🌍 My First 20 (+1) UNESCO World Heritage Sites — And the Moments That Changed Me

For as long as I can remember, the world has tugged at me. Not just the destinations or the photos, but the feeling — that strange pull toward beauty, history, and the sense that we’re walking through stories much older than ourselves.

It wasn’t until recently that I realized I’ve visited 20 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, with my 21st coming next year in St. Lucia. Looking back, each one marked a turning point — a moment of awe, reflection, or adventure that shaped the traveler, creator, and person I’m becoming.

Here’s that journey.

🇲🇦 Morocco: Where the Adventure Began in Earnest

Ben Youssef Madrasa — Calm in the Storm

In the middle of Marrakech’s chaotic medina, Ben Youssef Madrasa felt like stepping into a held breath. Cool tiles, silent courtyards, that perfect geometry of Islamic art. I searched for a clean photo without other tourists bombarding the frame — impossible, but somehow that felt right. This place wasn’t meant to be captured perfectly, only felt.

Jemaa el-Fna — The Arabian Nights Come Alive

If I close my eyes, I can still hear it.

Drums. Steam. Laughter. Snakes. Lanterns.

Jemaa el-Fna is pure myth. The closest thing we have to stepping inside 1001 Arabian Nights. The square doesn’t just thrash with life — it vibrates with it. It’s not a place I’ll ever forget.

🇵🇹 Portugal: The Land of Explorers, Fairy-Tale Palaces & Port Wine

Belém Tower — Where the Age of Discovery Set Sail

Standing at Belém Tower, I imagined caravels drifting into the unknown. The bravery, the madness, the curiosity. What did those explorers feel as they sailed west into the blank spaces on old maps? A sense of adventure I felt echoing inside me.

Jerónimos Monastery — Lines Too Long, Pastries Just Right

I didn’t go inside. The line wrapped around the block. So instead, I ate Pastéis de Belém nearby. No regrets.

Sintra’s Cultural Landscape — A Dream on Earth

Sintra feels like someone built a theme park for beauty. Mist-soaked palaces. Forested hills. Romantic ruins.

We stayed two nights, and thank God we did — most people rush it in a day. I missed the Moorish Castle, which means I’m meant to return.

Historic Centre of Porto — My “I’m in Europe” Moment

Crossing the Dom Luís I Bridge with the Douro glittering below, sipping port wine riverside — that was the moment I felt it:I’m actually here.A postcard come to life.

🇪🇸 Spain: The Alhambra By Starlight and Dolman Aligned to Mystical Mountain

The Alhambra

My sister and I did a full day at the Alhambra, and I came back alone at night for the Nasrid Palaces.

The stars overhead…The soft glow of fountains…The mirrored pools reflecting centuries of artistry…

It was one of the most magical experiences of my life. Pure silence. Pure awe.

Dolmen de Menga — A Portal to the Ancient Mind

In Antequera, Spain, I stepped inside the Dolmen de Menga, a prehistoric chamber older than written history — and honestly, it blew my mind. The moment I entered, I felt that deep, earthy hush you only get in places that have waited millennia for you to arrive.

The overhead stone alone is enormous — one of the largest megalithic capstones in Europe — and yet what fascinated me most wasn’t the weight, but the precision.

Menga isn’t aligned to the sunrise like most dolmens.Instead, it points directly toward Lover’s Rock — a mountain shaped like a reclining human face. And beyond that, this alignment captures the northernmost moonrise behind that stone “face,” a celestial moment that happens only rarely.

How did they know?How did they measure the moon’s extremes?How did they move these stones?

It felt like standing inside a question the ancients left for future generations.A reminder that brilliance existed long before modern tools — and that human curiosity is older than time itself.

I loved this place. Absolutely unforgettable.

🇺🇸 United States: Freedom, Bells & a Childhood Icon

Independence Hall — Touching History

In college at Lehigh, I touched the Liberty Bell inside Independence Hall. That memory’s tattooed on me.

Statue of Liberty — A Childhood Companion

I grew up seeing her from afar. Recently viewed from Battery Park, the lawns now disappointingly fenced off. But still — she’s part of my personal mythology. The idea of America. The symbol of my childhood skyline.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Bells, Bridges & Destiny

Westminster Abbey — The Bells That Froze Me

Walking past Westminster Abbey, the bells began to ring and I literally stopped mid-step. They sounded… heavenly. As if centuries were shaking hands with me.

Tower of London — Lunch, People-Watching, History Everywhere

I didn’t even go inside.I sat outside the walls, ate lunch, and watched the world go by.Sometimes that is where the real magic happens.

I crossed Tower Bridge afterward — iconic, blue, beautiful.

City of Bath — A Childhood Vision Fulfilled

This one hit me spiritually.As a kid, I had a book about England. There was an image of Bath — the curves of the weir, the stone buildings glowing in the sun.

One day, as an adult, I stood right there…In the exact spot from the book.A childhood dream fulfilling itself in real time.

In the Roman Baths, I met a man named Ken Box who became my pen pal for years. Travel opens doors you don’t even know exist.

Stonehenge — The Inner Circle

I paid extra to stand in the center of Stonehenge. Worth. Every. Penny.Being inside that ancient circle felt like stepping into a portal.

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico: My First Taste of Old World Meets New

I didn’t see much of Old San Juan the first time — but later, I returned, walked the waterfront, and explored both forts. That blend of color, heat, and history is something special.

🇨🇦 Canada: Lobster, Legends & the Highest Tides in the World

Old Québec — Early Marriage Adventures

My wife and I stayed near Château Frontenac early in our marriage. Cobblestones, candlelit dinners, and the charm of Europe without crossing the ocean.

Old Town Lunenburg — Seafood & Cinema

We ate lobster on the waterfront and later recognized the same location in the final scene of Locke & Key. Surreal moment.

Grand Pré & Wolfville — Vineyards and the Tides of Life

We stayed near vineyards and watched the Bay of Fundy’s insane tides from where we lodged. Quiet beauty, deep history, and that soft Nova Scotia light.

🇲🇽 Mexico: Where Travel Became Adventure

Chichén Itzá — My First International Wonder

Fall Equinox, 2005.I watched the shadow serpent descend the pyramid — a cosmic lightshow the Maya designed centuries ago.

But the adventure started before that: I had to drive from Vermont to New York at night to retrieve my birth certificate, then race back in time for my flight. I made it by one hour. Almost missed the whole trip.

Sian Ka’an Biosphere — Heat, Light & Missed Swims

We visited the reserve near Tulum. My wife and sister-in-law were so sunburned (95+ degrees!) they skipped swimming in those divine waters. I didn’t — and it left a mark on me.

🌋 #21: The Pitons Await

Next year, I’ll stand beneath Gros Piton and Petit Piton in St. Lucia — my 21st UNESCO World Heritage Site. Another chapter. Another adventure. Another story I get to share.

✨ Why These 21 Places Matter

It’s not the bucket list.It’s not the bragging rights.It’s the moments — the ones that shift something inside you.

A bell that freezes you.A palace lit by starlight.A book image come to life decades later.A near-miss flight that becomes a marriage story.A square in Marrakech that feels like a dream you once had.

These UNESCO sites aren’t just places I’ve visited.They’re chapters in the story of becoming who I am now — a traveler, a filmmaker, a storyteller, and someone chasing beauty with his family and his camera.

And this is just the beginning.