Southern Latvia
Bauska Castle sits on a picturesque hillock squeezed between two rivers – the Mūsa and Mēmele – that flow parallel to each other. It is actually two…
Must-see attractions in Eastern Europe
Bucharest
The tiny and lovely Stavropoleos Church, which dates from 1724, perches a bit oddly a block over from some of Bucharest's craziest Old Town carousing. It…
Bucharest
This is the lovingly restored residence and studio of 19th-century Romanian painter Theodor Aman. Aman's skill was in small, finely rendered oil paintings…
Sofia
Housed in a former mosque built in 1496, this museum displays a wealth of Thracian, Roman and medieval artefacts. Highlights include a mosaic floor from…
Bucharest
On the shores of Herăstrău Lake, this museum is a terrific open-air collection of several dozen homesteads, churches, mills and windmills relocated from…
Vilnius
This striking church is the city’s oldest baroque place of worship. St Casimir’s dome and cross-shaped ground plan defined a new style for 17th-century…
Transylvania
Not enough time to join a bear hide excursion to see these impressive carnivores lumbering through their natural habitat? Libearty Sanctuary is the next…
North Macedonia
Propping up the base of Pelister, just 5km from Bitola, the 830m-high mountainside hamlet of Dihovo is a charming spot, surrounded by thick pine forests…
Srebrenica-Potočari Memorial Centre
Bosnia & Hercegovina
Based in and around the derelict battery factory that served as the Potočari UN base, this memorial centre incorporates a major display entitled…
Transylvania
Commonly paired with Bran Castle on day trips from Braşov, Râşnov Fortress might just be the more enchanting of the two. The medieval citadel, built by…
Western Estonia & the Islands
Haapsalu’s crumbling heart is its bishop’s castle, which was western Estonia’s centre of command from the 13th to the 16th centuries but now stands in…
Bulgaria
The concrete UFO looming over Shipka Pass is central Bulgaria's most peculiar sight. This former assembly hall slid into disrepair after the fall of…
Zagreb
This very short, and steep, funicular railway line, constructed in 1888, connects the Lower and Upper Towns of Zagreb.
Museum of the Defence & Blockade of Leningrad
St Petersburg
The grim but engrossing displays here contain donations from survivors, propaganda posters from the blockade period and many photos depicting life and…
Transylvania
Biertan’s late-Gothic church, ringed by concentric walls and flanked by towers, is among the largest and most impressive in Transylvania. The triple-naved…
Bay of Kotor
Hulking Mt Orjen (1893m) separates Herceg Novi from Hercegovina and is higher than the more famous Mt Lovćen. It’s a popular spot for hiking and mountain…
Lahemaa National Park
Fully restored Palmse Manor is the showpiece historic building of Lahemaa National Park, housing the visitor centre in its former stables. The pretty…
Bulgaria
A magenta-and-white ice-cream cone of a church glows above tumbledown Shipka village, its golden onion domes glittering from thick woodlands. Part of…
Ohrid
Saluting the lake from Ohrid's hilltop, Plaošnik is home to the multidomed medieval Church of Sveti Kliment i Pantelejmon, the foundations of a 5th…
Burgas
Four lakes surrounding Burgas (Pomoriysko, Atanasovsko, Mandrensko and Burgasko) comprise 9500 hectares and represent the largest wetland system in…
St Petersburg
Fyodor Dostoevsky lived in flats all over the city (mostly in Sennaya), but his final residence is this ‘memorial flat’ where he lived from 1878 until he…
Braşov
Romania’s largest Gothic church rises triumphantly over Braşov’s old town. Built between 1385 and 1477, this German Lutheran church was named for its…
Bulgaria
Just outside the village of Cherven, about 30km south of Ruse, are the remains of a remarkably intact 6th-century hilltop citadel. Several streets, towers…
North Macedonia
Cradled by the foothills on the western edge of Pelister, little Brajčino's lungs are fit to bursting with fresh mountain air, making it a thoroughly…
Northern Dalmatia
Dedicated to protecting birds of prey in Croatia, this centre performs a kind of rescue and rehab service for around 150 injured raptors each year…
Krka National Park
The highlight of Krka National Park, an hour-long loop follows boardwalks, connects little islands in the emerald-green, fish-filled river and terminates…
Transylvania
Wondrously decorated with carved columns, apocalyptic frescoes and gardens with barely a petal out of place, Brâncoveanu Monastery is as pristine as its…
Glinka Museum of Musical Culture
Moscow
This musicologist's paradise boasts over 3000 instruments – handcrafted works of art – from the Caucasus and the Far East. Russia is very well represented…
Moldavia & the Bucovina Monasteries
Agapia Monastery is an active nunnery, housing 300 to 400 nuns in two locations. The main monastery, Agapia din Vale, stands at the western end of Agapia…
Northern Montenegro
Small Piva Monastery has an intriguing history: originally constructed between 1573 and 1586, it was the only Serbian Orthodox monastery to be built…
Wallachia
While the museum houses an ethnographic and natural-sciences section, as well as an aquarium displaying Danubian species, the highlight is a scale model…
North Macedonia
Prespa is separated from its sister lake, Ohrid, by Galičica National Park and a road crosses the ridge of the park, linking the two. Prespa's mirrorlike…
Kaunas
Built by Camaldolese monks in the 17th century, this striking baroque monastery lies 9km east of central Kaunas, on a promontory jutting into the Kauno…
Tallinn
Boasting a broad collection of rare goat and sheep species, plus around 350 other varieties of feathered, furry and four-legged friends (including lions,…
Bosnia & Hercegovina
Ostrožac is one of Bosnia's most photogenic castles, a spooky Gothic place high above the Una Valley, up 3km of hairpins towards Cazin. There's plenty to…
Romania
Oradea's Orthodox synagogue dates from 1890 and was the main house of worship for around a third of the city's Jewish residents before WWII. It survived…
Bay of Kotor
You'd never know it – thanks to a distinct (and puzzling) lack of hype – but 3km up the road from Morinj, a quick hike will bring you to the Balkans' most…
Archaeological Museum of Macedonia
Skopje
This supersized pile of Italianate-styled marble has been a giant receptacle for Skopje's recent splurge on government-led monuments to boost national…
Central Montenegro
Cetinje may indeed be littered with old-time reminders of its days as Montenegro's capital city, but just 4km away lies an attraction that makes the town…
Lahemaa National Park
Known as the 'Captains’ Village', from 1884 to 1931 tiny Käsmu was home to a marine school that churned out ship captains. At one stage it was said that…
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