The Sagrada Familia. By Noëllia T.

Sagrada Familia

My favorite cultural heritage site is the “Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia” (the Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family) in Barcelona, Spain. Its construction began in 1882; it will be completed in 2036. Its architect is Antonio Gaudi.

I went to Barcelona when I was twelve. I was very impressed by the “Sagrada Familia” because it is very big, beautiful and original, with sculptures of people and colourful stained glass.

Our Lady of Fatima. By Camille M.

Sanctuary of Fátima

My favourite cultural heritage site is the sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima, a Catholic place of pilgrimage situated in the centre of Portugal between Lisbon and Porto.

In 1917, three children of the village, on six occasions, saw the Virgin Mary. The inhabitants of the village decided in 1919 to build a chapel on the site of the appearances. Then, in 1928, a church was also built, the Holy Trinity basilica; it has been progressively enlarged ever since.

In 1930, the Roman Catholic Church recognized the appearances as genuine, and the site became a pilgrimage centre of world importance.

In October 2018, I went to visit the sanctuary. My first impression was to feel the wave of well-being as I joined in the singing.

Numerous pilgrims seemed very joyful. This contrasted with the pilgrims who made their way to the sanctuary on their knees, in the rain.

Near the place of appearance of the Virgin, a mass was being celebrated and we could see numerous disabled people. Some were hoping for a cure, for a miracle, or simply for the pursuit of their life without further obstacles. Numerous candles were lit and formed a deep light in the sky.

This place is difficult to describe because it provokes numerous sensations and impressions that we can only feel on site. What I most remember is the hope and even joy of the people with disabilities.

Petra. By Héléna B.

The Treasury, Petra

One of my favourite places is Petra. It is a famous archaeological site in Jordan’s southwestern desert.

It is a fortressed city built by the Nabataeans. It became a wealthy commercial crossroads between the Arabian, Assyrian, Egyptian, Creek and Roman cultures. It traded, among many things, spices, incense, gold, animals and sugar. It extends over 264 km², which is more than impressive!

But let me explain how I saw it as an 11 year-old child... You start the journey riding an Arabian horse, you feel the energy from the horse, and the sun starts to kind of burn you, but that’s not important because of the adventure. After ten minutes, we get off the horses and walk our way along a narrow path between red-orange cliffs which hide the sun. Then you see the people in front stop and take pictures. So you join them and then you understand why they stopped; the Palace of Petra suddenly appears in all its glory. There are too many tourists, but you forget that because Petra is so magical…

The London Eye. By Yann M.

The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel situated next to the river Thames and opposite Big Ben. It is 135 metres tall and 123 metres in diameter. You can see all of London when you are at the top.

The construction of the London eye began in 1998. It took a year to complete. Marks Barfield, The Tussauds Group, and British Airways were the original owners. It now belongs to Merlin Entertainments.

The London Eye was built to mark the year 2000 festivities. It was originally supposed to be called the Millennium Wheel.

It cost £70 million to build. One turn will set you back £20. It has 32 capsules. Each capsule can hold 25 people. It never stops. Its maximum speed is just 0.9km/h (it is slowed down when there are elderly people or people with disabilities who want to get on).

This is my favourite cultural heritage site because I have good memories of it when I went there with my parents.

Odaiba, Japan. By Raphaël W.

I’m going to speak about my favorite cultural heritage site: the artificial island of Odaiba, situated in Tokyo on the east coast (in the centre of Japan). This is a good place to have fun, because there are lots of things to do as a tourist or as a newcomer, for example: lots of shops.

In 2009, a 1/1 scale statue of a “Gundam” giant robot was erected in Odaiba, inspired by the very famous Manga. The statue changes often and is frequently replaced by an ever larger one.

I like this place because it embodies the craziness of Japan, which cherishes Manga culture, one of my favorite aspects of Japanese culture (along with video games). I like almost everything in Japan: the language, the legends and history, the architecture and more.

This is the place I want to visit most in the world.

The Acropolis in Athens. By Thomas P.

My favourite cultural heritage site is the Acropolis of Athens. I love it, first because I believe in ancient Greek religion, and secondly because it’s a place that is important for all cultures, indeed for all the people of the world.

Athens was where democracy and modern science started. The main thinkers of the world were from there, people like Pythagoras, Socrates and Plato. These people are studied even today, and we continue to learn by reading their works. For example, a genius called Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the Earth. Just think, 1000 years after him, people in Europe thought that the Earth was flat, and, today, we use his calculus in modern astrophysics. Athens was the most powerful place in the world for more than five hundred years.

If you think about it, there is no cathedral, no mosque or synagogue that is as well-known as the Acropolis. I just find it incredible. The Parthenon survived so many wars, so many invasions! It is still there, maybe in ruins, but it is still there.

I think the Acropolis of Athens will surely survive us all.

U.S. Space and Rocket Center. By Camille G.

The Davidson Center for Space Exploration, with the Apollo Saturn V Moon Rocket

My favourite cultural heritage site is the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL, U.S.A. It's a NASA visitors centre. This is a big place!

In one of the buildings, there are all the projects NASA collaborated on. You might be really surprised; for example, NASA worked on the design of the guns in the video game Halo. They really work on a lot of projects.

All over the place outside there are space shuttles, rockets, military aircraft, and helicopters and even a replica of a lunar crater.

The most interesting building is where there is a real giant rocket: the Apollo Saturn V Moon Rocket. It was built in Huntsville, AL. On the wall beside the rocket, there is the history of the American conquest of space, which started before WW2. And here again, you'll learn some crazy stuff. Like it began with Wernher von Braun; this guy was the father of rocket and space science in the USA but, before, he was the leading figure in the development of rocket technology for the Nazis…

In this room there are, all around, some other things like a Lunar Module, Skylab training module, a really tiny lunar rock sample from the Apollo 12 mission, and a replica of a trailer where the astronauts stayed for a short while after coming back to Earth.

This place is full of history and you can learn so many things and do cool stuff like try 5G or even 0G experiences. So, if you have the chance, you should go there!

The Space shuttle Pathfinder