Top 10 Cruise Destinations for UNESCO World Heritage Sites
UNESCO World Heritage sites are places that have been deemed so important that they need to be protected for future generations and can be natural wonders, historic cities, ancient ruins, cultural landmarks and even unique landscapes.
Basically, they are often the best places to understand the destination that you visit and give you the chance to take in the history and culture of the ports you see and depending on where you are sailing, you can often visit numerous heritage sites on one adventure.
For the sake of this list, I will take into account how popular the heritage site is, the proximity to the cruise port, the number of ships and lines that visit the nearest port and ease of getting from ship to site as well as my own personal thoughts to create my top 10 cruise destinations for visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Our Top 10 Cruise Destinations for UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Acropolis of Athens/Port of Piraeus
Any visit to Athens will have lots to offer cruisers but there is just one thing that you just cannot miss and that is the Acropolis.
Towering over the ancient city, the Acropolis is the birthplace of modern western civilisation and is Parthenon, an ancient citadel, is a great showcase of classical Greek architecture.
This is a highlight of any visit to the port of Piraeus, which is just a short underground or coach shuttle ride from the centre of the Athens and is one of the busiest cruise ports in the eastern Mediterranean.
Bryggen/Port of Bergen
If you visit the port of Bergen, and I highly recommend that you do, you will likely end up in the historic Bryggen district of the city or at least seeing it across the harbour.
If you have ever seen a picture of the city, you will likely have seen Bryggen as it is famed for its colourful waterfront buildings that used to be the Hanseatic merchant buildings back when the city was a big trading centre of the region.
Whilst the warehouses are now mostly gift shops, you can still get a sense of what it was like to walk around this period during medieval times and the best thing about this UNESCO site is that it is just a short walk from the cruise terminals in the city.
Old City of Dubrovnik/Port of Dubrovnik
Going by the nickname of the ‘Pearl of the Adriatic’, you can be assured of an incredible day ashore no matter where you choose to visit whilst docked in Dubrovnik, but it is your first time in the city, there is only one standout and that is to wonder around its historic walled old city.
There you will find beautifully preserve medieval walls, limestone streets and baroque architecture that maybe just as recognisable to modern visitors for its role as the King’s Landing in Game of Thrones as anything else.
The Old City is around 2 miles from the cruise terminal but it can be easily reached via shuttle buses or public buses and with the city been one of the busiest cruise ports in the Med, you can have a great cruise holiday in the region and visit this impressive site of interest.
Geirangerfjord/Port of Geiranger
Geiranger is a great port to visit and is just one of those places where you can stroll from your ship and set off exploring on your own.
You get incredible views no matter where you are in the fjordland village and that includes looking back down the magnificent Geirangerfjord.
Inscribed in 2005, the fjord represents one of the finest examples of a glacially carved landscape that you will find anywhere in the world and whilst you are in a UNESCO site from the moment you enter the fjord, the truly iconic moment comes when you sail past the 7 Sisters and Suitor waterfalls.
Old City of Tallinn/Port of Tallinn
Tallinn is one of Europe’s best preserved medieval cities and what makes the Estonia capital perfect for this list is that its defensive walls, gothic churches, merchant houses, cobbled streets and beautiful squares can all be explored on foot just a short walk from one of Northern Europe’s busiest cruse ports.
Tallinn features on the majority of Baltic Sea cruises, which are offered by the majority of cruise lines operating in Europe throughout the summer which makes it incredibly easy to visit onboard your favourite line or style of ship.
Sydney Opera House/Overseas Passenger Terminal Sydney
There are fewer better entries into a cruise port than the one you enjoy when arriving at the passenger terminal in Sydney and a big part of that is down to docking right next to both the iconic Sydney Harbor Bridge and the world-famous Sydney Opera House.
That makes this an entry on this list that you don’t even need to leave your ship to enjoy and whilst walking around the inside of the Opera House is fascinating, it is architect Jorn Utzon’s innovative shell design that is the standout of the building and that can be est seen from the top deck of your ship.
Himeji Castle/Port of Kobe
Himeji Castle isn’t in Kobe, but it is easy to reach via the impressive Japanese train system, with a station been just a short walk from the cruise terminal and the castle.
Listed in 1993, the castle is known as the ‘White Heron Castle’ and is known as one of the country’s finest surviving feudal castles and has become one of the most photographed landmarks in the region.
Whilst some distance from the cruise terminal, taking the train to the castle is just part of the adventure and gives you a great look at one of the most densely populated regions on earth.
Historic Centre of Rome/Port of Civitavecchia
Rome is one of the world’s leading tourist cities and much of that is based on its historical sits of interest where visitors can explore thousands of years’ worth of history through in monuments, renaissance masterpieces and baroque landscapes.
The cities centre has been inscribed since 1980 but has been extended since then to know include such globally significant landmarks as the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum alongside numerous churches, palaces and public squares.
The biggest issue in terms of this list is that its nearest port is the port of Civitavecchia and whilst it is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world, its is at a minimum 1 hour and 15 minutes but more usually 2 hours from cruise port to city centre.
Pompeii/Port of Naples
The port of Naples gives you the chance to simply walk from your ship and stroll around the streets of Napoli but for those wanted to head out and explore, you can go to the nearby Pompeii, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata.
Pompeii was frozen in time due to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE and that allows visitors to get an incredible insight into ancient Roman life.
After intensive archaeological works, its past has now been preserved to allow visitors to take in its streets, houses, temples, baths, theatres, frescoes and perhaps most interestingly, some everyday objects that make up one of the world’s most important archaeological sites.
Naples is one of Mediterranean Europe’s busiest cruise ports and welcomes a huge range of cruse liens all year around making this an easy port to visit, although an excursion will be needed to head up to Pompeii.
Tower of London/Port of Tilbury
Standing on the banks of the River Thames just to the east of the historic city centre of London, the Tower of London still stands out despite been surrounded by skyscrapers.
The Tower has had a fascinating history as both a residential palace for royals as well as a prison many never left alive, but there is so much more to the buildings that you can still explore.
Its past as a fortress, a palace, a prison, a mint and a treasury can all be explored but the high light of any visit is the chance to see the Crown Jewells.
The Tower is an outstanding example of Norman military architecture, and it has a placed a huge roll in the military history of Britain going way back to the days of William the Conqueror in the 11th century CE.
London is one of the worlds busiest tourist cities and welcomes millions of visitors from across the globe and whilst many cruise lines call Southampton London, it is a couple of hours by train away.
There is one closer cruise port and that is the port of Tilbury but sadly that is only infrequently used, hence the Towers lowly place on this list.
