Visit These UNESCO World Heritage Sites From Home

Take a virtual tour of some of history's most hallowed haunts

By Google Arts & Culture

Reflection of mountains in the river, Yosemite National Park, California, USA (2005-10-03) by Medioimages/PhotodiscGetty Images

Yosemite National Park

Home to some of the most spectacular landscapes and breathtaking views on Earth, Yosemite National Park deserves to be right at the top of your hit list. The park covers an area of 1,169 sq miles and takes in granite cliffs, giant sequoia groves, lakes and waterfalls.

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Visit Yosemite and you can hike its many trails, climb to its lofty viewpoints and battle the other 20,000 daily visitors for the best photo opportunity. 

View of the famous Vatican Basilica with the colonade and the square View of the famous Vatican Basilica with the colonade and the squareTouring Club Italiano

Vatican City

When Vatican City was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984, it became the only entire state to be included in the list. Though the city covers an area of just 49 hectares, it contains many of Christianity’s most important sites and relics. 

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Click and drag to explore, and tick the Vatican City off your list.

View from Rua da Vitória (Victory Street) towards Rua Ferraz (2015) by Eduarda ClaroFaculty of Arts and Humanities of University of Porto

Porto Old Town

Made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, Porto is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the oldest in Europe. The historic center of Porto is made up of winding cobbled streets, colorful apartment blocks and precarious balconies. 

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Once you’ve taken in the panoramic views from the Luiz I Bridge and enjoyed a stroll along the city’s impossibly picturesque waterfront, take a well-earned  break in one of the many port houses on the south side of the river. 

Athens 2004 (2015-08-07) by MlennyThe Olympic Museum

The Acropolis

With a history dating over 2,500 years and an international reputation as one of the world’s great archaeological sites, it’s easy to see why the Acropolis makes the UNESCO list. 

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The elevated site overlooks central Athens and contains many of the most important surviving structures of the Ancient Greek world. Built by Pericles during the Golden Age of Athens, it’s a must see for anyone with a love of temples, sculpture and atmospheric ruins. 

Great Migration, Serengeti (1981) by Serengeti National ParkUNESCO World Heritage

The Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, the Serengeti National Park is one of the most diverse and beautiful places on Earth. The park covers an area of 5,700 square miles and contains thousands of animal species. 

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Packed full of wildlife, the park is best known for its annual migration of over 1.5 million wildebeest and 250,000 zebra, the largest unaltered animal migration remaining in the world. 

Valley of the Yosemite (1864) by Albert BierstadtMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston

If you'd like to learn about UNESCO sites around the world, you can read more about these incredible locations here

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.

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