Acropolis Of Athens On CNN’s Most Beautiful World Heritage Site List

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American news network CNN has provided an updated version of the world’s 20 most beautiful World Heritage Sites.

The list was put together last year when luxury website VeryFirstTo.com unveiled a luxury expedition (worth $1.5 million) to all 962 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in what was billed as the world’s most expensive vacation.

CNN: “Since then UNESCO has added several more sites to its list, taking the total to more than 1,000. Each year, around 25 sites deemed to have “outstanding universal value” are inscribed on the list, and we couldn’t resist choosing a few favorites.”

The Acropolis of Athens came in second after the Angkor site in Cambodia.

On the Acropolis, CNN notes: “Looming over the city of Athens, this ancient Grecian citadel was built in the 5th century BC and continually beautified throughout the years by the city’s well-moneyed citizens. Despite being attacked and pillaged by everyone from the Byzantines, who converted the temples into churches, to the Venetians, who later shelled the area, the site still stands to provide an important insight into Greek mythology.”

On visiting the World Heritage Site,  CNN said “It’s possible to take a tour to the site, or simply wander there from Athens on foot. The route along Adrianou Street to the back entrance of the site is a gentler climb than the Dionysus Theatre entrance.”

Following the Acropolis, the top five of CNN’s world’s most beautiful World Heritage Sites list is formed with Bagan, Myanmar; Galápagos Islands, Ecuador; and Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia, Turkey.