UNESCO Just Named 25 New World Heritage Sites—Including America’s First Since 2023

This year’s 25 new additions to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites include the first for the United States since 2023. The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia and Florida joins two dozen other diverse selections worldwide.

They range from 19 cultural inscriptions, such as Poland’s Gdynia modernist city center buildings on the Baltic Sea, to 5 natural sites, such as the Aqaba Marine Reserve of Jordan. Also notable: Three African countries make their first appearance on the list, which now totals more than 1,200 sites.

The sole mixed property, combining both cultural and natural attractions, is Mount Olympus, Greece. (These mixed sites are rare; only 42 have been designated, including Machu Picchu and Papahānaumokuākea, an archipelago of small islands in Hawai‘i.)

Here are some of the most appealing and accessible newly designated UNESCO sites for travelers, followed by the full list of 25 new additions:

Aalto Works, Finland

Photo by Maija Holma; © Alvar Aalto Foundation

Finland’s Aalto Works by noted architect Alvar Aalto in collaboration with his first and second wives, Aino and Elissa, were chosen for their distinctive modern architecture. The 13 structures, built across the country between 1928 and 1988, include residences, churches, and even an insurance office, which is in Helsinki, as is the white marble Finlandia Hall and red brick House of Culture.

You can take guided tours of several Aalto properties in the capital city through the Alvar Aalto Foundation. Many of the other inscribed Aalto buildings are in smaller cities around Finland.

Beaches of the D-Day Landings, France

Photo by Manuel de Rugy; © Région Normandie - Manuel de Rugy

This new addition recognizes one of the most pivotal battlegrounds of World War II in Europe. With 130,000 troops in the largest ever amphibious assault, D-Day (June 6, 1944) marked the beginning of the 12-week Battle of Normandy between the Allied forces and the Germans. The UNESCO site covers five beaches and Pointe du Hoc, as well as the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer. This graveyard of more than 9,000 U.S. military has long drawn veterans and other visitors to France.

Mount Olympus, Greece

Photo by Vasileios Triantafyllou; © Protected Area Management Units

Mount Olympus in northern Greece is the Mediterranean nation’s highest mountain, and it’s historically been a symbol of Greek civilization, most notably as the home of the Olympian Gods (Zeus and company). UNESCO has also recognized the area around it for its dramatic gorges, limestone cliffs, and glacial cirques, plus its wide variety of plants. Today, the massif, 9,572 at its highest peak, attracts hikers. A trail of six miles ascends 6,5000 feet. It might even draw some of those newly enchanted by Greek mythology.

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Florida and Georgia, USA

Photo by Michael Lusk

Biodiversity is the big draw for visiting Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, a huge swamp of some 400,000 acres (more than 625 square miles). About 80 percent of it is part of the federal refuge established in 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and now managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

This new UNESCO World Heritage site is a valuable habitat for migratory birds and home to American alligators, river otters, and black bears, among hundreds of animal species. Camping, hiking, and kayaking offer ways to explore the refuge; guided boat tours are available through Okefenokee Adventures.

The full list of 25 new UNESCO sites

Here’s the complete list of new UNESCO additions in 2026:

1. Aalto Works, Finland
2. Beaches of the D-Day Landings, Normandy, 1944, France
3. The wider area of Mount Olympus, Greece
4. Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, USA
5. Alamūt Castle and Related Fortifications, Iran
6. Amazonia Theaters, Brazil
7. Ancient Buddhist Site of Sarnath, India
8. Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara, Japan
9. Aqaba Marine Reserve, Jordan
10. Boma-Badingilo Migratory Landscape, South Sudan
11. The Bony Fish Fossils of the Western Limfjord, Denmark
12. The Cemetery Complexes of the Xiongnu Nobility, Mongolia
13. Gdynia Modernist City Centre, Poland
14. Jingdezhen Handicraft Porcelain Industry Sites, China
15. The Medinas of the Historic Sultanates of the Comoros, Comoros
16. Mount Amel Castles, Lebanon
17. The Roças of Sao Tome and Principe, Sao Tome and Principe
18. Rock Mosques and Associated Sacred Sites of Mangystau, Kazakhstan
19. Royal Capetian Fortresses of Languedoc, France
20. Sebastia, State of Palestine
21. The System of Italian-style Condominio Theatres, Italy
22. Tashkent Modernist Architecture, Uzbekistan
23. Village of Sidi Bou Saïd, Tunisia
24. Wadi Wurayah, United Arab Emirates
25. Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand