Must-see attractions in Eastern Europe

  • High angle of Dubrovnik's old town and coastal region.

    City Walls & Forts

    Dubrovnik

    No visit to Dubrovnik is complete without a walk around the spectacular city walls that encircle its historic core. They're among the finest in the world…

  • JULY 11, 2017: Empty courtyard in Diocletian's Palace.

    Diocletian’s Palace

    Split

    Taking up a prime harborside position, the extraordinary complex of Diocletian's Palace is one of the most imposing ancient Roman structures in existence…

  • Caves and waterfalls

    Plitvice Lakes National Park

    Plitvice Lakes National Park

    By far Croatia's top natural attraction and the absolute highlight of Croatia's Adriatic hinterland, the Plitvice Lakes National Park is a glorious…

  • View in a bright sunny day of fortress Klis near Split in Croatia.

    Klis Fortress

    Split

    Controlling the valley leading into Split, the imposing Klis Fortress spreads along a limestone bluff, reaching 1260ft (385m) at its highest point. Its…

  • Croatia, Dalmatia, Brac island, Bol, Zlatni Rat (Golden Cape) beach

    Zlatni Rat

    Bol

    Zlatni Rat, Croatia's most photographed beach, extends like a tongue into the sea for about a quarter of a mile (400m). Despite the hype and constant…

  • Hill of crosses

    Hill of Crosses

    Lithuania

    Lithuania's fabled Hill of Crosses is a symbol of defiance as much as a pilgrimage site. More than 100,000 crosses have been planted on this low hill,…

  • St Dominus Cathedral belfry, Diocletian's Palace .

    Cathedral of St Domnius

    Split

    Split’s octagonal cathedral is one of the best-preserved ancient Roman buildings still standing. It was built as a mausoleum for Diocletian, the last…

  • Saint-Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine

    St Sophia's Cathedral

    Kyiv

    The interior is the most astounding aspect of Kyiv's oldest standing church. Many of the mosaics and frescoes are original, dating back to 1017–31, when…

  • Solovetsky Spaso-Preobrazhensky Transfiguration Monastery (iconic view, Solovki Kremlin). White Sea, Russia, Arkhangelsk region, Solovki island; Shutterstock ID 1737751220; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
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    Solovetsky Transfiguration Monastery

    Northern European Russia

    This imposing, stone-walled monastery is the heart and soul of the Solovetsky Islands. Founded in 1429, it has played various roles throughout its…

  • The crown of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich in the Armoury in the Kremlin, Moscow. 21/06/2003. (Photo by Jeff Overs/BBC News & Current Affairs via Getty Images)

    Armoury

    Moscow

    The Armoury dates to 1511, when it was founded under Vasily III to manufacture and store weapons, imperial arms and regalia for the royal court. Later it…

  • Kyevo-Pecherska Lavra

    Kyiv

    Tourists and Orthodox pilgrims alike flock to the Lavra, set on 28 hectares of grassy hills above the Dnipro River in Pechersk. It's easy to see why…

  • Romania, Transylvania, Exterior

    Corvin Castle

    Transylvania

    Some castles perch on mountains, others skulk in mist-shrouded hills, but Hunedoara’s juts out from an industrial jungle. Despite being surrounded by…

  • Jordan Staircase Of Hermitage Museum

    State Hermitage Museum

    St Petersburg

    The Hermitage fully lives up to its sterling reputation. You can be absorbed by its treasures for days and still come out wanting more. The enormous…

  • St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square, Moscow, Russia

    St Basil's Cathedral

    Moscow

    At the southern end of Red Square stands the icon of Russia: St Basil’s Cathedral. This crazy confusion of colours, patterns and shapes is the culmination…

  • Romania, Castelul Peles (Peles Castle), facade seen from gardens set against blue sky

    Peleş Castle

    Sinaia

    Over 40 years, dozens of builders, artists and wood-carvers brought Peleş Castle into existence. The neo-Renaissance masterpiece was commissioned by…

  • Visoki Decani monastery; Shutterstock ID 50370370

    Visoki Dečani Monastery

    Kosovo

    Built in the early 14th century by Serbian king Stefan Dečanski, this monastery is in a beautiful spot beneath the mountains and surrounded by pine and…

  • Exterior of Water Tower at Kremlin.

    Moscow Kremlin

    Moscow

    The apex of Russian political power and once the centre of the Orthodox Church, the Kremlin is the kernel of not only Moscow, but of the whole country…

  • Mausoleum on Red Square, Moscow, Russia; Shutterstock ID 64158388; Your name (First / Last): Josh Vogel; Project no. or GL code: 56530; Network activity no. or Cost Centre: Online-Design; Product or Project: 65050/7529/Josh Vogel/LP.com Destination Galleries

    Lenin's Mausoleum

    Moscow

    Although Vladimir Ilych requested that he be buried beside his mum in St Petersburg, he still lies in state at the foot of the Kremlin wall, receiving…

  • Basilica, Ruins of 6th century Greek city, Butrint, Albanian Riviera, Albania

    Butrint

    The Albanian Riviera

    Early in the morning, before the tourist crowds arrive and when the rocks are still tinged in the yellow dawn light, you might just imagine that the…

  • Euphrasian Basilica.

    Euphrasian Basilica

    Poreč

    Top billing in Poreč goes to the 6th-century Euphrasian Basilica, a World Heritage Site and one of Europe’s finest intact examples of Byzantine art. Built…

  • Ancient ruins of arena

    Roman Amphitheatre

    Pula

    Pula’s most famous and imposing sight is this 1st-century oval amphitheatre, overlooking the harbour northeast of the old town. It's a huge and truly…

  • Moscow's Red Square

    Red Square

    Moscow

    Immediately outside the Kremlin’s northeastern wall is the celebrated Red Square, the 400m-by-150m area of cobblestones that is at the very heart of…

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    Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania

    Vilnius

    If you only see one museum in Vilnius, make it this one. On a site that has been settled since the 4th century AD stands the latest in a procession of…

  • Palace of Parliament

    Bucharest

    The Palace of Parliament is the world’s second-largest administrative building (after the Pentagon) and former dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu’s most infamous…

  • Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari in Isperih, Bulgaria - A UNESCO World Heritage Site; Shutterstock ID 517225078; full: 65050; gl: 65050; netsuite: POI; your: Erin Lenczycki
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    Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari

    Bulgaria

    The highlight at this Unesco-protected Thracian settlement is a nearly perfectly preserved three-chamber burial tomb from about 300 BC. The high quality…

  • Moscow, Russia - July 29, 2018: People at the Moscow Festival of Italy Grand Italia Fest in the Hermitage Garden; Shutterstock ID 1145341304; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
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    Hermitage Gardens

    Moscow

    All the things that have improved Moscow parks no end in recent years fill this small, charming garden to the brim. Today, it is possibly the most…

  • General Staff Building

    St Petersburg

    The east wing of this magnificent building, wrapping around the south of Dvortsovaya pl and designed by Carlo Rossi in the 1820s, marries restored…

  • The Endless Column (Column of Infinite) made by Constantin Brancusi in Targu Jiu, Romania symbolizes the Infinite Sacrifice of Romanian soldiers and it is considered the top point of the modern Art.; Shutterstock ID 242715793; purchase_order: 65050; job: ; client: ; other:
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    Endless Column

    Wallachia

    The Endless Column, one of Constantin Brâncuşi's best-known and most celebrated works, sits at the eastern end of Calea Eroilor (20 minutes on foot from…

  • Archaeological Museum

    Varna

    Exhibits at this vast museum, the best of its kind in Bulgaria, include 6000-year-old bangles, necklaces and earrings said to be the oldest worked gold…

  • Alba Iulia medieval fortress aerial view at sunset; 
Alba Carolina Citadel

Shutterstock ID 675419281; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Alba Carolina Citadel

    Transylvania

    Alba Carolina Citadel is the crowning attraction of Alba Iulia. Within this star-shaped citadel are museums, churches and the Unification Hall that sealed…

  • Tsarevets fortress, Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria, Europe

    Tsarevets Fortress

    Veliko Târnovo

    The inescapable symbol of Veliko Târnovo, this reconstructed fortress dominates the skyline and is one of Bulgaria’s most beloved monuments. The former…

  • 17th-century wooden churches and bell tower of Kizhi Pogost historical site.

    Kizhi Museum Reserve

    Northern European Russia

    One of Russia's unmissable attractions, the reserve is home to dozens of 18th- and 19th-century log buildings, some furnished in period style, which were…

  • Ancient Apollonia, Albania

    Apollonia

    Albania

    The evocative ruins of the ancient Illyiran city of Apollonia sit on a windswept hilltop some 12km west of the city of Fier. While a large part of the…

  • Danilovgrad, Montenegro - June 4, 2012: Tourists visit to Ostrog - Serbian Orthodox monastery in Montenegro, located in mountains 15 km from Danilovgrad town. Founded in the XVII century.

    Ostrog Monastery

    Central Montenegro

    Resting improbably – miraculously? – in a cliff face 900m above the Zeta valley, the gleaming white Ostrog Monastery is the most important site in…

  • Cave monastery in the historical temple complex of old Orhei (Orheiul Vechi), Moldova, Europe

    Orheiul Vechi

    Moldova

    The archaeological and ecclesiastical complex at Orheiul Vechi (Old Orhei), about 50km north of Chişinău, is an important historical site and a place of…

  • Main door of cathedral, Santiago de Compostela

    St James' Cathedral

    Šibenik

    The crowning architectural glory of the Dalmatian coast and the undisputed masterpiece of its principal designer, Juraj Dalmatinac, this World Heritage…

  • Picture of a Island Golem Grad on Lake Prespa, Macedonia

    Golem Grad

    North Macedonia

    Adrift on Lake Prespa, Golem Grad was once the king's summer playground but is now home to wild tortoises, cormorants and pelicans, and perhaps a few…

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    Kalaja

    Berat

    Hidden behind the crumbling walls of the fortress that crowns the hill above Berat is the whitewashed, village-like neighbourhood of Kala; if you walk…

  • Saint Naum Monastery near Ohrid in Macedonia

    Sveti Naum Monastery

    Lake Ohrid

    Sveti Naum, 29km south of Ohrid, is an imposing sight on a bluff near the Albanian border and a popular day trip from Ohrid. Naum was a contemporary of St…

  • Bunk'Art

    Tirana

    This fantastic conversion – from a massive Cold War bunker on the outskirts of Tirana into a history and contemporary art museum – is Albania's most…