Even drowned in an ocean of toxic waste, the remnants of this Romanian village stand tall.

No one knows who built this strange cave of worship or exactly why.

A giant portrait of an ancient king looms over the river.

The romantic botanic tunnel feels like a well-kept secret.

A rare pod of derelict midcentury Futuro and Venturo houses lines a semi-abandoned beachfront resort outside Taipei.

This solitary monastery may hold the remains of Vlad the Impaler (but probably not).

This once-derelict building is now one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world.

The possible imprisonment of Vlad the Impaler here earned the medieval castle its nickname, "Dracula's Castle."

Moss and stone turn this waterfall into an otherworldly liquid veil.

This massive underground salt mine now holds a sci-fi theme park in its depths.

Some call this eerie forest of crooked trees the "Bermuda Triangle of Romania."

This fairy-tale castle would make Dracula (who is said to have been imprisoned there) jealous.

This elaborately decorated, fairytale-like Romanian royal palace is one of the most striking castles in Europe.

A relic of the Cold War tucked away in the forested hills above Bratislava.

A once-fairy tale mansion now stands in a state of disrepair.

An abandoned 19th-century iron factory perched along the outskirts of an idyllic village.

The ruins of a 13th-century monastery that long served as a place of refuge from wars and raids.

Climb around the high waterfalls on series of iron ladders and bridges within the wildest gorge in the Slovak Paradise.

A perfectly preserved hill village where the buildings are painted like white lace.

A unique hotel for the artistic soul.

The 700-year-old fortress was the site of Count Orlok's castle in "Nosferatu."

The last standing example of an ancient district's teatime tradition.

A cluster of historic bathhouses built on the famed hot springs that gave the Georgian capital its name.

The cave holds a spectacular array of stalactites and stalagmites, including one shaped like a giant human heart.