiang

A charming traditional Chinese town that combines Naxi, Han, Bai and Tibetan influences.

Semi-circular rings of stone benches slant down to the circular stage area at the bottom.

The Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus

Ruins of an ancient place of healing, with a huge and still intact Greek theater.

Front view of Schonbrunn palace seen from a distance to fit such a large structure into the picture.

Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn

Former home to the powerful Habsburg emperors: an opulent Baroque castle and its gardens.

A bonsai evergreen tree in a small pot against a whitewashed wall.

Classical Gardens of Suzhou

Nine traditional Chinese gardens that artfully mirror the natural world in very limited spaces.

The church itself, with two towers, and elegant curved stairways up to its entrance on either side.

Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga

An exquisite example of Portuguese Baroque architecture expressing a spiritual journey.

A view from lake level with the lake in the foreground and the village clustered picturesquely opposite, mountains to the left and behind the village.

Hallstatt-Dachstein / Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape

A picturesque little village surrounded by a breathtaking mountainous landscape.

View over the city. In the foreground, a large monument with a cross. Below, the city, with its grid of streets, and in the background, the volcano, its peak surrounded by clouds.

Antigua Guatemala

A lovely city that illustrates Spanish colonial-era architecture, city planning, and culture.

A ruined temple in stone, with tall pillars holding up a pediment, that is mostly broken off.

Acropolis, Athens

The most famous remnant of ancient Greece, standing high above the city of Athens.

A very tall and very steep stone pyramid with a flat top.

Pre-Hispanic Town of Uxmal

Four sets of pre-Columbian ruins that exemplify Mayan art and architecture when Mayan civilization was at its height.

Looking down a long rectangular courtyard with arches supported by double pillars all around it: They're ornately decorated in an Islamic style. The upper story is also lined with arches supported by single pillars.

Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo de Indias in Seville

Three properties that are central to the history of Spain’s “Golden Age.”

Looking down from a balcony above the green water of the Roman Bath. The lower floor around the pool has a colonnade around it, held up by pillars.

City of Bath

Famous Georgian-period spa town with surviving elements from its Roman-period history as well.

A view of snow-capped Mount Fuji across Lake Kawaguchiko, with a small plane above the lake.

Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration

Mount Fuji and numerous natural and religious sites related to its spiritual importance.

Tower of London

A historic castle used as palace, fortress and prison since the days of William the Conquerer.

Looking at the building of Mafra from an angle: a very baroque design. Trees are flowering pink nearby.

Royal Building of Mafra

One of the most impressive baroque structures in all of Portugal.

Australian Convict Sites

Eleven separate locations that illustrate elements of the 19th-century British penal system of “transportation” to Australia.

View of Humayun's tomb from an angle: the ground floor is much larger than the upper floors, which rise from the center, with a central dome.

Humayun’s Tomb, Delhi

A 16th-century tomb within a complex of tombs, the first garden tomb and the inspiration for the Taj Mahal.

The Library of Celsus seen from close by: columns frame 4 doorways on the ground floor and 3 on the upper floor. Each set of pillars holds a square pediment over the door.

Ephesus

An ancient port city with ruins from the Greek, Roman and early Christian periods.

Paper cranes made of bright paper, strung in long garlands.

Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)

A UNESCO site for its symbolism and the hope it represents.

A view down a street of pretty 2-story buildings.

Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica

A city with the traces of three thousand years of civilization.

Seen from a bridge over a body of water, the fortress walls are visible.

Fortress of Suomenlinna

An important example of military fortress architecture on a group of islands off Helsinki.

A temple with a tall pyramid-shaped roof, covered in carvings.

Great Living Chola Temples

Three outstanding 11th-12th-century temples covered with carvings depicting elements of Hindu mythology.