One of the largest Buddhist stupas in the world keeps an eye out in every direction.

Sacred Buddhist home of some spiritual monkeys.

The holes in this wall provide a glimpse into Jewish life in Budapest, both past and present.

A 13th-century convent where St. Margaret of Hungary spent her teenage years.

This quiet, unassuming spot in Budapest was the birthplace of the bloody 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

A triumphant marble and bronze fountain depicting a 15th-century Hungarian king and his hunting party.

On Gellért Hill, this statue depicts the tragic tale of lovers divided by the Danube.

This hidden art nouveau gem was designed by an architect in search of a national style.

Some of the greatest minds in the history of Hungarian art and science converged in this café.

Budapest's Communist-era statues, banished to the suburbs.

Tucked away near more famous landmarks lies a statue meant to symbolize the confluence and continuing development of human culture.

The romantic garden was the epicenter of the Hungarian art scene in the 1880s.

From Austrians to Nazis to Soviets, this historic Budapest fortress has a history as complex as the city itself.

Once the home of a hermetic monk, this cave now houses a small church.

Built in 1870 at the bridge that connected Buda and Pest, this spectacular incline railway was almost lost forever during World War II.

This metro station doubles as an unintentional paleontology museum.

The kitsch mansion of the former Romanian president Nicolae Ceaușescu features a golden bathroom.

After sitting unused for decades, this abandoned communist infrastructure became a wildlife utopia.

Romania's triumphal arch looks out over Bucharest.

A fire once nearly devoured this gorgeous 14th-century Gothic cathedral.

This snug medieval lane is one of the narrowest streets in the world.

This communist behemoth is the heaviest building in the world and a legacy of a brutal regime.

The bust of Romania’s most notorious ruler, Vlad Dracula aka "Vlad the Impaler," keeps watch over the ruins of his medieval court.

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