7 UNESCO sites in Europe to visit on your Lakes & Mountains holiday

With its jagged peaks and sheer cliffs, this mountain range in Northern Italy was picked for its ‘exceptional natural beauty’. The distinctive look is thanks to the actual rock – they’re mostly made of dolomite, which gave the range its name, and a kind of limestone that erodes easily into unusual shapes.

See all that scenery up close by following walking or cycling trails along the valley floor or taking a cable car or gondola up into the peaks. Along the way, you can stop off at a mountain hut (called a rifugi) for a proper Italian coffee or lunch with a view. And if you’re staying in the Dolomites rather than visiting on a day trip, don’t miss heading outside at sunset to watch the alpenglow, when the light paints the mountains pink and purple.

Stay right in the Dolomites in Selva Val Gardena, a town with a mix of Italian and Austrian culture, architecture and food. Or if you’re on a holiday to Lake Garda, let us show you the sights on our Grand Dolomites tour – you’ll drive through valleys, mountain passes and villages, with plenty of photo stops along the way.

Famous as the setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Verona made the list for how it’s preserved its 2,000 years of history. The city was founded by the Romans in the 1st century BC and is now home to a unique mix of architecture from medieval times, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period – not to mention one of the best-preserved Roman amphitheatres in the world and a huge collection of monuments and artwork.

Dive into the heart of the old town and walk in the footsteps of ancient Romans around the market square in Piazza delle Erbe. Then swap the city streets for a bit of nature at the Giusti Gardens, where you can stroll among flower beds, hedges and fountains that have barely changed since it opened in 1591. Cap things off with a tour of the Arena – once used for Roman celebrations and games – or even book tickets to an opera performance here.

You can catch the train to Verona from Peschiera on Lake Garda in just 20 minutes. Or join a TUI experience to see all the best bits with an expert guide.

With 118 islands linked by over 400 bridges, it’s easy to see why UNESCO describes Venice as an ‘extraordinary structural masterpiece’. Built by Roman refugees, the ‘floating city’ is also full of amazing art and is one of the most popular places in Europe for a day trip or weekend getaway.

Sit back in a vaporetto (a public water bus) or private gondola for a trip up the Grand Canal. Then head into the maze of alleys and snap photos of the Rialto Bridge and Bridge of Sighs, two of the most famous ones in the city. If you’ve got an eye for art, visit St Mark’s Basilica and the Gallerie dell’Accademia to see murals, mosaics and paintings by some of Italy’s best artists.

The train from Peschiera on Lake Garda takes under 2 hours to get to Venice, so catch an early one to get a full day in the city. You can also book our Classic Venice experience to get your transport included and a guided tour of the sights.

UNESCO highlights Salzburg for its historic architecture and its mix of German and Italian cultures. It’s got a big musical heritage too – Mozart was born in the city and scenes from The Sound of Music were filmed here.

One of the first sights you’ll spot is the medieval Hohensalzburg Fortress on the hill, so take the funicular up to go inside the ornate rooms and get the best views over the city’s towers, domes and river. The Baroque Mirabell Palace is also a must to see the Marble Hall and walk around the flower beds and hedge maze in the garden. In the old town, Getreidegasse is the place to go. Stroll past colourful shops and look up at the wrought iron signs above each one – they’re a traditional legal requirement here.

Stay in the city itself to spend more time here or just do a day trip by catching the train from Zell am See or St Johann in Tyrol – it only takes a couple of hours. Want to let us do the planning? Book a guided tour through TUI.

Not only is Hallstatt one of the prettiest villages in Austria, people have been mining salt from the mountains here for 7,000 years, so its gets a double thumbs up from UNESCO for being a place of ‘great beauty and scientific interest’. The salt (or ‘white gold’) was discovered here in the Bronze Age and has been a major source of income ever since.

Spend time in the village to soak it all in – the cobbled streets, timber-framed buildings and Gothic church, which are right on the shore of a deep blue lake and are surrounded by the Dachstein mountains. To see the mine, join a guided tour through the 65km of underground tunnels. And round off your day by taking the funicular to the Hallstatt Skywalk, a viewing platform that hangs off the side of the mountain above the village and lake.

The easiest way to visit is on a TUI day trip but you can also take a 2-hour bus ride from Fuschl am See, St Gilgen or St Wolfgang if you’d rather go by yourself.

Nicknamed the ‘Top of Europe’, this ridge in the Swiss Alps links the Jungfrau and Mönch peaks at 3,463m high. The incredible views have been a magnet for climbers and artists for centuries, but you don’t need to be either to hop on the train up and take in the scenery. UNESCO also highlights how important the Aletsch glacier up here is – as the biggest one in Europe, it can tell scientists a lot about how glaciers are formed and affected by climate change.

Getting here is part of the fun – you’ll take the Jungfrau railway, which was built in 1912 and travels 9km up mountainsides and through rock tunnels to Europe’s highest train station. At the top, head to the viewing platform to take in snow-covered peaks as far as the eye can see, including the north face of the Eiger. And go underground to see carved passages and sculptures in the Ice Palace.

Catch the Jungfrau railway directly from Interlaken or, if you’re staying in Grindelwald, meet the train at the top of the Eiger Express gondola.

Biodiversity is what first won Lake Ohrid UNESCO status in 1979 – there’s over 200 plants and animals native to the region, and they live in and around the oldest lake in Europe, which has been there for over 3 million years. And the city of Ohrid is brimming with beautiful churches and sites dating from the Bronze Age all the way to the Middle Ages.

Walk through Ohrid’s cobbled Old Town and up to the hilltop Church of St John at Kaneo to get the most incredible view over the lake, mountains and Galiĉica National Park. Then take some time to laze in the sun on one of the pebble beaches that line the shore, and swim in the crystal-clear water. And definitely take a boat trip down south to tour the Monastery of St Naum and the Bay of Bones Museum, a replica of Bronze Age homes built on stilts over the water.

Pick a hotel in Ohrid itself and it’ll be a short stroll to see the city sights. Or if you want to spend more time at the beach or chilling out at the hotel, stay just down the shore in Dolno Konjsko, Peštani or Sveti Stefan. Wherever you choose, you can see the best bits by booking tours and day trips through TUI.