When sacred sites are listed as World heritage sites – and thereby moved into the focus of international tourism – the interpretations of their complex spatial constructs change. Henri Lefebvre argued that, in order to understand the complexity of space, it is necessary to achieve an understanding of the interplay between its physical, mental and social layers. Using the example of Ambohimanga, a Malagasy place of cult and ritual, listed as a World Heritage Site in 2001, the paper interprets the process that transforms World Heritage Sites into "other spaces" or hybrid spaces by applying the analytical triad of spatial practices, representations of space and spaces of representation. Ambohimanga, as a complex, intertwined and permeable space, serves religious and national aspirations as well as touristic functions.