The cathedral didn't look very impressive from the outside and I wondered why it was a WHS, until I stepped inside. The dome is incredible and the golden detailed painting …
Joyce Van Soest
Netherlands \ Member since December 2005
#64 486 0 18
My most impressive site: Decani Monastery, Kosovo (it is not only a beautiful monastery, but going to the monastry protected by armed soldiers is an experience by itself)
Recent Visits
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20July 14, 2025Cambodian Memorial Sites, Minoan Palatial Centres
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40March 8, 2025Island of Gorée, Kunta Kinteh Island, Saloum Delta, Stone Circles of Senegambia
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80Dec. 2, 2024Amami-Oshima Island, Fujisan, Genbaku Dome, Gusuku of Ryukyu, Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region …
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About Joyce van Soest
- Member since
- December 2005
- Country of Origin
- Netherlands
Visits
- Rank
- #64
- WHS
- 486
- Tentative Sites
- 0
Website Participation
- Reviews
- 31
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Ratings
Ratings
World Heritage Sites
- Serengeti 5.0
- Baalbek 5.0
- Ancient Kyoto 5.0
- Himeji-jo 5.0
- Persepolis 5.0
- Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks 5.0
- Ngorongoro 5.0
- Sigiriya 4.5
- Vienna 4.5
- Taj Mahal 4.5
- Palmyra 4.5
- Arequipa 4.5
- Hollókö 4.5
- Amsterdam Canal Ring 4.5
- Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras 4.5
- Meidan Emam, Esfahan 4.5
- Prambanan 4.0
- Nikko 4.0
- Luang Prabang 4.0
- Jantar Mantar 4.0
- Hill Forts of Rajasthan 4.0
- Mahabalipuram 4.0
- Teide National Park 4.0
- Sukhothai 4.0
- Roman Walls of Lugo 4.0
- Itsukushima Shrine 4.0
- Fujisan 4.0
- iSimangaliso Wetland Park – Maputo NP 4.0
- Kremlin and Red Square 4.0
- Schönbrunn 4.0
- Victoria Falls 4.0
- Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple 4.0
- Anuradhapura 4.0
- Glacier parks 4.0
- South China Karst 4.0
- Hahoe and Yangdong 4.0
- Shirakawa-go and Gokayama 4.0
- Tierradentro 4.0
- Yazd 4.0
- Mount Emei, including Leshan Giant Buddha 4.0
- Okavango Delta 4.0
- Fatehpur Sikri 4.0
- Chola Temples 4.0
- Maloti-Drakensberg Park 4.0
- Hal Saflieni Hypogeum 4.0
- Eisinga Planetarium 4.0
- Santo Domingo 4.0
- Verona 4.0
- Su Nuraxi di Barumini 4.0
- University of Coimbra 4.0
- Pompei 4.0
- Brugge 4.0
- Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch 4.0
- Old Havana 4.0
- Jaipur City, Rajasthan 4.0
- Salamanca 4.0
- Wulingyuan 4.0
- Longmen Grottoes 3.5
- Crac des Chevaliers 3.5
- Damascus 3.5
- Tchogha Zanbil 3.5
- Safi al-Din Ensemble in Ardabil 3.5
- Stone Town of Zanzibar 3.5
- Dinosaur Provincial Park 3.5
- Robben Island 3.5
- Shushtar 3.5
- San Agustín 3.5
- Cartagena 3.5
- Mammoth Cave 3.5
- Matera 3.5
- The trulli of Alberobello 3.5
- Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes 3.5
- Kaeng Krachan Forest 3.5
- Lima 3.5
- Caral-Supe 3.5
- Chan Chan 3.5
- Huascaran National Park 3.5
- Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas 3.5
- Yungang Grottoes 3.5
- Serra de Tramuntana 3.5
- City of Bath 3.5
- Masjed-e Jâme' 3.5
- Golestan Palace 3.5
- Old Town of Lijiang 3.5
- Pirin National Park 3.5
- Central Highlands 3.5
- Jeju 3.5
- Al Ain 3.5
- Polonnaruva 3.5
- Kii Mountain Range 3.5
- Phong Nha - Ke Bang 3.5
- Olympic National Park 3.5
- Phu Phrabat 3.5
- Schwerin Residence Ensemble 3.5
- Amami-Oshima Island 3.5
- Saloum Delta 3.5
- Dong Phayayen - Khao Yai 3.5
- Nasca Lines 3.5
- Xidi and Hongcun 3.5
- Medina of Tunis 3.5
- Wooden Churches of Southern Malopolska 3.5
- Rhaetian Railway 3.5
- Olympia 3.5
- Red Fort 3.5
- Medina of Essaouira 3.5
- Hué 3.5
- Sighisoara 3.5
- Kinderdijk 3.5
- Ancient Nara 3.5
- Elvas 3.0
- Crespi d'Adda 3.0
- Komodo National Park 3.0
- Beijing Central Axis 3.0
- Wartburg Castle 3.0
- Trinidad and the Valley de los Ingenios 3.0
- Funerary and memory sites of the First World War 3.0
- Wooden Churches of Maramures 3.0
- Genbaku Dome 3.0
- Gusuku of Ryukyu 3.0
- Bourges Cathedral 3.0
- Tiwanaku 3.0
- Mozu-Furuichi Kofun 3.0
- Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution 3.0
- Island of Gorée 3.0
- Banska Stiavnica 3.0
- Belfries 3.0
- Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley 3.0
- Colonies of Benevolence 3.0
- Bardejov Town 3.0
- Amphitheater of El Jem 3.0
- Cuenca 3.0
- Altamira Cave 3.0
- Trinity Sergius Lavra 3.0
- Medina of Tétouan 3.0
- Huangshan 3.0
- Aleppo 3.0
- San Cristobal de La Laguna 3.0
- Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region 3.0
- Sinharaja Forest 3.0
- Bryggen 3.0
- Vicenza and the Palladian Villas 3.0
- Tyre 3.0
- Botanical Garden, Padua 3.0
- Flemish Béguinages 3.0
- Viñales Valley 3.0
- Naples 3.0
- Namib Sand Sea 3.0
- Stralsund and Wismar 3.0
- Grand Place, Brussels 3.0
- Dengfeng 3.0
- Kandy 3.0
- Ohrid Region 3.0
- Quseir Amra 3.0
- Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex 3.0
- Qutb Minar 3.0
- Delos 3.0
- Cape Floral Region 3.0
- Desembarco del Granma National Park 3.0
- Holasovice 3.0
- Chavin 3.0
- Mount Taishan 3.0
- Ir. D.F. Woudagemaal 3.0
- Van Nellefabriek 3.0
- Urbino 3.0
- Bellinzone 3.0
- Horyu-ji Area 3.0
- Medina of Sousse 3.0
- Las Medulas 3.0
- Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River 3.0
- Vigan 3.0
- Humayun's Tomb 3.0
- Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple 3.0
- Waterton Glacier International Peace Park 3.0
- Selimiye Mosque 3.0
- Angra do Heroismo 3.0
- Thracian tomb of Kazanlak 3.0
- The Four Lifts 3.0
- Stonehenge and Avebury 3.0
- Old Town of Galle 3.0
- Saint-Emilion 3.0
- Medieval Monuments in Kosovo 3.0
- Kairouan 3.0
- Early Christian Necropolis of Pécs 3.0
- Castel del Monte 3.0
- My Son 3.0
- Beemster Polder 3.0
- Quedlinburg 3.0
- Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro 3.0
- Pilgrimage Church of Wies 3.0
- Padua’s fourteenth-century fresco cycles 2.5
- Seowon, Neo-Confucian Academies 2.5
- Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries 2.5
- Mountain Railways of India 2.5
- Western Ghats 2.5
- Moravian Church Settlements 2.5
- Torun 2.5
- Garajonay 2.5
- Mining Sites of Wallonia 2.5
- Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan 2.5
- Persian Garden 2.5
- Lushan National Park 2.5
- Atapuerca 2.5
- Mystras 2.5
- Coffee Cultural Landscape 2.5
- The Persian Qanat 2.5
- Trang An 2.5
- Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona 2.5
- Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo 2.5
- Durham Castle and Cathedral 2.5
- Zamość 2.5
- Painted Churches in the Troödos Region 2.5
- Churches of Moldavia 2.5
- Lake Baikal 2.5
- Kenya Lake System 2.5
- Thungyai-Huai Kha Khaeng 2.5
- Gyeongju 2.5
- Litomysl Castle 2.5
- Bosra 2.5
- Mountain Resort, Chengde 2.5
- Sintra 2.5
- Vézelay 2.5
- Antequera Dolmens Site 2.5
- Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin 2.5
- Euphrasian Basilica in Porec 2.5
- Byblos 2.5
- Takht-e Soleyman 2.5
- Butrint 2.5
- Spissky Hrad and Levoca 2.5
- Villages with Fortified Churches 2.5
- Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump 2.5
- Pienza 2.5
- Cienfuegos 2.5
- Qadisha Valley 2.5
- Monastery of Horezu 2.5
- Camagüey 2.5
- Anjar 2.5
- Thracian tomb of Sveshtari 2.5
- Vall de Boi 2.5
- Three parallel rivers of Yunnan 2.5
- Manu National Park 2.5
- Malbork Castle 2.5
- Sangiran Early Man Site 2.5
- Ferrara 2.5
- Stone Circles of Senegambia 2.0
- Santa Cruz de Mompox 2.0
- Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae 2.0
- Peking Man Site 2.0
- Royal Joseon Tombs 2.0
- Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay 2.0
- Muskauer Park 2.0
- Białowieża Forest 2.0
- Pannonhalma 2.0
- Fossil Hominid Sites 2.0
- Persian Caravanserai 2.0
- Vlkolinec 2.0
- Kunta Kinteh Island 2.0
- Hwaseong Fortress 2.0
- La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle 2.0
- Tomioka Silk Mill 2.0
- Pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk 2.0
- Novodevichy Convent 2.0
- Choirokoitia 2.0
- Churches of Peace 2.0
- Temple, Mansion and Cemetery of Confucius 2.0
- Nessebar 2.0
- Kaiping Diaolou 2.0
- Susa 2.0
- Yuso and Suso Monasteries 2.0
- Nice 2.0
- Schokland 2.0
- Ban Chiang 2.0
- Provins 2.0
- Rideau Canal 2.0
- Trebic 2.0
- Fagus Factory 2.0
- Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries 2.0
- Messel Pit 2.0
- Lake Malawi 2.0
- Silk Roads: Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor 2.0
- Keoladeo National Park 2.0
- Le Havre 2.0
- Jelling 2.0
- Cilento and Vallo di Diano 2.0
- Tabriz Bazaar 2.0
- Fertö/Neusiedlersee 2.0
- Baroque Churches 2.0
- Qhapaq Ñan 2.0
- Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces 2.0
- Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans 2.0
- Gardens and Castle at Kromeríz 2.0
- Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz 2.0
- Aachen Cathedral 2.0
- Vizcaya Bridge 2.0
- Classical Gardens of Suzhou 2.0
- Burgos Cathedral 2.0
- Yogyakarta 2.0
- Pasargadae 2.0
- Hortobágy 2.0
- Hildesheim Cathedral and Church 2.0
- Soltaniyeh 2.0
- Bisotun 1.5
- Benedictine Convent of St. John 1.5
- Baekje Historic Areas 1.5
- Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye 1.5
- Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa Dolmen 1.5
- Tokaji Wine Region 1.5
- Kladruby nad Labem 1.5
- Mazagan 1.5
- Minoan Palatial Centres 1.5
- Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape 1.5
- Citadel of the Ho Dynasty 1.5
- Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region 1.5
- Namhansanseong 1.5
- Madara Rider 1.5
- Dacian Fortresses 1.0
- Srebarna Nature Reserve 1.0
- Tower of Hercules 1.0
- Lower German Limes 1.0
- Mount Kenya 0.5
- Danube Limes 0.5
- 320 0
- Locations
- 0
- Zones
- 0
Reviews by Joyce van Soest


Glacier parks (Inscribed)
Glacier parks
These parks are, in my opinion, quite different from each other so I don’t really understand why they are included together, except for the fact that they are beautiful nature …

Works of Antoni Gaudí (Inscribed)
Works of Antoni Gaudí
Ah, beautiful Barcelona! I have fond memories of my visit to the Catalan city and whenever I think of Barcelona I think of the buildings designed by Antoni Gaudí.
Whether …

Old City of Berne (Inscribed)
Old City of Berne
Bern is a nice city. It is not so big so you can easily visit the touristy attractions by foot. There's lots of odd-looking colorful small fountains in the city, …

Kinderdijk (Inscribed)
Kinderdijk
Whenever I have foreign friends visiting me, I take them to Kinderdijk. If you want to see windmills, this is the place to be! You can have a nice stoll …

Olympic National Park (Inscribed)
Olympic National Park
We visited Olympic National Park for a weekend once, and it's a beautiful piece of nature. We drove up to a campsite where we pitched up our tent, and after …

Dinosaur Provincial Park (Inscribed)
Dinosaur Provincial Park
I had seen pictures of the park before, and I really tried visiting the site. Lots of people only visit the town of Drumheller for it's well done Dinosaur museum …

Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch (Inscribed)
Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch
This glacierfield is the largest one in the European Alps and quite impressive. You can take a special train up to the Jungfrau and you have to change trains twice …

Rietveld Schröderhuis (Inscribed)
Rietveld Schröderhuis
A few years ago I visited the Rietveld Schroderhuis, and even though it's quite expensive to visit, I am glad I did it. At the tour they gave (you are …

Bryggen (Inscribed)
Bryggen
When visiting the city of Bergen it is hard not to see Bryggen: the small area of old wooden houses. I first walked by and took a quick peek, but …

West Norwegian Fjords (Inscribed)
West Norwegian Fjords
In April I visited Norway and since I didn't have a lot of time and most of the tourist sites were still closed, I did the Norway In A Nutshell …