The best villages in the world for sightseeing

The World Tourism Organization is an institution of the United Nations that, among other things, composes a yearly list of the best towns for sightseeing on all continents. The list is based on criteria like sustainability, heritage conservation, and infrastructure.

We've made a selection from their list so you can use it for your own travel plans. Enjoy!

Some describe this town as "the most beautiful town in Switzerland." The famous Swiss cheese with its characteristic holes is made here.

A unique place in the Arabian Peninsula at 1,000 meters (3,280 ft) high. It's a beautiful refuge in the midst of mountains.

There are several towns with this name in Japan, but the one belonging to the Kyoto prefecture surprises the traveler with winter scenes as lovely as this one.

A beautiful inland Portuguese town. Stone, stillness and a splendid blue sky.

This town has devoted itself to recovering its roots, rebuilding an 'ethnic village' (in the image) depicting what ancient Serbia may have been like. One of the promoters of this project was the film director Emir Kusturica.

Image: Vera Mandic / Unsplash

A vestige of Inca architecture deep in Peru. Cobbled streets, early agricultural wonders, and an extraordinary enclave between towering mountains.

Image: Asim D'Silva / Unsplash

This town is a crossroads with 900 years of history. Eight-story buildings from stone, clay and wood stand amid palm trees on the road to Mecca.

Image: Shatisaa Javali / Unsplash

A fabulous place between mountains on the border with Austria.

Image: Kristjan Kotar / Unsplash

A little over 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) south of Essaouira lies this enchanting place. According to some traveler reviews, it has "the best beach in Morocco."

Image: Bernard Hermant / Unsplash

A city that has been a World Heritage Site since the year 2000. Architectures from old dynasties along the watercourses that make up a unique landscape.

Image: Jevens Julian / Unsplash

A beautiful town among pine trees, one of the many charms that Lebanon has as a country-

Image: By Elbeyrouthy - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73059644

Destination to savor deep Mexico, back in the state of Puebla. Its open-air markets are famous, which are installed in its streets during the weekend and where handicrafts, gastronomic products are sold...

A corner of the Austrian Tyrol full of authenticity and spectacular landscapes.

Image: From Clemenspicture - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6118163

A paradisiacal enclave on the paradisiacal island of Mauritius.

Image: Xavier Coiffic/Unsplash

In the north of the Iberian Peninsula, not far from the border with France, is Lekunberri (according to its name in Basque), a town that maintains its authenticity in the midst of a green landscape.

One of the oldest towns in the Yucatan Peninsula. Founded by the Mayans, in Maní there is a Franciscan monastery built in 1549 with the stones of the old pre-Columbian constructions.

Image: Hermann Luyken / Wikimedia

At the top of a rocky mountain, very close to the Mediterranean, stands the castle of Morella and, around it, a town through which Romans, Visigoths, Arabs and other cultures have passed.

Image: De Kriegerkalle / Wikimedia

A fabulous enclave located in what was a volcano that emerged 60 million years ago and is now inactive.

A beautiful town in Cappadocia that was mostly inhabited by Greeks until, in 1924, the Greeks had to leave and were replaced by Muslim Macedonians and Turks from Kastonia.

Image: By brewbooks from near Seattle, USA - Town Center - Mustafapaşa, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52339422

One of the best places in Japan for skiing. And an absolutely stunning snowy landscape.

Image: Marek Okon/Unsplash

A town that has persevered in preserving and recovering traditional architecture and culture. Famous for its lace garments and silver crafts.

Image: De Lapost - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6085604

Slovenian capital of honey and chocolate in the midst of a spectacular mountain landscape.

Image: brut carniollus / Unsplash

In the Marche region is this town whose beauty lies in its cobbled streets and centuries-old buildings but also in surrounding landscapes like this one.

Belongs to the "quiet cities" movement

One of the most idyllic corners of alpine Switzerland.

Image: De Franciop - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32628705

A magnificent enclave with an extraordinary natural phenomenon: a volcanic crater turned into a paradisiacal lake.

Image: By DeDuijn - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47603416

In a country like China, where there are so many examples of pollution and environmental damage, Yucun symbolizes the effort to preserve crystal clear waters, clean air and zero pollution.