Argo Profile
We had always liked travelling, thought we really started collecting WHS in 2006. Then came the children, making the collection more challenging, as our goal is to visit these sites together as a family. Fortunately, living in Europe gives many opportunities of reasonable trips with two young children: we try to cover Europe in the most complete way, leaving long haul trips for later.
We are French; we were living in Paris and recently moved to London.
Our alias “Argo” relates to the name of the mythological ship which was used by Jason and companions for their trips, including the famous Golden Fleece quest – thus a good name for our own quest of WHS!
Recent Reviews Argo
Church of San Salvador de Valdediós (T)
Argo France - 03-Jan-21

This tiny church is proposed as an extension of the six already inscribed “Asturian Monuments” in and around Oviedo in Northern Spain. The first three inscribed ones were the most famous and typical ones (Santa Maria and San Miguel on Monte Naranco, Santa Cristina), built at the time of king Ramiro I, which is the “zenith” period of the kingdom of Asturias. Then three other monuments were added to this serial WHS, covering earlier years (San Julian, Camara Santa). San Salvador de Valdedios would be the seventh component and would represent the last phase of the Asturian architecture.
Read OnGroup of Mozarabic buildings on the Iberian Peninsula (T)
Argo France - 15-Nov-20

We have so far visited four of the buildings of this TWHS, scattered across Spain. Visigoths ruled Iberia after the collapse of the Roman Empire; they converted to Christianity and developed their own art and architecture, incorporating elements from Rome and Byzance. During the 8th century, Muslim Arabs took most of the peninsula, with independent Christian kingdom surviving only in the northernmost area (Asturias). Christians who stayed and lived in the Arabic kingdom were called “Mozarabes”. During the 10th century, Christians started to take back control of Spain, moving from north to south
Read OnCíes Islands–Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park (T)
Argo France - 13-Sep-20

Visiting the national park of Galician Atlantic Islands requires a little bit of anticipation. It is made of four groups of islands ashore the Rias of Galicia, but only two of them can be easily accessed: the ones of Cies and Ons. There are different companies operating boats from different Galician cities to the islands, from Easter until autumn on weekends, and daily during summer. The number of visitors every day is limited, so you must first obtain a permit from the National Park website: you request it online (one per person) and receive a code (by e-mail) which you must then indicate when booking the boat trip
Read OnThe Ribeira Sacra, Lugo and Orense (T)
Argo France - 05-Sep-20

Ribeira Sacra is the official candidate site for Spain in 2021. The name could translate into “Sacred river bank” for the high number of churches and monasteries that were built over centuries along the Sil and Minho rivers. In this area of Galicia, these two rivers run in deep valleys, which sometimes look like canyons. First Christian hermits settled there in the 6th century, looking for remote and difficult to reach places, a tradition that originates from Middle East. Monasteries were then built at different periods, in different styles, and one of them is still active today. The nomination file focuses on this aspect of continuous occupation for religious purposes and claim it was the first area to develop in such way in Europe
Read OnThe Lofoten islands (T)
Argo France - 03-May-20

We spent several days in Lofoten islands in summer 2016, and this was one of the highlights of our Norway trip (a country which is one of the best – if not the best – in Europe for landscapes and nature lovers). We were lucky enough to enjoy sunny weather during our stay, giving blue and turquoise color to the sea along white sandy beaches (from the pictures, this looked like tropical country, but actual air temperature never exceeded 15°C during the day!). From Unesco website, it can be understood that this TWHS is proposed as a mixed site and encompasses the south-westernmost islands of the archipelago.
Read OnProfile Data
- Name
- Argo
- Country
- France
Recently Visited WHS
- Update 31.01.21
-
- Asturian Monuments
- Roman Walls of Lugo
- Santiago de Compostela
- Las Medulas
- Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley
- Tower of Hercules
Visited WHS
Rating StatsAleppo 5Cordoba 5Damascus 5Granada 5Istanbul 5Palmyra 5Petra 5Pompei 5Rome 5Siena 5Acropolis 4.5Cracow 4.5Cuzco 4.5Dubrovnik 4.5Ephesus 4.5Florence 4.5Palenque 4.5Pergamon 4.5Prague 4.5Teotihuacan 4.5Toledo 4.5Versailles 4.5Vézère Valley 4.5Assisi 4Avignon 4Bosra 4Brugge 4Bukhara 4Masada 4Naples 4Olympia 4Potosi 4Rapa Nui 4Ravenna 4Rhodes 4Seville 4Split 4Syracuse 4Tallinn 4Valletta 4Vicenza 4Altamira Cave 3.5Aphrodisias 3.5Arles 3.5Avila 3.5Belfries 3.5Biblical Tells 3.5Bryggen 3.5Brú na Bóinne 3.5Budapest 3.5Caceres 3.5Chaîne des Puys 3.5Choirokoitia 3.5City of Bath 3.5Cuenca 3.5Delos 3.5Elvas 3.5Evora 3.5Garajonay 3.5Guanajuato 3.5Gwynedd Castles 3.5Ironbridge Gorge 3.5Itchan Kala 3.5Kew Gardens 3.5Kotor 3.5Liverpool 3.5Matera 3.5Monticello 3.5Mostar 3.5Mystras 3.5Neolithic Orkney 3.5Oporto 3.5Paphos 3.5Qhapaq Ñan 3.5Querétaro 3.5Reims 3.5San Gimignano 3.5Sceilg Mhichíl 3.5Segovia 3.5Sintra 3.5Stevns Klint 3.5The Four Lifts 3.5Thessalonika 3.5Tiwanaku 3.5Uluru 3.5Valparaiso 3.5Verona 3.5Vienna 3.5Villa d'Este 3.5Vizcaya Bridge 3.5Vézelay 3.5Zollverein 3.5Belem 3Bordeaux 3Corvey 3Ferrara 3Kairouan 3Le Havre 3Lyon 3Lübeck 3Modena 3Mérida 3Orange 3Pienza 3Puebla 3Riga 3Salzburg 3Sucre 3Telc 3Trebic 3Trier 3Visby 3Warsaw 3Zamosc 3Abbey of St Gall 2.5Albi 2.5Aquileia 2.5Banska Stiavnica 2.5Bardejov Town 2.5Chaco Culture 2.5Epidaurus 2.5Fontainebleau 2.5Guimarães 2.5Hospicio Cabañas 2.5Ivrea 2.5Jelling 2.5Kernavë 2.5Kinderdijk 2.5Lake District 2.5Morelia 2.5Nessebar 2.5Poblet Monastery 2.5Potsdam 2.5Provins 2.5Regensburg 2.5Reichenau 2.5Rila Monastery 2.5Røros 2.5Schönbrunn 2.5Speyer Cathedral 2.5Trogir 2.5Um er-Rasas 2.5Vall de Boi 2.5Vilnius 2.5Úbeda and Baeza 2.5Burgundy 2Genoa 2Graz 2Lima 2Nancy 2Saltaire 2Stećci 2Tarraco 2Torun 2Urbino 2Vegaøyan 2Wadi Rum 2Aranjuez 1.5Camino Real 1.5Crespi d'Adda 1.5Drottningholm 1.5Holasovice 1.5Hollókö 1.5Karlskrona 1.5Litomysl Castle 1.5Luther Memorials 1.5Madara Rider 1.5Old Rauma 1.5Pannonhalma 1.5Skogskyrkogarden 1.5Stoclet House 1.5Tequila 1.5Van Nellefabriek 1.5Bamberg 1Battir 1Schokland 0.5Reviewed WHS
Visited TWHS
- Agioi Varnavas and Ilarion at Peristerona (Five-domed churches) (T)
- Aguas Livres Aqueduct (T)
- Thracian Tomb with Wall Paintings beside Alexandrovo village (T)
- Amalienborg and its district (T)
- Ancienne chocolaterie Menier à Noisiel (T)
- Ancient Cities of Lycian Civilization (T)
- Ancient Greek Theatres (T)
- Apamee (Afamia) (T)
- Archaeological site of Ancient Messene (T)
- Archaeological Site of Priene (T)
- Arsenal de Rochefort et fortifications de l'estuaire de la Charente (T)
- Bahoutdin Architectural Complex (T)
- Balaton Uplands Cultural Landscape (T)
- Baptism Site “Eshria’a” (Al-Maghtas) (T)
- Baroque Temples of Collao (T)
- The cultural landscape of the Benedictine settlements in medieval Italy (T)
- Bet She'an (T)
- Bishop's Basilica and Late-Antique Mosaics of Philippopolis, Roman Province of Thrace (T)
- Bouches de Bonifacio (T)
- Bradyseism in the Flegrea Area (T)
- Brooklyn Bridge (T)
- Bulwarked Fortifications (T)
- Bulwarked Frontier Fortifications (T)
- Cascata delle Marmore and valnerina: Monastic sites and ancient hydrogeological reclamation works (T)
- Cathédrale de Saint-Denis (T)
- Cattolica Monastery in Stilo and Basilian-Byzantine complexes (T)
- Central Park (T)
- Centre ancien de Sarlat (T)
- Centro Storico di Lucca (T)
- Chapultepec Woods, Hill and Castle (T)
- Chashma-Ayub Mausoleum (T)
- Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte (T)
- Chatham Dockyard and its Defences (T)
- Chor-Bakr (T)
- Chott El Jerid (T)
- Church of Panagia Aggeloktisti (T)
- Church of San Salvador de Valdediós (T)
- Churches of the Altiplano (T)
- Cíes Islands–Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park (T)
- Cité de Carcassonne et ses châteaux sentinelles de montagne (T)
- Cittadella (Victoria - Gozo) (T)
- Citté-fortezza di Palmanova (T)
- Les témoignages matériels de la construction de l’État des Pyrénées : la Co-principauté d’Andorre (A) (T)
- Les témoignages matériels de la construction de l’État des Pyrénées : la Co-principauté d’Andorre (F) (T)
- Creswell Crags (T)
- Darwin's Landscape Laboratory (T)
- Degania & Nahalal (T)
- Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo's Home-Study Museum (T)
- Domaine de Fontainebleau : château, jardins, parc et forêt (T)
- Early Medieval Monastic Sites (T)
- Early Synagogues in the Galilee (T)
- Ebla (Tell Mardikh) (T)
- El Ferrol of the Illustration Historical Heritage (T)
- Ellis Island (T)
- Ensemble de grottes à concrétions du Sud de la France (T)
- Alvaro Siza's Architecture Works (T)
- Fishpond Network in the Trebon Basin (T)
- Flow Country (T)
- Frontiers of the Roman Empire (Germany) (T)
- Gdansk - Town of Memory and Freedom (T)
- Great City of Chicomostoc-La Quemada (T)
- Great Spas of Europe (Austria) (T)
- Great Spas of Europe (France) (T)
- Great Spas of Europe (UK) (T)
- Group of Mozarabic buildings on the Iberian Peninsula (T)
- Guano Islands, Islets, and Capes National Reserve System (T)
- Habitat troglodytique et le monde des ksour du Sud tunisien (T)
- Hala Sultan Tekke and the Larnaka Salt Lake Complex (T)
- Hall in Tyrol - The Mint (T)
- Hangar Y (T)
- Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (T)
- Historical Lisbon, Global City (T)
- Île de Djerba (T)
- Jerash Archaeological City (Ancient Meeting Place of East and West) (T)
- Kaunas 1919-1939: The Capital Inspired by the Modern Movement (T)
- Klirou Bridge (T)
- Knights Fortifications around the Harbours of Malta (T)
- The concept of the lenticular historical town core of Kosice City (T)
- La Camargue (T)
- La Moneda Palace (T)
- Lake Maggiore and Lake D'Orta lakelands (T)
- Lake Titicaca (T)
- Late Medieval Bastioned Fortifications in Greece (T)
- Le noyau historique ou la 'Cuve' de Gand, et les deux abbayes qui sont à son origine (T)
- Les passages de Bruxelles / Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert (T)
- Les Plages du Débarquement, Normandie, 1944 (T)
- Les villes antiques de la Narbonnaise et leur territoire: Nimes, Arles, Glanum, aqueducs, via Domitia (T)
- Les villes bastionnées des Pays-Bas du nord-ouest de l'Europe (T)
- Loarre Castle (T)
- Maaloula (T)
- Maltese Catacomb Complexes (T)
- Marais salants de Guérande (T)
- Mausoleum and Sacred area of Hecatomnus (T)
- Mdina (Citta Vecchia) (T)
- Mesta Livestock trails (T)
- Metz Royale et Impériale, enjeux de pouvoir, confrontations stylistiques et identité urbaine (T)
- Montagne Sainte-Victoire et sites cezaniens (T)
- Mount Vernon (T)
- Mousa, Old Scatness and Jarlshof (T)
- Nice, la ville neuve née du tourisme, ou l’invention de la Riviera (T)
- Nîmes, l'Antiquité au présent (T)
- Noréas de Hama (T)
- Noyau historique d'Antwerpen -Anvers- de l'Escaut aux anciens remparts de vers 1250 (T)
- Ödön Lechner's independent pre-modern architecture (T)
- Orvieto (T)
- Padova Urbs Picta. Giotto, the Scrovegni Chapel and the 14th century painting cycles (T)
- Parco Nazionale della Sila - Sila, gran bosco d'Italia (T)
- Phare de Cordouan (T)
- Plasencia - Monfragüe - Trujillo : Paysage méditerranéen (T)
- Pobiti Kamani Natural Monument (T)
- Pombaline Lisbon (T)
- QUMRAN: Caves and Monastery of the Dead Sea Scrolls (T)
- Rabati Malik Caravanserai (T)
- Rade de Marseille (T)
- Roman Ways. Itineraries of the Roman Empire (T)
- Romanesque Cathedrals in Puglia (T)
- Rostov Kremlin (T)
- Rouen : ensemble urbain à pans de bois, cathédrale, église Saint-Ouen, église Saint Maclou (T)
- Rural Temples of Cusco (T)
- Sacred Titicaca Lake (T)
- Sajama National Park (T)
- Salento and the Barocco Leccese (T)
- Salt Mines of Maras (T)
- San Francisco Church and Convent (T)
- Sea of Galilee & its Ancient Sites (T)
- Shaubak Castle (Montreal) (T)
- ShUM cities of Speyer, Worms and Mainz (T)
- Silk Roads Sites in Uzbekistan (T)
- Site of the Retiro and the Prado in Madrid (T)
- Sites funéraires et mémoriels de la Première Guerre mondiale (Front Ouest) (T)
- Sites funéraires et mémoriels de la Première Guerre mondiale (Front Ouest) (Belgium) (T)
- Sites mégalithiques de Carnac (T)
- Sites of Great Moravia: Slavonic Fortified Settlement at Mikulcice - Church of St.Margaret at Kopcani (T)
- Sites of Great Moravia: Slavonic Fortified Settlement at Mikulcice - Church of St.Margaret at Kopcani (T)
- Slate Industry of North Wales (T)
- Sultan Bayezid II Complex: A Center of Medical Treatment (T)
- Taormina and Isola Bella (T)
- The Ancient Plovdiv (T)
- The ancient town of Nicopolis ad Istrum (T)
- The Architectural Works of Alvar Aalto - a Human Dimension to the Modern Movement (T)
- Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Danube Limes in Bulgaria (T)
- The historic urban site of Počitelj (T)
- The Jewish Cemetery of Altona Königstrasse. Sephardic Sepulchral Culture of the 17th and 18th century between Europe and the Caribbean (T)
- The late ancient tomb of Silistra (T)
- The Lofoten islands (T)
- The Murge of Altamura (T)
- The Old Town of Jakarta (T)
- The Olive Grove Landscapes of Andalusia (T)
- The Porticoes of Bologna (T)
- The Ribeira Sacra, Lugo and Orense (T)
- The Rise of Systematic Biology (T)
- The Roussensky Lom National Park (T)
- The royal necropolis of the Thracian city of Seuthopolis – a serial site, extension of the Kazanlak Thracian tomb (T)
- The Royal Sites of Ireland: Cashel, Dún Ailinne, Hill of Uisneach, Rathcroghan Complex, and Tara Complex (T)
- The Silver Route (T)
- The town of Melnik and the Rozhen Monastery (T)
- The Transhumance: The Royal Shepherd's Track (T)
- The Twin Monastery of Wearmouth Jarrow (T)
- Trakai Historical National Park (T)
- Troodos, Mt.Olympus (T)
- Two neolithic dwellings with their interior and household furnishings and utensils completely preserved. (T)
- Via Appia 'Regina Viarum' (T)
- Via Francigena in Italy (T)
- Victoria Lines Fortifications (T)
- Viking Age Ring Fortresses (T)
- Vila Viçosa (T)
- Volterra: Historical City and Cultural Landscape (T)
- Western Stone Forts (T)
- Zadar - Episcopal complex (T)
- Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor (T)
- Žatec – the Hops Town (T)
Reviewed TWHS
- Church of San Salvador de Valdediós (T)
- Group of Mozarabic buildings on the Iberian Peninsula (T)
- Cíes Islands–Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park (T)
- The Ribeira Sacra, Lugo and Orense (T)
- The Lofoten islands (T)
- Rabati Malik Caravanserai (T)
- Vila Viçosa (T)
- Mausoleum and Sacred area of Hecatomnus (T)
- Archaeological Site of Priene (T)
- Creswell Crags (T)
- Flow Country (T)
- Mousa, Old Scatness and Jarlshof (T)
- Pobiti Kamani Natural Monument (T)
- The royal necropolis of the Thracian city of Seuthopolis – a serial site, extension of the Kazanlak Thracian tomb (T)
- Thracian Tomb with Wall Paintings beside Alexandrovo village (T)
- The late ancient tomb of Silistra (T)
- Bishop's Basilica and Late-Antique Mosaics of Philippopolis, Roman Province of Thrace (T)
- Hangar Y (T)
- Mesta Livestock trails (T)
- Church of Panagia Aggeloktisti (T)
- Hala Sultan Tekke and the Larnaka Salt Lake Complex (T)
- Agioi Varnavas and Ilarion at Peristerona (Five-domed churches) (T)
- Parco Nazionale della Sila - Sila, gran bosco d'Italia (T)
- The Murge of Altamura (T)
- Cattolica Monastery in Stilo and Basilian-Byzantine complexes (T)
- Kaunas 1919-1939: The Capital Inspired by the Modern Movement (T)