1972年11月16日，聯合國教科文組織（UNESCO）於第17屆會議在巴黎通過著名的《保護世界文化和自然遺產公約》，這是聯合國首度界定世界遺產的定義與範圍，希望以國際合作的方式，解決世界重要遺產的保護問題。
世界遺產委員會於1978年公佈第一批世界遺產名單以來，截至2005年8月止，共有812處世界遺產地（World Heritage Sites）分佈在137個國家中。世界遺產依其類型可分為文化遺產（Cultural Heritage）628項、自然遺產（Natural Heritage）160項以及兼具兩者特性之複合遺產（Cultural & Natural Heritage）24項。建議您出國前可以參考UNESCO 的World Heritage List，中文文建會網址是
http://wh.cca.gov.tw/，而UNESCO World Heritage網址是
http://whc.unesco.org/。
而我旅行中曾經造訪過的世界遺產地至2005年已經有(後面的括弧是納入World Heritage的年份)
Austria
Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg (1996)
Hallstatt-Dachstein Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape (1997)
圖: Hallstatt
France
Palace and Park of Versailles (1979)
Historic Site of Lyons (1998)
Historic Centre of Avignon (1995)
Paris, Banks of the Seine (1991)
Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Remi and Palace of Tau, Reims (1991)
Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay (1979)
Strasbourg - Grande île (1988)
Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct) (1985)
Place Stanislas, Place de la Carriegravere and Place d'Alliance in Nancy (1983)
Roman and Romanesque Monuments of Arles (1981)
Palace and Park of Fontainebleau (1981)
圖: Mont Saint Michel
Germary
Pilgrimage Church of Wies (1983)
Upper Middle Rhine Valley (2002)
Italy
Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura (1980, 1990)
Historic Centre of Florence (1982)
Piazza del Duomo, Pisa (1987)
Venice and its Lagoon (1987)
Historic Centre of San Gimignano (1990)
Historic Centre of Siena (1995)
Historic Centre of the City of Pienza (1996)
Costiera Amalfitana (1997)
Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites (2000)
圖: Piazza del Duomo, Pisa
Japan
Himeji-jo (1993)
Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities) (1994)
Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama (1995)
Spain
Alhambra, Generalife and Albayzín, Granada (1984, 1994)
Historic Centre of Cordoba (1984, 1994)
Monastery and Site of the Escurial, Madrid (1984)
Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct (1985)
Historic City of Toledo (1986)
Cathedral, Alcazar and Archivo de Indias in Seville (1987)
Works of Antoni Gaudí (1984, 2005)
The Palau de la Música Catalana and the Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona (1997)
圖: Himeji-jo
Switzerland
Convent of St Gall (1983)
Old City of Berne (1983)
Three Castles, Defensive Wall and Ramparts of the Market-town of Bellinzone (2000)
Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn (2001)
United States of America
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (1987)
Yosemite National Park (1984)
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Blenheim Palace (1987)
Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites (1986)
City of Bath (1987)
Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret's Church (1987)
Tower of London (1988)
Vatican City State
Vatican City (1984)
圖: Vatican City
算起來也接近50個了，希望以後可以慢慢造訪其他的世界遺產地方。希臘、土耳其、埃及和印度是短期目標中的國家，不過要等希臘在台灣退熱後，以及土耳其、埃及看起來比較安全一些，或是說服「某位重要人士」前進印度才行，看起來希臘是比較近期有機會的國家。「某位重要人士」請加油啦...
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