I always seem to be less impressed by sites in my home country than sites abroad, and reading the feed back on the least impressive sites it seems that the Dutch contingent feel the same (though this probably has a lot to do with the specialist nature of the inscribed sites in the Netherlands). I was just wondering if other people feel the same.

I can appreciate the significance of many of the sites around the British Isles, and some of them really are world class, but I guess the fact that everything is so familiar it doesn't feel as magical. To the extent that I have better memories of visiting the pretty dire city of Le Havre than I do of visiting more interesting sites such as Ironbridge Gorge or Bath.

The two sites that I have significantly enjoyed in the British Isles have been the Castles in North Wales and Skellig Michael of the west coast of Ireland, perhaps because both of these regions are different and distinct culturally and even linguistically; in Caernarfon especially the first language is Welsh.

I find visiting sites in my own country is equally rewarding, then visiting abroad. however, i live in Canada; and there are no sites that i can visit in a day trip, so any site is special to me.

I enjoy visiting the sites in South Africa although most are nature-based landscapes - which I truly like, don't get me wrong! Some are a mix of cultural and natural landscapes with amazing tangible cultural heritage such as the San rock art in the Drakensberg which gives it that added dimension! Though most of all, I love travelling abroad and visiting cultural sites with rich heritage in terms of artefacts created by man, such as the wow Taj Mahal or the temple 'lighthouses' at Agrigento. My short-list is to visit Petra, Angor Watt and Machu Picchu as each of these must be an out-of-this-world experience...especially if you can catch one with a cultural festival taking place.

I make it a point to visit all the sites in Belgium (that includes every belfry and beguinage). My vision on this is that: if I travel thousands of kilometers to see nice things, why not see the nice things in my own country as well? I get the feeling people somethimes skip sights in their own country, simply because it's in their own country, while your own country (that's the last time I say own country I swear) can have a lot to offer.

I have to admit, some seem less impressive, but that's mostly cause of the fact that they are like 20 minutes away from where I live. and I can visit them frequently. I often pass the belfries in Antwerp, and Plantin-Moretus I visited with a schooltrip. I really like Bruges, cause it's so pretty and it keeps amazing me.

I always really liked the flemish beguinages. Cause if you had asked me before 1998 what sights flanders could possible offer that are of universal value, I wouldn't be able to come up with any. the beguinages added something to our cultural identity in my humble opinion. Though the novelty wears off a bit after you've seen a few. Same with the belfries. Though I like visiting places in Belgium I'd usually not visit (thanks to the belfries).

The Grand Place in Brussels stays pretty awe-inspiring.

So in short to answer your question: somethimes I do enjoy them as much as abroad, somethimes not. And visiting sites in far of places also gives an extra dimension to a visit, since they are harder to reach.