An idyllic traditional timber village on a picturesque hill was built for a film.

This ice cream parlor serves scoops of flavors like rakia, medlar, and poppy seed.

A museum dedicated to the former country.

A hidden stream deep in the mountains creates one of the largest tufa waterfalls in Serbia.

The ridged layers that make up this river canyon represent Earth's geological history.

The ruins of this medieval castle on a foggy hill tell the story of a once-mighty empire.

The interior of this Serbian royal family's mausoleum is covered with exquisite mosaics.

Legends of treasure and spirits flow from this this fairy tale-like oasis.

This beautifully preserved Ottoman house is steeped in history.

In the heart of Tirana, this underground nuclear bunker has been transformed into a museum.

A temple dedicated to the 13th-century Alevi Turkish dervish credited with bringing Islam to the Balkans.

A museum dedicated to secret surveillance.

This ominous Albanian fortress houses tanks and downed planes as a reminder of their victories over Western imperialism.

A naturally beautiful, seemingly bottomless deep blue spring.

A medieval bridge stretches over a sulfur-rich river that leads to year-round natural hot springs.

Once the fallout shelter of a dictator, this sprawling bunker is now a combined history museum and contemporary art gallery.

A historical puzzle lies at the origins of this structure.

In the hometown of the Catholic saint and Nobel Peace Prize winner, a memorial dedicated to her legacy.

An abandoned resort in North Macedonia is a relic from the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.

This fortress dates back to the 6th century and is also the site of a controversial abandoned restoration project.

See how paper is made the old-fashioned way.

This apartment is a true time capsule of local life in Bulgaria during the Soviet regime.

The Grand Mall in Varna hosts one of the biggest collections of Soviet-era paraphernalia in Bulgaria.

This ancient theater, restored in the 20th century, lives on as a venue for dramatic and musical performances.