Kyrgyzstan · Bishkek & the Chui Valley
Ala Archa National Park
A rugged alpine gorge just 40 km from Bishkek, with glaciers, peaks and hiking trails.
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Bulgaria · Sofia & the Rila Mountains
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Sofia)
A huge neo-Byzantine cathedral with gold-plated domes, one of the largest Orthodox cathedrals in the world.
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Kazakhstan · Almaty & the Tian Shan
Altyn-Emel National Park
Home to the “Singing Dune”, which hums in the wind, and the striped Aktau mountains.
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Georgia · Mtskheta & the Military Highway
Ananuri Fortress
A seventeenth-century castle complex with two churches on the shore of a turquoise reservoir.
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Azerbaijan · Baku & Absheron
Ateshgah Fire Temple (Surakhani)
A fortress-like temple built around a natural gas flame, once used by Zoroastrian and Hindu fire worshippers.
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Russia · Kamchatka & the Far East
Avachinsky Volcano
An active volcano near the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, climbable in a long day.
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Kazakhstan · Kyzylorda & the Syr Darya
Baikonur Cosmodrome
The world’s first and largest spaceport, where Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin launched from. Leased to Russia; visits require arranged tours.
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Kazakhstan · Astana
Baiterek Tower (Astana)
A 97 m monument shaped like a tree holding a golden egg, from a Kazakh legend about the tree of life.
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Bulgaria · Northern Bulgaria
Belogradchik Rocks
Towering red sandstone formations with a fortress built in among them.
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Kazakhstan · Almaty & the Tian Shan
Big Almaty Lake
A turquoise mountain lake at about 2,500 m in the Trans-Ili Alatau, just outside Almaty.
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Kazakhstan · Mangystau
Bozjyra (Mangystau region)
A surreal landscape of white chalk cliffs and pinnacles rising from the dried seabed of an ancient ocean.
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Romania · Brașov & the Southern Carpathians
Bran Castle
A medieval fortress on a rocky outcrop near Brașov, famous worldwide as “Dracula’s Castle”.
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Romania · Brașov & the Southern Carpathians
Brașov Old Town and the Black Church
A Saxon old town centred on a large Gothic church, overlooked by Tâmpa Mountain.
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Georgia · Tbilisi
Bridge of Peace (Tbilisi)
A modern glass-and-steel pedestrian bridge over the Mtkvari river, lit with LEDs at night.
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UNESCO World Heritage Kyrgyzstan · Bishkek & the Chui Valley
Burana Tower
An eleventh-century minaret near Tokmok, all that remains of the Silk Road city of Balasagun. Nearby is a field of ancient stone grave markers called balbals.
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Bulgaria · Plovdiv & the Rose Valley
Buzludzha Monument
A striking, flying-saucer-shaped former Communist Party hall on a mountain peak, now a famous abandoned landmark.
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Kazakhstan · Almaty & the Tian Shan
Charyn Canyon
A red-rock canyon about 150 km long, its Valley of Castles section often compared to the Grand Canyon.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · St. Petersburg
Church of the Savior on Blood
A Russian-revival church on a city canal, covered inside and out with mosaics.
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Romania · Transylvania
Corvin Castle (Hunedoara)
A Gothic castle with towers and a drawbridge, one of the largest castles in Europe.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · Baltic Coast
Curonian Spit
A narrow ribbon of sand dunes and pine forest between the Baltic Sea and a lagoon, shared with Lithuania.
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UNESCO World Heritage Romania · The Danube Delta
Danube Delta
One of Europe’s largest wetlands and a UNESCO biosphere reserve, rich in birdlife.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · The Caucasus
Derbent Citadel
An ancient fortress and walled town on the Caspian shore, among the oldest continuously inhabited places in Russia.
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UNESCO World Heritage Armenia · Yerevan & Around
Etchmiadzin Cathedral (Vagharshapat)
Considered the oldest cathedral in the world, founded around 301–303 AD, and the centre of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
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Azerbaijan · Baku & Absheron
Flame Towers (Baku)
Three flame-shaped skyscrapers whose LED facades light up at night, visible from almost anywhere in Baku.
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Armenia · Yerevan & Around
Garni Temple
A first-century Greco-Roman temple on a gorge edge, the only standing pagan temple of its kind in the former Soviet Union.
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UNESCO World Heritage Armenia · Yerevan & Around
Geghard Monastery
A thirteenth-century monastery partly carved into the cliff, with rock-cut chapels and remarkable acoustics.
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UNESCO World Heritage Georgia · Kutaisi & Imereti
Gelati Monastery (near Kutaisi)
A twelfth-century monastery and academy founded by King David the Builder, known for its golden-age mosaics and frescoes.
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Georgia · Mtskheta & the Military Highway
Gergeti Trinity Church (Kazbegi)
A small stone church on a high ridge, framed by the snow-covered cone of Mount Kazbek.
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UNESCO World Heritage Azerbaijan · Baku & Absheron
Gobustan National Park
Thousands of prehistoric rock carvings, some over 10,000 years old, plus nearby mud volcanoes.
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UNESCO World Heritage Armenia · Lori
Haghpat and Sanahin Monasteries
Two medieval monastic complexes in the northern Lori region, together a UNESCO World Heritage site.
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Kazakhstan · Astana
Hazret Sultan Mosque (Astana)
One of the largest mosques in Central Asia, in white marble with gold-trimmed domes.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · St. Petersburg
Hermitage Museum
A green-and-white palace on the Neva holding millions of objects, with state rooms as impressive as the art.
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Azerbaijan · Baku & Absheron
Heydar Aliyev Center (Baku)
Zaha Hadid’s flowing white cultural centre with no straight lines, Baku’s best-known modern building.
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Kyrgyzstan · Issyk-Kul
Issyk-Kul Lake
One of the largest alpine lakes in the world, ringed by the Tien Shan mountains. It never freezes despite its altitude, earning the nickname "warm lake".
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Kyrgyzstan · Issyk-Kul
Jeti-Oguz Rocks
Red sandstone cliffs near Karakol, including the "Seven Bulls" formation and the "Broken Heart" rock.
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UNESCO World Heritage Georgia · Mtskheta & the Military Highway
Jvari Monastery (Mtskheta)
A sixth-century stone church on a hilltop above the meeting of two rivers, an early model for Georgian church building.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · Kazan & the Volga
Kazan Kremlin
A white-stone fortress where a large mosque and an Orthodox cathedral stand within the same walls.
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Kazakhstan · Astana
Khan Shatyr (Astana)
A giant transparent tent designed by Norman Foster, housing a shopping and entertainment centre with an indoor beach.
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Armenia · Yerevan & Around
Khor Virap Monastery
A monastery beside the Turkish border with the classic view of snow-capped Mount Ararat, where Saint Gregory the Illuminator was held in a pit.
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Azerbaijan · Sheki & the Foothills
Kish Albanian Church (near Shaki)
One of the oldest churches in the Caucasus, linked to the ancient Caucasian Albanian kingdom.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · Karelia & the North
Kizhi Pogost
A cluster of wooden churches on an island in Lake Onega, topped by a tower of silvery domes.
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Kazakhstan · Almaty & the Tian Shan
Kolsai and Kaindy Lakes
Alpine lakes in the Tien Shan. Kaindy is famous for the sunken forest of spruce trunks rising out of the water.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · Lake Baikal & Siberia
Lake Baikal
The deepest and oldest lake on Earth, enormously clear and framed by forested mountains.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · Lake Baikal & Siberia
Lena Pillars
Jagged orange limestone cliffs rising along the Lena River in Yakutia.
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UNESCO World Heritage Bulgaria · Northern Bulgaria
Madara Rider
An early-medieval rock relief of a horseman carved high into a cliff face, unique in Europe.
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UNESCO World Heritage Azerbaijan · Baku & Absheron
Maiden Tower (Baku)
A mysterious stone tower from the twelfth century or earlier, the national symbol of Azerbaijan, rising above Baku’s Old City.
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UNESCO World Heritage Kazakhstan · Turkistan
Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (Turkestan)
An unfinished fourteenth-century masterpiece commissioned by Timur, with a huge turquoise dome. UNESCO-listed and a major pilgrimage site.
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Kazakhstan · Almaty & the Tian Shan
Medeu and Shymbulak
The world’s highest-altitude outdoor skating rink, connected by cable car to the Shymbulak ski resort above.
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Romania · Bucovina & Maramureș
Merry Cemetery (Săpânța)
A cemetery in Maramureș known for its brightly painted wooden crosses with humorous epitaphs.
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Azerbaijan · Nakhchivan
Momine Khatun Mausoleum (Nakhchivan)
A twelfth-century tomb tower covered in turquoise-glazed geometric brickwork, a masterpiece of medieval Azerbaijani architecture.
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Russia · The Caucasus
Mount Elbrus
A twin-peaked snow volcano and Europe's highest mountain by the usual definition.
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Georgia · Tbilisi
Narikala Fortress (Tbilisi)
An ancient hilltop citadel above the old town, reached by cable car, with sweeping views over Tbilisi.
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Armenia · Vayots Dzor
Noravank Monastery
A thirteenth-century monastery in a red-rock canyon, known for its two-storey Surb Astvatsatsin church and fine stone carvings.
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UNESCO World Heritage Bulgaria · The Black Sea coast
Old Nessebar
A small town on a Black Sea peninsula, packed with medieval churches. UNESCO-listed.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · Lake Baikal & Siberia
Olkhon Island
The largest island in Lake Baikal, with steppe hills, sandy bays and a sacred rock cape.
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UNESCO World Heritage Romania · Bucovina & Maramureș
Painted Monasteries of Bucovina
Churches such as Voroneț and Sucevița, covered inside and out with vivid fifteenth- to sixteenth-century frescoes. UNESCO-listed.
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Kazakhstan · Astana
Palace of Peace and Reconciliation (Astana)
A glass pyramid, also by Norman Foster, built to host interfaith congresses.
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Romania · Bucharest
Palace of the Parliament (Bucharest)
Ceaușescu’s colossal palace, one of the largest administrative buildings in the world.
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UNESCO World Heritage Azerbaijan · Sheki & the Foothills
Palace of the Shaki Khans (Shaki)
An eighteenth-century summer palace famous for vivid frescoes and shebeke stained-glass windows made without nails or glue.
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UNESCO World Heritage Azerbaijan · Baku & Absheron
Palace of the Shirvanshahs (Baku)
A fifteenth-century royal complex of courtyards, a mosque, a mausoleum and a bathhouse inside Baku’s walled Old City.
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Romania · Brașov & the Southern Carpathians
Peleș Castle (Sinaia)
A lavish neo-Renaissance royal palace in the Carpathian foothills, built in the late nineteenth century for King Carol I.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · St. Petersburg
Peterhof
Peter the Great's seaside estate, famous for its terraced gardens and gilded fountains.
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Bulgaria · Plovdiv & the Rose Valley
Plovdiv Old Town and Roman Theatre
One of Europe’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, with colourful Revival-era houses and a well-preserved second-century Roman theatre.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · Moscow
Red Square
The ceremonial heart of Moscow, framed by the Kremlin wall, a grand department store and a painted cathedral.
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UNESCO World Heritage Bulgaria · Sofia & the Rila Mountains
Rila Monastery
Bulgaria’s most famous monastery, founded in the tenth century in the Rila Mountains and known for its striped arches and vivid frescoes. UNESCO-listed.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · Golden Ring
Sergiev Posad (Trinity Lavra)
Russia's most important monastery, with blue-and-gold domes inside a fortified wall an hour from Moscow.
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Armenia · Lake Sevan
Sevanavank Monastery
Two ninth-century churches on a peninsula overlooking Lake Sevan, one of the largest high-altitude freshwater lakes in the world.
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Bulgaria · Sofia & the Rila Mountains
Seven Rila Lakes
A chain of glacial lakes stepped up a mountainside, one of the country’s most popular hikes.
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UNESCO World Heritage Romania · Transylvania
Sighișoara Citadel
A UNESCO-listed, still-inhabited medieval citadel with a clock tower and colourful houses, and the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler.
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Kyrgyzstan · Issyk-Kul
Skazka Canyon (Fairy Tale Canyon)
Colourful, wind-carved rock formations on the southern shore of Issyk-Kul that look like castles and creatures.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · Karelia & the North
Solovetsky Monastery
A fortified island monastery in the White Sea, with walls built of enormous boulders.
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Kyrgyzstan · Naryn & the High Pastures
Song-Kol Lake
A high mountain lake at about 3,000 m, surrounded by summer pastures where nomadic herders set up yurt camps. Visitors can stay overnight in a yurt.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · Moscow
St. Basil's Cathedral
Nine painted chapels crowd together at the southern edge of Red Square, forming the most recognisable skyline in Russia.
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UNESCO World Heritage Kyrgyzstan · Osh & the Fergana Valley
Sulaiman-Too (Osh)
A sacred mountain rising over the city of Osh, a pilgrimage site for many centuries and Kyrgyzstan’s first UNESCO World Heritage site.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · Golden Ring
Suzdal
A small riverside town of white-stone churches, wooden houses and monasteries, best explored on foot.
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UNESCO World Heritage Georgia · Mtskheta & the Military Highway
Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (Mtskheta)
A great eleventh-century cathedral at the heart of Georgia's ancient capital, said to guard the robe of Christ.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · Kazan & the Volga
Sviyazhsk
A tiny island town at the meeting of the Volga and Sviyaga rivers, with monasteries and old frescoes.
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UNESCO World Heritage Kazakhstan · Almaty & the Tian Shan
Tamgaly Petroglyphs
Thousands of Bronze Age rock carvings, including sun-headed figures. UNESCO-listed.
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Kyrgyzstan · Naryn & the High Pastures
Tash Rabat
A fifteenth-century stone caravanserai tucked into a remote valley near the Chinese border, once a shelter for Silk Road traders.
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Armenia · Syunik
Tatev Monastery
A ninth-century monastery on a cliff above the Vorotan Gorge, reached by the Wings of Tatev, one of the world’s longest reversible cable cars.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · Moscow
The Moscow Kremlin
A walled fortress of cathedrals, towers and treasuries on the bank of the Moskva River.
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UNESCO World Heritage Bulgaria · Plovdiv & the Rose Valley
Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak
A fourth-century BC tomb with remarkable murals, in the Valley of the Roses.
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Romania · Brașov & the Southern Carpathians
Transfăgărășan Highway
A spectacular road that switchbacks across the Făgăraș Mountains, passing Bâlea Lake. Open only in summer.
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Bulgaria · Northern Bulgaria
Tsarevets Fortress (Veliko Tarnovo)
The hilltop stronghold of the medieval Second Bulgarian Empire, above a dramatic bend of the Yantra River.
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Armenia · Yerevan & Around
Tsitsernakaberd (Armenian Genocide Memorial), Yerevan
A hilltop memorial with an eternal flame and a museum commemorating the victims of 1915.
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Georgia · Shida Kartli
Uplistsikhe
An ancient rock-hewn town near Gori, with halls, streets and a theatre cut into the cliff.
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UNESCO World Heritage Georgia · Svaneti
Ushguli Svan Towers
Medieval stone defensive towers in one of Europe's highest villages, below the glaciers of Mount Shkhara.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · Kamchatka & the Far East
Valley of Geysers
A steaming volcanic canyon of geysers and hot springs, reached only by helicopter.
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Georgia · Samtskhe-Javakheti
Vardzia
A twelfth-century cave city carved into a cliff face, with chapels, frescoes and hundreds of rooms.
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UNESCO World Heritage Russia · Golden Ring
Vladimir's Assumption Cathedral
A twelfth-century white-stone cathedral on a hill above the Klyazma River, once the model for Moscow's churches.
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Azerbaijan · Baku & Absheron
Yanar Dag
A hillside that has been burning continuously from natural gas seeping out of the ground, especially striking after dark.
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Armenia · Yerevan & Around
Yerevan Cascade
A giant limestone staircase with fountains and modern sculptures, leading up to views of the city and Mount Ararat.
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Kazakhstan · Almaty & the Tian Shan
Zenkov Cathedral (Almaty)
A colourful 1907 Russian Orthodox cathedral built almost entirely of wood, which survived a major earthquake in 1911.