Podgorica
A large equestrian statue of Nikola I struts grandly at the head of a lovely park with manicured hedges and mature trees.
Must-see attractions in Eastern Europe
Split
Built into the western wall of Diocletian's Palace, Split's synagogue is the third-oldest synagogue in Europe that's still in use. Created out of two…
Korčula Island
Spacious enough to make cave-dwelling seem like a viable accommodation option, this large domed cavern, high on a cliff above the harbour, has been…
Minsk
The city's main square is referred to universally by its Russian name, Oktyabrskaya Ploshchad (October Sq). Here you'll find the impressive, severe Palats…
Vis Island
When things began to get crazy-busy at the more impressive Blue Cave, tour operators started to market this much larger sea cave as a free alternative,…
Sofia
Sofia's vast concert hall dates from 1981 and houses countless chambers, as well as music clubs and cafes. It watches over an elongated park known as pl…
Pristina
These iconic block letters in downtown Pristina look a bit scrappy and worn these days, but they captured the imagination of the fledgling nation when…
North Macedonia
Has displays on local ethnological history, as well as wine-making equipment and drinking vessels from the 19th century. The museum is well-kept, but the…
Tirana
At the top of Rr Elbasanit is the Martyrs' Cemetery, where some 900 partisans who died in WWII are buried. The views over the city and surrounding…
Black Sea Coast
This small museum doesn't always hold to the posted hours, but if you catch it open you'll find artefacts going back to the town's Thracian, Greek and…
Plovdiv
This beige mansion built in 1830 has a special place in Plovdiv hearts as the location where French poet Alphonse de Lamartine stayed in 1833, along the…
Split
This 1st-century eastern city gate was later engulfed by Salona as the city spread eastwards. Grooves in the stone road left by ancient wheels can still…
Black Sea Coast
Below ground level just behind the Sveti Spas Church are the partly excavated remains of a 6th-century Byzantine baths complex. Though not much to look at…
Saranda
These ruins of a 5th-century synagogue are located right in the heart of town and provide evidence of one of the earliest Balkan-Jewish communities. There…
Black Sea Coast
This relatively plain 19th-century church is the only functioning one in town and modestly dressed visitors are welcome. (Shawls are provided at the…
Korčula Island
The main entrance to the old city is through the southern land gate at the base of this tower. Built in the 14th century and later extended, this…
Transylvania
Almost in the skirts of the Cindrel Mountains, faded Răşinari has this little museum. Next to the town hall, more than 1500 items from rural life are…
Wallachia
A modest memorial marks the spot where the city's notorious prison once stood and where insidious mind-control experiments were carried out in the late…
Novi Sad
Built in 1907, this long building with a baroque facade was once the family home of Mileva Marić, Serbian mathematician and the first wife of Albert…
Skopje
The original mosque at this site dated to the 15th century and was one of the oldest in the Balkans, but it was ravaged by a fire that devastated the…
Sofia
Bulgaria’s best-loved author, Ivan Vazov (1850–1921) lived at this house from 1895 until his death. Vazov wrote Under the Yoke, a classic of Bulgarian…
Western Siberia
This bell tower was built in 1799 for the Uglich bell, which famously signalled a revolt against Tsar Boris Godunov. The revolt failed; in a mad fury,…
Korčula Island
Located in the skinny tower of the house that is purported to have been Marco Polo's, this tiny museum has a few displays, but perhaps the real appeal of…
Sveti Sveti Petâr & Pavel Church
Bulgaria
This pretty pink church was built in the 1860s and is adorned with bright modern murals. It houses relics of a 4th-century local saint, Dasius, which were…
Bucharest
On Snagov Lake's western shore you’ll see an impressive-looking villa, Snagov Palace. It was built by Prince Nicolae, brother of King Carol II, in neo…
Western Siberia
Although the doomed writer never actually visited Novokuznetsk, he was so moved by the Soviet project to build a new city that he penned a poem starting…
The Albanian Riviera
As you zigzag down the mountain from the Llogaraja Pass National Park, the white crescent-shaped beaches and azure waters lure you from below. The first…
Moldova
At the entrance to the city, just west of the Bendery–Tiraspol bridge, is a memorial park dedicated to local 1992 war victims. An eternal flame burns in…
Northern European Russia
If you don't have time to visit the mysterious concentric swirls of stones that cover Bolshoy Zayatsky Island, this accessible, reconstructed example is…
Statue of the Unknown Partisan
Tirana
The socialist realist Statue of the Unknown Partisan, just off Sheshi Skënderbej, seems to be aiming his weapons at the Parliament building (1924) down…
Sofia
Watched over by the polygonal concrete bulk of the National Palace of Culture, this elongated park, with a fountain, ice-cream kiosks and bars, is popular…
Sofia
Erected in 2001 on the site where a gigantic statue of Lenin once stood, this 24m-high monument was created as a new civic symbol for the city. The bronze…
Shkodra
The small museum inside the Rozafa Fortress is worth a look for anyone interested in the history of the fortress and town and covers the neolithic period…
Shkodra
Known more commonly to locals as the Great Mosque, this impressive centrepiece to the city actually dates from the 18th century, but was fully renovated…
Split
Just outside the ancient walls of Salona is this ruined basilica. It was built on the site of an early Christian cemetery where the remains of some of…
Skopje
This outpost of the National Gallery of Macedonia hosts temporary exhibitions. It's a bit of a hike from Skopje's city centre and sometimes lies empty;…
Tirana
If you turn up Rr Murat Toptani, behind the National Gallery of Arts, you'll pass the 6m-high walls of the Fortress of Justinian, the last remnants of a…
Rovinj
This tiny museum is dedicated to the batana, a flat-bottomed fishing boat that stands as a symbol of Rovinj’s seafaring and fishing traditions. Although…
Sofia
This domineering Stalinist monolith, built in 1953, was once the headquarters of the Bulgarian Communist Party. It is now used as government offices and…
Basilica of the Holy Mother Eleusa
Black Sea Coast
Overlooking the sea, the Basilica of the Holy Mother Eleusa dates from the 6th century, and later became a monastery. The fortified tower alongside it was…
- placement: fullWidth
- path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
- possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [300, 250], [320, 50], [1, 1],
- targeting:
{ "position": "superzone" }
