UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Europe

Flanked by the sea on one side and resorts on the others lies this gem of an open-air museum. A collection of underground tombs and chambers dating all the way back to the 4th century BC. Despite the name, Tombs of the Kings, no kings were buried here, just wealthy residents of ancient Paphos. There are seven excavated tombs scattered over the rather large site. Some are cut into small hills, while others are underground, imitated the houses of the living. Not much is fenced off and there are staircases so you can descend into the tombs, which all are empty. Tombs of the Kings is, along with Paphos Archaeological Site closer to the harbour, an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Dyrehaven is a natural forest park a bit north of Copenhagen and a lovely daytrip if you fancy a walk in the woods. It was originally laid out by the Danish king Frederik III in the 17th century as a hunting ground and was later extended by other hunt-loving kings, and is now enlisted on the UNESCO's World Heritage list. Dyrehaven means 'deer garden' in Danish and, as the name indicates, it has an abundance of deers (about 2000 in total). The park is kept as a natural forest with some of the biggest trees (oaks) in the country and with an extensive network of trails favoured by runners, mountain bikers, strolling families and dating couples. If you want to enjoy nature in style (and money is no issue), horse carriages are lined up at the main red gates, ready to take you for a ride. The oldest amusement park in the world, Dyrehavsbakken, lies as an extension of the park in the south end. Here, you can enjoy a ride in a wooden roller coaster constructed in 1932, which isn't as dull as it might sound.

The Jelling Stone is the most famous rune stone in Denmark. The giant stone was erected by King Harald Bluetooth around 965 A.C. in memory of his parents, Gorm and Thyra. The rune inscription on the stone lists Harald’s achievements, including unifying Denmark and making the Danes Christian. Historically the stone marks the ending of the Viking era and the Danes conversion from Norse paganism to Christianity. The stone is often called the “birth certificate of Denmark”, as it’s the oldest written Danish source for the name “Denmark”. Christ is carved on one of the sides, making it the oldest example in Scandinavia.
The rune stone stands along with a smaller and older rune stone erected by Gorm for his wife Thyra in front of Jelling church. Until recently the stones were standing unprotected, but now they are behind protective glass.
The iconic rune stone is UNESCO enlisted and is depicted on the pages of the Danish passport.

"There is something rotten in the state of denmark" is a famous quote from the Shakespeare's play Hamlet, which is set at Kronborg Castle (called "Elsinore" in the play). Shakespeare never went to Kronborg, but some of his actors did in 1586 and they probably told him about the fancy castle with all the drinking and partying, which might have inspired Shakespeare.
Around year 1600, the castle was one of the finest in all of Europe with its 62 meters long dance hall. It was originally built as a stronghold in the 1420s, but was radically transformed into this extravagant Renaissance castle by King Frederick II in the late 16th-century. It burnt down in 1629, but it was subsequently rebuilt. In 1658 Kronborg was besieged and captured by the Swedes, and in 1785 the castle ceased to be residence for the royal family. Kronborg Castle is the only UNESCO-listed castle in Denmark.

The spectacular Roskilde Cathedral is the most important church in Denmark. It has been the royal burial church for 38 Danish kings and queens, not including Harald Bluetooth (Harald Blåtand) and Sweyn Forkbeard (Svend Tveskæg), who were also buried in Roskilde, but their sites are unknown. The cathedral wasn't built as one complete structure, instead it has extended and altered over 800 years, since it was first constructed during the 12th century. Roskilde Cathedral is, of course, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Stevns' Cliff is a dramatic stretch of coastline where the land breaks off at vertical cliffs, some as high as 40 metres. It's a natural oddity and a paradise for geology and fossil buffs. Each year, the sea eats away the cliffs some more, making Denmark a bit smaller than it already is. The old church at Højerup is a fine proof of that. It was built inland at the end of the 13th century, but the sea slowly ate away the cliffs. In 1928, the graveyard was swallowed by the sea, leaving the church balancing right on the edge of the cliff. Today, the church has been secured and it's possible to visit the balcony at the back where the chancel once was.
Stevns' Cliff became an UNESCO World Heritage site in 2014, due to the exceptional evidence of the meteorite crash in Mexico about 65 million years ago which extinct over 50 per cent of all life on Earth.

When people are talking about enchanting Tallinn, they are talking about Old Town. It's a neat, UNESCO-listed maze of old houses, hidden courtyards and spire-topped churches dating back to the 14th century. Large parts of the huge medieval town wall still stand with imposing gates and tall towers (one even has cannonballs embedded in the wall). The maze is made up of narrow, cobbled lanes - it can hardly become more photogenic than this. Even the occasional Russian tour group seems to fit in well. That said, there are more amber/knitting/souvenir shops than you can poke a stick at (along with a fair share of strip bars), but Old Tallinn has managed admirably to keep its charm without being tarted up or tacky.

On a hill in a tranquil pine forest 18 km outside Rauma lies a UNESCO enlisted Bronze Age burial site. It dates back more than 3,000 years, to 1,500 to 500 BC, and includes 36 granite burial cairns spread out into 6 main groups. A walk among them will be about 2 km long. The structures vary from stone circles and stone cists to dry stone walls. Originally, it was near the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, but the land has risen so it is now 15 kilometers from the sea.

Right off the coast of Helsinki, spread out on four tiny islands, lies the maritime fortress complex of Suomenlinna, Fortress of Finland. It was initially built in 1748 by the Swedish to protect Helsingfors (Swedish for Helsinki) against the Russians. As with other big constructions in history, the creator had big expectation to it, in this case the Swedish thought Suomenlinna to be inpenedable... but it wasn't. The Russian took it 1808 and kept it along with the rest of Finland until Finland's independence in 1917. Today people still live on Suomenlinna and it's now an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The old wooden church of Petäjävesi is such a fine example of Nordic wooden churches that it has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The church was constructed in 1763-65 and has remained nearly unchanged. The big floor planks are made of wall logs of a chapel that stood previously on the spot. The church stopped being used as a church from 1879, but the graveyard was still used afterwards. Today you can hire it for weddings, christening or even concerts. It's open daily as a museum during summer time.