On April 18th Enjoy Free Admission to Monuments and Sites Around the World

We have been to more than 35 UNESCO World Heritage Sites since we began our trip around the world. Each location, hand-selected by UNESCO for its “outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity” has been amazing and awe inspiring.  Being special has a price, and we have paid it to visit the Taj Mahal,  Angkor, The Great Wall, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, and the Alhambra, to name just a few.

Today is different!

Today is the International Day for Monuments and Sites and also the 50th anniversary of ICOMOS, the International Council on Monuments and Sites. Many monuments and sites listed on the ICOMOS website are waiving entrance fees so that more people can appreciate the incredible educational, scientific and cultural contributions to world culture.

We stood on the Acropolis today, for free, marveling at the remains of the Parthenon, the achievement of the Greeks more than two thousand years ago. We imagined what people would have worn, standing in the same spot where we were, how the men in Athens voted in a democracy to rebuild this structure, and the tragedy of its multiple destructions by invaders.

These relics of the past shed important light on not only who we were, but who we are. I would also like to think they also serve as important reminders to not repeat our mistakes of the past.

We will continue to pay (almost) any price to see these amazing World Heritage Sites, but today, we hope you will take a minute to plan your next visit to a UNESCO site, or visit one if available near you.

We promise the monumental effort will be worth it.