Ancient & archaeological sites, around the world.
Ruins older than the country they sit in.
Montignac-Lascaux
Lascaux Cave, one of the world's most celebrated prehistoric painted caves, sits just outside this tiny village on the Vézère river in the Dordogne, making M…
Arona
Photogenic small town on the shore of Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, Arona has a café and restaurant scene that punches well above its size, along with an…
Larochette
This compact stone village in a forested valley in Luxembourg, where medieval castle ruins rise dramatically from a rocky outcrop directly above the tightly…
Nyon
This lakeside town on the western shore of Lake Geneva, Nyon sits in the heart of Swiss wine country with a walkable centre, a solid food-and-drink scene, an…
Nicosia
This small Sicilian hill town in the province of Enna rises across four rocky hills, with the ruins of a medieval castle visible from below and an unusual co…
Amasya
Rock tombs of the Pontic kings carved into cliffsides above the Yeşilırmak River make Amasya one of northern Turkey's most visually striking cities.
Bad Ragaz
A spa and health resort in the canton of St.
Brisighella
Three rocky spurs rise above this little Emilia-Romagna town, each topped by a landmark: the 14th-century Rocca Manfrediana fortress, an 18th-century sanctua…
Montefrío
Named by National Geographic as one of the ten best views in the world, this tiny Andalusian town in Granada's northern hills earns that recognition through…
Mondsee
A modest lakeside town in Upper Austria's Salzkammergut region, Mondsee is best known for the medieval Mondsee Abbey, whose church served as the wedding loca…
Gytheio
The ancient seaport of Sparta, Gytheio sits on the eastern shore of the Mani Peninsula in the southern Peloponnese, its waterfront lined with cafés and resta…
Béziers
Every August, the Feria de Béziers draws around a million visitors to this southern French wine town for five days of bullfighting — one of the largest event…
Morcote
This photogenic village on the shore of Lake Lugano in Switzerland's Ticino canton, Morcote pairs its waterfront arcades and Renaissance church with a monume…
Vélez-Blanco
The Cave of the Signboards (Cueva de los Letreros), declared a National Historic Monument in 1924 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998, sits just outside…
Alatri
Pre-Roman megalithic acropolis sets Alatri apart from other towns in Lazio's Frosinone province, its ancient cyclopean walls rising above a compact centre wi…
Saint-Maurice
This small Swiss town in the canton of Valais where the Rhône valley narrows to a pass, Saint-Maurice has been a strategic gateway since antiquity — the site…
Ardales
This small Andalusian village in the mountains of Málaga province, Ardales sits beside the Guadalhorce reservoirs and offers striking views across the surrou…
Palmi
Palmi looks out over the Strait of Messina from the Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria, with beaches at Marina di Palmi and Lido di Palmi drawing visitors to what…
Rodes
This compact stone village in southern France's Pyrénées-Orientales, where red-tile rooftops and a brick clock tower rise toward dramatic rocky outcrops topp…
Batifa District
A district in Iraqi Kurdistan's Duhok Governorate with around 15 documented archaeological sites, including the castles of Shabani, Kashani, and Bijwani, alo…
Sutri
Sutri's ancient remains — a Roman amphitheatre carved directly into tuff rock, an Etruscan necropolis of rock-cut tombs, and a Mithraeum embedded in the cryp…
Cluny
Founded in 910 by Duke William I of Aquitaine, the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny shaped this little Burgundian town into one of medieval Europe's great centres…
Sagunto
The ruins of ancient Saguntum, the Iberian and Roman city whose siege in 219 BC triggered the Second Punic War, are the defining reason to visit this Mediter…
Orvinio
This small hilltop village in the Rieti province of Lazio, northeast of Rome, is listed among I Borghi più belli d'Italia — Italy's register of its most beau…
Angles-sur-lAnglin
This small village on the Anglin river in the Vienne département, Angles-sur-l'Anglin is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France and carries a strong p…
Daraga
The Cagsawa Ruins, a partially buried 18th-century church destroyed by a Mayon Volcano eruption, draw visitors to this pocket-sized Albay municipality with t…
Castiglion Fiorentino
A walled Tuscan hill town in the province of Arezzo, Castiglion Fiorentino sits between Arezzo and Cortona in wine-growing country, with an Etruscan archaeol…
Cuenca
Founded in 1557 on the ruins of the Inca city of Tomebamba, Cuenca is a large Andean city in Ecuador whose historic centre was declared a UNESCO World Herita…
Otsu
Enryaku-ji, the ancient headquarters of the Tendai Buddhist sect on Mount Hiei, draws visitors to this lakeside prefectural capital in Shiga, Japan.
Fivizzano
A little Tuscan comune in Massa-Carrara with an unusually dense cluster of churches and cafés for its size, Fivizzano sits within territory shared between tw…
Ribeira de Pena
Small town in northern Portugal's Vila Real District, Ribeira de Pena sits in transition country between the mountainous Trás-os-Montes and the greener Minho…
Cehegín
Cehegín's old town, declared a historic-artistic ensemble by Spain's Ministry of Culture in 1982, makes for a walkable afternoon in the Murcia region, with a…
Civita Castellana
Built on the ruins of Falerii Veteres, an ancient Faliscan city, Civita Castellana is a small town in northern Lazio with a real café and restaurant scene fo…
Almodovar
This pocket-sized Alentejo town in southern Portugal's Beja district is home to the Museum of Southwestern Writing, which holds ancient stones bearing what s…
Horgen
Lakeside town on the south bank of Lake Zurich, Horgen has a walkable centre with cafés and restaurants, scenic viewpoints in the surrounding hills, and dire…
Genoni
This tiny Sardinian village in the Sarcidano subregion, dominated by the plateau hill of Santu Antine, with natural, landscape, and archaeological points of…
Nagold
This Black Forest-edge town in Baden-Württemberg where the River Nagold runs through a centre of half-timbered houses and modern architecture, with a walkabl…
Périgueux
Périgueux, the historic capital of the Périgord region in southwestern France's Dordogne, sits on the Isle river and holds a layered heritage running from Ro…
Amarynthos
This coastal town on Euboea's southern gulf, Amarynthos has a tiny central core with cafés and restaurants along the waterfront, and the surrounding plain st…
Tabernas
Tabernas sits on the edge of the only desert in continental Europe, a sun-scorched landscape that served as the backdrop for dozens of spaghetti westerns and…
Patti
This small Sicilian town on the western shore of the Gulf of Patti, known for the remains of a Roman villa within its limits and the ruins of the ancient cit…
Ahmedpur East
Sadiq Garh Palace, a century-old residence of the Nawabs of Bahawalpur, stands in this Punjab city near the Cholistan Desert and once hosted guests ranging f…
San Miguel del Milagro
This small village in Tlaxcala, Mexico, San Miguel del Milagro is home to the Santuario Nacional de San Miguel Arcángel, one of the two most visited Catholic…
Enna
Italy's highest provincial capital, Enna sits atop a ridge at the centre of Sicily, earning it the nickname "Belvedere of Sicily" for its sweeping views acro…
Umm al-Quwain
The capital of the Umm al-Quwain emirate sits on the Khor al-Badie peninsula, with mangroves lining the coast and a local economy built largely on fishing an…
Rehberg
A compact Austrian village in a forested valley, with vineyard rows in the foreground, a church tower rising above red-tile rooftops, and the ruins of a hill…
Sovana
This tiny hamlet in southern Tuscany's wine country carries a history well beyond its size: an Etruscan centre, a medieval and Renaissance settlement, and a…
Çanakkale
This seaport city on the Dardanelles with a walkable, café-lined waterfront, Çanakkale is the main base for visits to the ruins of ancient Troy and the First…
Skyros
This small island capital in the Aegean sits right on the water, with an unusual density of cafés, restaurants, and churches for a village its size.
Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz
This Bavarian town in the Upper Palatinate with a walkable old town whose skyline is defined by the towers of its historic churches, Neumarkt in der Oberpfal…
Lordat
The ruins of Lordat's castle, a classified historic monument since 1923, sit on a rocky spur above the upper Ariège valley in southwestern France, with wide…
Rincón de la Victoria
This Costa del Sol town on the Mediterranean coast east of Málaga, Rincón de la Victoria is known for its sea caves and beaches, with a food-and-drink scene…
Milas
Ancient Caria's first capital and later seat of the medieval Menteşe beylik, Milas is a historically dense town in southwest Turkey with more than two dozen…
Kot Diji
Occupied as far back as around 3300 BCE, Kot Diji is one of Pakistan's significant Indus Valley Civilization sites, where excavations in the 1950s uncovered…
Castelmola
Tiny hilltop village above Taormina on Sicily's east coast, Castelmola occupies the site of ancient Taormina's acropolis and is listed among Italy's most bea…
Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort
A compact town in the Gard department of southern France's Occitanie region, Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort sits on the Vidourle river in mountain terrain, with a s…
Vila Nova de Foz Côa
A small Portuguese town at the confluence of the Douro and Côa rivers, Vila Nova de Foz Côa sits within the Douro wine region and borders the Côa Valley Arch…
Seferihisar district
This coastal district on the Aegean Sea southwest of İzmir, Seferihisar is known for its tangerine and satsuma orchards, the seaside resort neighborhood of S…
Aidone
The ancient Greek and Hellenistic site of Morgantina, one of Sicily's most significant archaeological sites, sits on a ridge just outside this pocket-sized h…
Montilla
Montilla, a town in Andalusia's Province of Córdoba, is the capital of the Montilla-Moriles Denominación de Origen, producing wines and vinegars from the Ped…
Orhangazi
A town in Bursa Province sitting on the western shore of Lake Iznik, with the Sea of Marmara close to the north and mountain ranges on both sides.
Byblos
One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Byblos has been settled since the sixth millennium BC and became a full urban centre by the lat…
Seyðisfjörður
A small fjord-side village in East Iceland known for its arts scene — anchored by the LungA Art Festival and LungA School — and as Iceland's only ferry port…
Corycus
Corycus, an ancient city in Cilicia Trachaea on the southern Anatolian coast, now lies beneath the modern town of Kızkalesi in Mersin Province.
Konark
The 13th-century Sun Temple — built in black granite during the reign of Narasinghadeva I and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site — dominates this coastal town…
Dalton
This modest wine-producing moshav in the mountains of northern Israel near Safed, Dalton was founded in 1950 by immigrants from Tripoli and sits beside the r…
Torre Annunziata
Torre Annunziata sits directly above the buried Roman settlement of Oplontis, whose archaeological area has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, lis…
Janakpur Dham
Janakpur Dham, the capital of Nepal's Madhesh Province, is the country's central hub for Maithili language and culture, and draws religious visitors as the c…
Bergama
Bergama, a town in the Northern Aegean region of Türkiye, is best known as the site of Pergamon, a World Heritage-listed ancient city that served as a major…
Machynlleth
Machynlleth, a compact market town in the Dyfi Valley in Powys, Wales, claims the title of "ancient capital of Wales" as the seat of Owain Glyndŵr's Welsh Pa…
Elda
Spain's footwear capital, Elda is a town in Alicante province where the shoe industry — particularly women's shoes — has long defined the local economy, and…
Kandava
Small town in eastern Courland, Latvia, where the Abava River begins a water-tourism route through the ancient Abava valley.
Baume-les-Dames
Small town on the Doubs river in eastern France's Franche-Comté, with vineyards in the surrounding countryside, scenic viewpoints nearby, and a central core…
Mystras
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1989, Mystras is a fortified Byzantine town in the Taygetus range above ancient Sparta, preserving an exceptional concentr…
Tintern
Tintern Abbey, a ruined 12th-century Cistercian monastery on the banks of the River Wye in Monmouthshire, Wales, is the main draw to this little conservation…
Caunes-Minervois
Red marble quarried here since Roman times has surfaced in some of France's grandest buildings, and the village's eighth-century abbey anchors a well-preserv…
Antifilippi
Small Greek village spread along a forested hillside above a broad agricultural plain, with wooded ridges rising on either side and distant mountains framing…
Bistrica pri Tržiču
This village in Slovenia's Upper Carniola region, sitting above the right bank of the Tržiška Bistrica river on the road toward the Ljubelj pass, with mounta…
Chieti
This ancient Abruzzo town sits between the Pescara and Alento rivers, within sight of the Gran Sasso and Majella mountains and a short distance from the Adri…
Mytilene
A port town on the southeast coast of Lesbos with a walkable centre dense with cafés, restaurants, and historic churches, Mytilene has served as the island's…
Capdenac
Admitted to the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association in 2010, Capdenac is a small village in the Lot department of south-western France, set above t…
Fasano
A walkable Apulian town with a café-filled centre and a notable concentration of historic churches, Fasano sits at the boundary between the Salento and the T…
Marvão
Sitting high on a quartzite crag of the Serra de São Mamede, Marvão is a walled hilltop village in Portugal's Alto Alentejo whose name traces back to Ibn Mar…
Gourdon
A compact subprefecture in the Lot department of southwestern France, Gourdon sits at the heart of the Bouriane — a forested, hilly natural region of the Que…
Termini Imerese
This Sicilian coastal town on the Gulf of Termini Imerese, with a compact historic centre dense with churches, Roman ruins, and thermal baths fed by volcanic…
Burhaniye
This Aegean coastal town in Balıkesir Province known for its olive oil production, Burhaniye sits on the Gulf of Edremit with a port, a compact café and rest…
Criccieth
A tiny seaside town on the south coast of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales, Criccieth is dominated by the ruins of Criccieth Castle, which look out over…
Ozieri
Ozieri, in Sardinia's Logudoro region, is the centre of the earliest known archaeological culture on the island — the Ozieri culture — giving it a deep prehi…
Hartberg
A little Styrian town in southeastern Austria with a café and restaurant scene that would suit a town twice its size, Hartberg sits in wine country with scen…
Yampupata
This compact Bolivian village on the northern tip of the Yampupata Peninsula, sitting on the shore of Lake Titicaca at high elevation and just over a kilomet…
St Albans
A cathedral city in Hertfordshire north of London, St Albans sits on the site of the Roman city of Verulamium — one of the first major stops on Watling Stree…
Naoussa
Wine production, a traditional carnival, and a ski resort on the Vermio Mountains make Naoussa one of Central Macedonia's more varied tiny cities.
Přerov
Přerov, a town in the Olomouc Region of Moravia, sits on the Bečva River with a well-preserved historic centre protected as an urban monument zone.
Iruya
Founded in 1753 high on the eastern slopes of the Sierra de Santa Victoria in Salta Province, Iruya is a little Argentine town surrounded on two sides by the…
Poggiardo
Small town in the Salento area of Apulia, Puglia, with a café and restaurant scene in its compact centre.
Mazagan
Mazagan is the former name of what is now El Jadida, a Portuguese settlement established on Morocco's Atlantic coast in 1502 and held for some 267 years befo…
Jableh
This Mediterranean coastal town in northwestern Syria, Jableh holds the tomb and mosque of Ibrahim Bin Adham, a Sufi mystic who, according to tradition, reno…
Chiaramonti
A compact Sardinian hill village of terracotta rooftops and pastel facades rising toward the ruins of a hilltop castle, with rolling upland country stretchin…
Demre
Demre, on the Mediterranean coast of Antalya Province, stands over the ruins of ancient Myra and is home to the tomb of Saint Nicholas — the 4th-century bish…
Sigtuna
Founded around 980 by Erik Segersäll on the shores of Lake Mälaren, Sigtuna served as Sweden's capital from the 10th to the 13th centuries and is among the c…
Ceglie Messapica
This walkable Apulian town in the Salento area of Brindisi province, Ceglie Messapica has a whitewashed historic centre of narrow stone-paved lanes, many chu…
Kütahya
Kütahya, a city in western Turkey on the Porsuk River, is renowned for its decorated tiles and has a well-preserved old quarter to explore.
Chiapa de Corzo
Sitting on the bank of the Grijalva River in the Chiapas highlands, Chiapa de Corzo is a walkable Mexican town with a centre full of cafés and restaurants.
Assoro
A tiny Sicilian hill town in the Province of Enna, Assoro sits on an ancient site — known in Greek as Assoros and in Latin as Assorus — with scenic views acr…
Kaunos
This ancient Carian port city near Dalyan in Muğla Province, Kaunos dates its history to around the 10th century BC and is still under active archaeological…
Cedovim
Little wine-country village in the municipality of Vila Nova de Foz Côa in northern Portugal, Cedovim sits alongside the water in a region ringed by UNESCO W…
Venafro
Venafro is a small Molise town with ancient roots stretching back to the Samnite people, who fought Rome here during the Samnite Wars of the 3rd century BC.
Teuchitlan
A small town in Jalisco, central-western Mexico, Teuchitlán sits close to Los Guachimontones, the pre-Columbian archaeological site associated with the ancie…
Sarandë
This walkable Ionian Sea town on the Albanian Riviera, Sarandë sits on a horseshoe bay between mountains and deep blue Mediterranean waters, with a food-and-…
Parabita
A pocket-sized town in the Salento interior of Apulia, Parabita has an unusual concentration of historic churches for its size and sits among vineyards with…
Llíria
Declared a UNESCO Creative City of Music in 2019, Llíria is a town in the Valencia region of Spain with roots stretching back to the ancient Iberian city of…
Roskilde
Roskilde's UNESCO-listed Gothic cathedral — completed in 1275 and housing the tombs of 39 Danish monarchs — anchors this town on the shores of Roskilde Fjord…
Centuripe
A hilltop town in eastern Sicily's Enna province, Centuripe sits high above the Simeto and Dittaino valleys with broad views toward the surrounding mountains.
Ardabil
The UNESCO-listed Sheikh Safi al-Din Khanegah and Shrine Ensemble — sanctuary and tomb of the founder of the Safavid order, and burial place of Ismail I, fou…
Uji
Uji, a city on the southern edge of Kyoto in Japan, is known for its high-quality tea production and two UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Byōdō-in Buddhist t…
Terracina
This coastal town on the Via Appia southeast of Rome, Terracina sits directly on the water with a walkable centre dense with food and drink options and sceni…
Preveza
This walkable port town on the northern tip of the Ambracian Gulf in Epirus, northwestern Greece, Preveza has a dense food-and-drink scene along its promenad…
Nuevo Tulancingo
Domed colonial-era church glows at the heart of this mid-sized Mexican highland city at dusk, with upland country nearby and an archaeological site adding de…
Barletta
The Colossus of Barletta — a bronze statue of a Roman emperor standing around four metres tall, the largest surviving statue from the late Roman Empire — anc…
Faverges
This compact town in Haute-Savoie sitting at the upper end of the glacial valley that gives rise to Lake Annecy, with mountain scenery on all sides and the B…
Eretria
This waterfront town on Euboea facing the Attic coast across the South Euboean Gulf, Eretria was among the most significant Greek city-states of the 6th and…
Cassino
Cassino, a town in southern Lazio at the foot of Monte Cairo, is defined by two things: the Abbey of Montecassino, founded by St.
Imphal
Imphal, capital of the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, holds a remarkable cluster of world-record claims: the Imphal Polo Ground is said to be the worl…
Huaraz
This high-altitude city in the Peruvian Andes serving as the main gateway to the Cordillera Blanca, Huaraz sits in the Callejón de Huaylas valley beside the…
Ugento
Small town in the lower Salento area of Apulia, Ugento sits on the site of the ancient Messapian city of Uxentum and holds an unusually high concentration of…
Omihachiman
On the eastern shore of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, Omihachiman is a Japanese city known for its merchant heritage — the Omi merchants were among feudal J…
Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski
One of Poland's historic centres of metallurgy and industry, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski sits on the Kamienna river in southeastern Poland, with the Świętokrzysk…
Nocera Inferiore
This town in Campania's Salerno province with a walkable centre dense with historic churches and a lively food-and-drink scene, Nocera Inferiore sits at the…
Drobeta-Turnu Severin
Drobeta-Turnu Severin sits on the northern bank of the Danube near the Iron Gates, with a walkable centre full of cafés and restaurants.
Agios Kirykos
The capital and main port of Ikaria in the North Aegean, Agios Kirykos has a lively central square — the plateia — ringed by cafés and restaurants, and sever…
Vače
Vače, a pocket-sized settlement in central Slovenia's Municipality of Litija, is known primarily as the site where the Vače situla was discovered — an Iron A…
Montella
Small mountain town in Campania's Avellino province, Montella sits within the Monti Picentini regional park and is known for its IGP-certified chestnuts and…
Dispilio
Village on the shore of Lake Orestiada in Western Macedonia, Greece, Dispilio is the site of a Neolithic lakeshore settlement built on an artificial island —…
El Alamein
El Alamein, on Egypt's Mediterranean coast west of Alexandria, is best known as the site of the pivotal Second World War battles between British and German f…
Primda
Přimda, a modest village in the Plzeň Region of Czechia, is home to the ruins of Přimda Castle, recorded as the second oldest castle in the country.
Buldan district
Buldan, a pocket-sized hill town in Turkey's Denizli province, is known across the country for its textile weaving tradition, and the fabric produced here —…
Friedrichroda
A spa town at the northern edge of the Thuringian Forest in Thuringia, Friedrichroda has official recognition as both a health-climate resort and an air reso…
Formia
This walkable coastal town in Lazio, midway between Rome and Naples on the ancient Appian Way, with a centre full of cafés and restaurants and direct access…
Euromus
The ruins of Euromus, an ancient Carian city in Muğla Province, sit at the foot of the mountains near Selimiye in western Türkiye.
Tsaparang
Tsaparang, the ruined capital of the ancient Guge kingdom in western Tibet's Ngari Prefecture, rises on a pyramid-shaped rock at the end of a narrow spur abo…
Dimitsana
A mountain village in Arcadia's Gortynia region, Dimitsana sits high on a slope above the Megalopolis plain, with views stretching toward the Taygetus range.
Cargeghe
A pocket-sized Sardinian village a short distance from Sassari, Cargeghe holds more historic religious architecture than its size might suggest, including a…
Puerto Barrios
Guatemala's main Caribbean port, Puerto Barrios sits on the Bahía de Amatique in the Gulf of Honduras and serves as the departmental seat of Izabal.
Acrocorinth
A monolithic rock high above the plain of ancient Corinth, Acrocorinth served for centuries as a fortress commanding the Isthmus of Corinth and controlling l…
Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges
A tiny Pyrenean village in Haute-Garonne that punches well above its size in historic architecture: the Cathedral of Notre-Dame has been a protected monument…
Ponteareas
Ponteareas is a Galician town on the river Tea known for its Corpus Christi celebrations, in which residents hand-craft elaborate floral carpets across the s…
Bakanas
A pocket-sized town on the Ili River in Kazakhstan's Almaty region, Bakanas draws fishermen, hunters, and archaeologists to the ancient settlements of the Il…
Khanaqin
Khanaqin, a Kurdish-majority city in Iraq's Diyala Governorate close to the Iranian border, sits on the Alwand River, which divides the city and has shaped l…
Neo Kostarazi
This lakeside village in the Kastoria regional unit of Macedonia carries a layered history: the older settlement of Palaio Kostarazi was destroyed by German…
Harim
Harim, a Syrian city in Idlib Governorate near the Turkish border, is known for its mineral springs, green orchards, and agricultural produce — particularly…
Palenque/Temp
A town in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, Palenque sits close to one of the country's most visited Maya archaeological sites, a UNESCO-recognised zone…
Glastonbury
This little Somerset town with an outsized reputation, Glastonbury is built around the ruins of one of medieval England's most important abbeys — the site of…
Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure Land
A UNESCO World Heritage site inscribed in 2011, Hiraizumi in Iwate Prefecture preserves five groupings of temples, gardens, and archaeological remains from t…
Saidu Sharīf
Saidu Sharif, the capital of Pakistan's Swat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, holds the Swat Museum, the mausoleum of the spiritual leader Saidu Baba, the roy…
Jinju
Jinju Fortress, the site of two pivotal sieges during the 1592–93 Imjin War, anchors this South Gyeongsang city on the Nam River in South Korea.
Ruvo di Puglia
Ruvo di Puglia, a town on the Murge plateau in Apulia's Bari metropolitan area, holds the Jatta National Archaeological Museum, whose Hellenistic collection…
Dayr az Zawr
Sitting on the Euphrates in eastern Syria, Deir ez-Zor is the largest city in the region and the administrative capital of its governorate.
Nahavand
Nahavand, a city in Iran's Hamadan province, is best known as the site of the Battle of Nahavand, the decisive 7th-century engagement during the Muslim conqu…
Oria
A little town in Apulia's Salento region with an unusually dense concentration of historic churches and a lively café and restaurant scene for its size, Oria…
Kražiai
Kražiai, a historic modest town in Lithuania's Kelmė district, sits on the Kražantė River and holds an old town centre designated as an archaeological and ur…
Skala Eresou
Small seaside village on the Greek island of Lesbos with a beach that has repeatedly won the Blue Flag award, Skala Eresou has an unusually dense café and re…
Kesmekoeprue
A modest Kurdish village in southeastern Türkiye's Batman Province, where dramatic eroded limestone cliffs drop to a wide river, ancient cave openings dot th…
Livno
A pocket-sized Bosnian town first recorded in 892, Livno sits on the river Bistrica at the foot of Cincar mountain, with vineyards in the surrounding area an…
Castiglione della Pescaia
A Tuscan seaside town in the Grossetan Maremma, Castiglione della Pescaia grew around a 12th-century medieval fortress and a large fishery — the latter givin…
Ciudad Vieja
In 1527, Spanish colonists established Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala here, in the Almolonga Valley on the slopes of Volcán de Agua — making Ciudad…
Myczkowce
A pocket-sized village in the mountains of south-eastern Poland, Myczkowce sits directly on the water in the Subcarpathian region.
Katakolo
This little seaside village on a headland in western Greece, Katakolo overlooks the Ionian Sea and offers a genuine café and restaurant scene for its size, a…
Granges-le-Bourg
A small stone-built French hamlet in rolling Haute-Saône countryside, where red-tile rooftops climb a hillside crowned by medieval ruins, set against open gr…
Aanjar
Aanjar, a pocket-sized village in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, is home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site: the ruins of an 8th-century Umayyad palace built by Caliph…
Sahagún
Sahagún holds some of the earliest examples of mudéjar architecture in Spain, with the churches of San Lorenzo and San Tirso among its most visited monuments…
Sever do Vouga
Known as the "Capital of Blueberry" for its blueberry cultivation and annual festival, Sever do Vouga is a modest town in Portugal's Aveiro District set amon…
Głogów
One of Poland's oldest towns, Głogów sits on the Oder River in Lower Silesia with a walkable centre of cafés, restaurants, and historic churches currently be…
Tunja
Founded in 1539 by captain Gonzalo Suárez Rendón on the site of the Muisca settlement of Hunza, Tunja is the highest departmental capital in Colombia, set hi…
Khust
A walkable town in western Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast, Khust sits at the confluence of the Tisa and Rika rivers and is ringed by the Carpathian mountains.
Tsuruoka
In 2014, Tsuruoka became the first city in Japan to receive UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy designation, a distinction rooted in food traditions that incl…
Cassano allo Ionio
Coastal town in Calabria's province of Cosenza, Cassano allo Ionio sits within the Piana di Sibari plain and borders the ruins of ancient Sybaris, one of the…
Kurbnesh
A tiny Albanian mountain village in the Mirditë highlands, where rugged limestone peaks rise sharply above a valley of Soviet-era apartment blocks and older…
Sykia
This coastal village at the southern tip of the Sithonia peninsula in Chalkidiki, Sykia sits directly on the water with mountain terrain close by.
Carapito
A compact granite-country hamlet in Portugal's Guarda District, set among pine-forested hills and open farmland, with a notable prehistoric dolmen drawing vi…
Tottori
This grassy hilltop with ancient stone castle walls offers sweeping views over Tottori's low-rise cityscape, backed by forested hills, while the city itself…
Mopsuestia
An ancient city in Cilicia Campestris on the Ceyhan River (the classical Pyramus), Mopsuestia — now called Yakapınar — sits on what was once a Silk Road rout…
Humenné
This walkable town in eastern Slovakia at the confluence of the Laborec and Cirocha Rivers, Humenné sits at the edge of the volcanic Vihorlat mountains and s…
Mardan
Mardan, the second largest city in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, sits close to two of the region's most historically significant sites: the Ashoka…
Da Nang
A large coastal city in central Vietnam with a dense café and restaurant scene, long beaches within walking distance, and mountains close by offering scenic…
Solin
Solin, a town on the Adriatic coast just northeast of Split, sits on the site of ancient Salona — the Roman provincial capital of Dalmatia and birthplace of…
Saint-Gilles
One of Christendom's most important pilgrimage sites in the 12th century, Saint-Gilles-du-Gard is a modest town in the Gard department of southern France who…
Nesebar
Ancient Black Sea town with more than three millennia of history, Nesebar occupies a peninsula connected to the Bulgarian mainland by a narrow isthmus, with…
Racos
Racoș, a village on the banks of the Olt River in Transylvania's Brașov County, is home to a striking set of basalt columns formed by the region's oldest vol…
Sauve
A small village in the Gard department of southern France, set on the Vidourle river amid Mediterranean vineyards, with a café and restaurant scene that punc…
Corcyra
Corcyra was an ancient Greek city on the island of Corfu, founded as a Corinthian colony during the Archaic period and positioned as a key port for ships sai…
Canosa di Puglia
One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Italy, Canosa di Puglia is considered the principal archaeological centre of Apulia, with a compact centre…
Prerov nad Labem
Modest Bohemian village on the Elbe, Přerov nad Labem is home to the oldest open-air folk architecture museum in the Czech lands, with roots going back to 1895.
Bukovo
Bukovo, a village just outside Bitola in North Macedonia's Pelagonija region, is credited with inventing crushed red pepper flakes, and the tradition of Laza…
Archaia Messini
A tiny Greek hamlet set against a forested hillside, where extensive ancient stone ruins — colonnaded walls, altar foundations, and scattered marble blocks —…
Tønsberg
Generally regarded as the oldest city in Norway, Tønsberg traces its origins to at least 871 and was mentioned by Snorri Sturluson in Harald Hårfagre's saga.
Brekov
Above this small village in the Humenné District of north-east Slovakia stand the ruins of Brekov Castle, a cave known as Brekovská jaskyňa, and a set of his…
Maroneia
Vineyards have defined Maroneia since Homeric times — this is the wine said to have intoxicated the Cyclops Polyphemus in the Odyssey — and the slopes of Mou…
Tinmel
Tinmel, a tiny High Atlas village in Morocco, was the cradle of the Almohad empire, where the religious reformer Ibn Tumart founded the movement that launche…
Cachtice
The ruins of Čachtice Castle, once home to Erzsébet Báthory, rise above this compact town in western Slovakia's Little Carpathians.
Urubamba
The largest town in Peru's Sacred Valley of the Incas, Urubamba sits along the Urubamba River in the high Andes beneath the snow-capped peaks of Chicón and P…
Poza Rica
A modern industrial city in northern Veracruz, Poza Rica sits within easy reach of several Gulf coast beaches — Tecolutla, Tuxpan, and Cazones among them — a…
Vale de Figueira
A Ribatejo village in the municipality of Santarém where the river Alviela meets the Tagus, Vale de Figueira sits within the Lezíria meadowlands and is known…
Naghadeh
Hasanlu Tepe, an archaeological site with some 6,000 years of history, lies just outside Naghadeh, a city in the mountains of West Azerbaijan province in nor…
Thoraise
This pocket-sized hamlet in the Doubs department of eastern France sits within a meander of the Doubs river, with mountains visible in the wider landscape.
Awantipora
A modest Kashmiri town on the banks of the Jhelum River, Awantipora draws visitors to its ancient stone temple ruins set against a backdrop of bare mountain…
Dondra West
Dondra marks the southernmost tip of Sri Lanka, a coastal settlement near Matara where the Dondra Head Lighthouse stands alongside the ruins of ancient Hindu…
Valojoulx
Tiny golden-stone hamlet in the Vézère valley, where a medieval church sits against wooded limestone cliffs, placing you at the heart of Dordogne's UNESCO-ri…
Kalika Mata Temple, Pavagadh
Atop Pavagadh Hill in Gujarat's Panchmahal District, the Kalika Mata Temple is one of the 51 sacred Shakti Peethas, drawing pilgrims to a summit complex wher…
Chiang Saen
Ancient walled city on the Mekong River in northern Thailand's Chiang Rai province, Chiang Saen was founded in the 14th century as a Lanna Kingdom stronghold…
Vers-Pont-du-Gard
The Pont du Gard, the Roman aqueduct bridge that ranks among the best-preserved ancient structures in Europe, stands on the territory of this small village i…
Hummelo
Hummelo, a little village in the Gelderland province of the Netherlands, is known as the birthplace of Normaal, the Dutch rock band founded here in 1975.
Broadwindsor
A Dorset village with a heritage-dense centre and a notable royal footnote: King Charles II spent the night here on 23 September 1651 during his flight after…
Scarborough
Scarborough, on Tobago's western coast, is the island's main town and economic centre, with a deepwater harbour built in 1991 and a skyline dominated by Fort…
Meknes
One of Morocco's four Imperial cities, Meknes rose to prominence under Sultan Ismail Ibn Sharif in the 17th century, who built a vast palace complex and ring…
Veria
One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Greece, Veria has been settled since around 1000 BC and was already noted by Thucydides in 432 BC.
Perfugas
This tiny Sardinian village in the Anglona region holds several historic churches for its size, including the 16th-century Santa Maria degli Angeli — home to…
Jambi City
This large port city on the Batang Hari River — the longest river in Sumatra — Jambi is the provincial capital of Jambi province and a centre of oil and rubb…
Champaner
This historic town in Gujarat where intricately carved sandstone mosques with slender minarets and domed pavilions survive from a medieval sultanate capital,…
Sidirokastro
A pocket-sized Greek town on the Krousovitis River with a café and restaurant scene that punches above its size, Sidirokastro also holds a medieval stone cas…
Shirakavan
Shirakavan, now the village of Çetindurak in Kars Province, was one of the thirteen historic capitals of Armenia, serving as the seat of the Bagratid Kingdom…
Tug
This tiny village in Azerbaijan's upland country where a white-arched stone chapel stands amid extensive ruins, dry-stone walls, and mist-covered forested hi…
Wenling
This coastal city in southeastern Zhejiang facing the East China Sea, Wenling sits where mountains meet a shoreline of some 170 islands and extensive tidal f…
Sozopol
An ancient Black Sea town on Bulgaria's southern coast, Sozopol traces its origins to a Greek colony called Apollonia — later devastated by a Roman siege in…
Datça
This modest Turkish town sits at the midpoint of the Datça Peninsula, a forested, mountainous strip of land that divides the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas.
Chebika
Elevated ruins of a crumbled mud-brick settlement overlook a desert oasis village in Tunisia's southwest, where date palms break the vast flat expanse stretc…
Anuradhapura
Sri Lanka's oldest capital and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Anuradhapura preserves the ruins of an ancient Sinhalese civilisation that flourished from aroun…
Akhisar
Akhisar, a city in Turkey's Manisa Province, stands on the site of ancient Thyatira — one of the Seven Churches of Asia mentioned in the Bible — whose ruins…
Alexandroupolis
Port city on the northeastern Greek coast with a walkable waterfront that doubles as the main commercial strip, Alexandroupolis pairs a dense café and restau…
Agira
Small Sicilian hill town in the Province of Enna, Agira sits in the mid-valley of the River Salso on the site of the ancient Greek settlement of Agyrion, and…
Eccles
Eccles, a market town in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, is the birthplace of the Eccles cake and grew around its 13th-century Parish Church of St…
Ancaster
Founded in 1792, Ancaster is a community within the city of Hamilton, Ontario, that briefly ranked as Upper Canada's largest industrial and commercial centre…
Nalanda
The ruins of Nalanda Mahavihara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Bihar, eastern India, preserve what was once one of the ancient world's great centres of Bud…
Palazzolo Acreide
A UNESCO World Heritage baroque town in Sicily's Hyblean Mountains, Palazzolo Acreide has Greek roots stretching back to antiquity and a historic centre dens…
Sekigahara
The Battle of Sekigahara, fought here in 1600, ended Japan's Sengoku Period and established the Tokugawa Shogunate, making this tiny town in Gifu Prefecture…
Texcoco
Once a major Aztec city on the shores of Lake Texcoco, this city in the State of Mexico carries a deep pre-Hispanic past visible in sites such as the palace…
Güzelyurt
A tiny Cappadocian town in Aksaray Province with an unusual concentration of historic churches for its size, Güzelyurt sits at high elevation near the Ihlara…
Cloucarnac
Carnac, on the south coast of Brittany, is defined by its Neolithic menhir alignments — one of the most extensive collections of standing stones in the world…
Cuetzalan
Founded by Franciscan friars in 1547, Cuetzalan is a colonial highland town in the hills of northern Puebla state, with steep cobblestone streets lined by wh…
Didim
Didim is an Aegean resort city on Turkey's western coast whose main draw is the ruined Temple of Apollo at ancient Didyma, one of the great sanctuaries of th…
Edfu
Edfu's main draw is the Temple of Horus, a large and well-preserved Ptolemaic temple begun in 237 BC, sitting on the west bank of the Nile in Upper Egypt bet…
Si Satchanalai
Si Satchanalai, in the northern part of Thailand's Sukhothai province, is home to a historical park and a national park, with the wider region recognised as…
Avenches
Once the most significant Roman settlement on Swiss soil, Avenches is a tiny village in the canton of Vaud whose ancient ruins survive from its days as Avent…
Tuyserkan
The Tomb of the Prophet Habakkuk draws visitors to this city in Iran's Hamadan province — a mausoleum revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike as the r…
Najran
Najran, a large city in southwestern Saudi Arabia, is home to Al-Ukhdood — an archaeological site mentioned in the Quran's Surah Al-Buruj — alongside one of…
Sakurai
Ringed by some of Japan's oldest and most venerated shrines and temples, Sakurai is a town in Nara Prefecture with deep roots in ancient Japanese history.
Bisceglie
A walkable Adriatic town in Puglia with a dense food-and-drink scene, a historic centre thick with churches, and easy access to the region's wine country.
Larache
A coastal Moroccan city where the Loukkos River meets the Atlantic, Larache has a walkable centre with a real café and restaurant scene and scenic viewpoints…
Cajamarca
Cajamarca is a highland city in the northern Andes of Peru where the 1532 capture and execution of the Inca emperor Atahualpa marked the fall of the Inca Emp…
Mitla
Mitla's pre-Hispanic archaeological ruins — built by the Zapotecs and later occupied by the Mixtecs, and known to the Aztecs as Mictlán, "land of the dead" —…
Azilal
This provincial capital in Morocco's Atlas Mountains, Azilal serves as the gateway to the M'Goun Conservation Area and sits between the Middle and High Atlas…
Cesvaine
Cesvaine Palace, built in 1896 near the ruins of earlier medieval castles, is the centrepiece of this little Latvian village in Vidzeme's Madona Municipality.
Papantla de Olarte
Founded in the 13th century by the Totonacs, Papantla de Olarte is a town in northern Veracruz known as the origin region of natural vanilla and home to the…
Mesagne
A walkable town in Apulia's Salento region with a centre full of cafés, restaurants, and churches showing examples of Puglian Baroque — on private buildings…
Zagazig
Zagazig, in Egypt's eastern Nile Delta, sits on the Muweis Canal and serves as a hub of the corn and cotton trade in the Sharqia governorate.
Sukhothai
Sukhothai Historical Park preserves the ruins of a city that served as capital of one of the earliest major Thai states, flourishing through the 13th and 14t…
Geldibuldu
This pocket-sized village in Adıyaman's Kâhta District, southeastern Türkiye, sits on an ancient site with Hellenistic and Roman remains — tombs, cemeteries,…
Stepanavan
This compact resort town in northern Armenia, Stepanavan sits on the Dzoraget River among the forests of the Lori plateau and Bazum mountains.
Kamid al lawz
Kamid al-Lawz, a village in Lebanon's western Bekaa district, sits above a Bronze Age archaeological site that was once among the largest Middle Bronze Age s…
Didymoteicho
This pocket-sized town in Greek Thrace with a hilltop medieval fortress that has drawn attention since antiquity, Didymoteicho carries an unusual historical…
Mollendo
A Pacific-coast beach town in southern Peru, Mollendo draws summer crowds from nearby Arequipa who come for its beaches and walkable centre with cafés and re…
Wuyishan
Wuyishan, in the northwest of Fujian province, is home to a UNESCO dual World Cultural and Natural Heritage site — one of the few places in China to hold bot…
Amman
Jordan's capital and largest city, Amman spreads across a landscape of hills and valleys, with a dense café and restaurant scene, a Roman amphitheatre, and a…
Odobronte
A compact Hungarian village in Veszprém county's rolling upland countryside, viewed here from an elevated grassy slope beside ancient stone ruins, with red-t…
Ahja
This small borough in southeastern Estonia is the birthplace of Friedebert Tuglas, one of Estonia's most significant prose writers, and houses a museum dedic…
São Miguel das Missões
The ruins of a 17th-century Spanish Jesuit mission, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are the reason most visitors come to this pocket-sized town in Ri…
Prilipac
This tiny village in the Zlatibor district of western Serbia hosts an annual art colony that has run every year since 1995, with the church community and col…
Heraclea at Latmus
Ancient Greek and Roman ruins line the shore of Lake Bafa at Heraclea at Latmus, a site in Mugla province where substantial city walls and other remains surv…
Mrauk U
Mrauk U, in northern Rakhine State, was the capital of the Mrauk U Kingdom from 1430 until 1785 — the largest and most powerful Rakhine kingdom in history —…
Hojby
Højby is a pocket-sized village in northwestern Zealand, Denmark, seat of Odsherred Municipality, known for the medieval frescoes inside Højby Kirke.
Shabwah
The ruins of Shabwa, once the royal capital of the ancient Kingdom of Hadhramaut in southern Arabia, lie in the north of Yemen's Shabwah Governorate.
Patnos
This city on the Patnos plain in eastern Turkey, ringed by high mountains including the extinct volcano Süphan to the south and watered by a tributary of the…
Igaliku
Tiny Greenlandic hamlet of stone and timber buildings beside vivid blue fjord water, backed by bare rocky peaks, where Norse ruins and a UNESCO-recognized la…
Lanckorona
A hilltop village in Lesser Poland, southwest of Kraków, Lanckorona is known for its well-preserved 19th-century wooden houses and the ruins of Lanckorona Ca…
Anarrachi
Highland village in the Kozani regional unit of northern Greece, Anarrachi sits above ruins of two Byzantine-era castles — once connected by an underground p…
Nok
Nok, a village in Kaduna State, Nigeria, gives its name to one of Africa's most significant ancient cultures: the Nok culture, whose distinctive terracotta f…
Užice
Set in a limestone gorge along the Đetinja river in western Serbia, Užice spreads red-roofed houses up steep hillsides and sits close to the Zlatibor mountai…
Sare
Member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association, Sare is a pocket-sized Basque village in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques on the Spanish border, backed…
Lancovo
A modest settlement on the right bank of the Sava River in Slovenia's Upper Carniola region, Lancovo sits opposite Radovljica with river views and access to…
Ciechanów
This north-central Polish town on the Łydynia river, Ciechanów is known for the ruins of its Gothic Masovian Dukes' castle and a regional brewery founded in…
Kandila
Little village in western Aetolia-Acarnania, Greece, set among olive groves at the foot of the Acarnanian Mountains and a short distance from the Ionian Sea.
Jingzhou
Jingzhou, on the banks of the Yangtze River in southern Hubei, holds one of China's longest-continuously-occupied ancient city sites — a walled historic cent…
Tràng An
Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, the Tràng An Scenic Landscape Complex in Ninh Bình Province is Vietnam's first mixed cultural and natural…
Santa Pola
Mediterranean fishing port on the Alicante coast, Santa Pola pairs a walkable centre with a dense food-and-drink scene and direct access to Blue Flag beaches.
Golaghat
This town in Assam with two wildlife preserves and a UNESCO-listed park within its city limits, Golaghat also holds ancient ruins and Hindu and Christian her…
Haskovo
A city in southern Bulgaria's Northern Thrace region, Haskovo has a walkable centre with a good spread of cafés and restaurants, and sits close to mineral sp…
San Juan Cotzal
A small Ixil Maya town in Guatemala's El Quiché department, set against the slopes of the Cuchumatanes and Sierra de Chamá ranges, San Juan Cotzal is one of…
Kunšperk
Ruins of Kunšperk Castle rise above this modest riverside settlement on the Sotla River in eastern Slovenia's Styria region, where wine country meets the hills.
Asenovgrad
Known informally as "Little Jerusalem" for its concentration of churches, monasteries, and chapels — said to be the highest per capita in Bulgaria — Asenovgr…
Ramat Magshimim
This little religious cooperative village on the southern Golan Heights, close to the Syrian border, with an ancient archaeological ruin on its doorstep and…
Zaozhuang
The 1938 Battle of Taierzhuang, one of the major engagements of the Second Sino-Japanese War, took place in this large city in southern Shandong Province, an…
Bozyazı district
Mediterranean coast town in Mersin Province, Türkiye, where the shoreline is clean enough to support a colony of the critically endangered Mediterranean monk…
Sakib
A little highland town in northwestern Jordan, Sakib sits on mountain slopes high enough to look out over Amman, Jerash, and much of the surrounding region.
Uthumphon Phisai
Ancient sandstone and brick temple ruins in warm golden light share the landscape with an ornately decorated Thai shrine, making this Sisaket district town a…
Comana
The ruins of Comana, an ancient city known in classical sources as Comana Chryse — "the golden" — to distinguish it from its namesake in Pontus, lie in the T…
Ar Ramtha
This sizeable northern Jordanian city close to the Syrian border and upland country, offering a base for exploring the region's remarkable Roman-era mosaic s…
Amaliada
This town in the Elis region of the western Peloponnese with a compact centre of cafés and restaurants, Amaliada sits a short distance from the Ionian Sea, w…
Mandla
Mandla sits within a loop of the Narmada River, which wraps around the town on three sides, with many ghats built along its banks for worship.
Dundalk
Dundalk, the county town of County Louth on Ireland's east coast, sits on Dundalk Bay with a walkable centre full of cafés and restaurants.
Otepaeae
Estonia's self-styled winter capital, Otepää is a pocket-sized town in the hills of Valga County known as the country's leading skiing resort, hosting FIS Cr…
Salamiyah
Salamiyah is a city in central Syria, southeast of Hama, with historic significance as the early headquarters of Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah, who founded the Fa…
Arad
Sitting on the border of the Negev and Judaean deserts with the Dead Sea a short drive to the east, Arad is a planned Israeli town founded in 1962 — the firs…
Belisirma
This modest village in Aksaray Province, Türkiye, set along the water with cafés and restaurants in its compact centre and scenic surrounds.
Baraqish
Ancient ruined city in north-western Yemen, Baraqish was once the religious capital of the Minean Kingdom and reached its peak in the 4th century BCE, when t…
Warton
Warton's parish church of Saint Oswald carries a notable historical connection: the Washington family, ancestors of George Washington, the first president of…
Selçuk
Selçuk, a town on Turkey's Aegean coast in İzmir Province, sits within easy reach of the ancient city of Ephesus and the Temple of Artemis — one of the Seven…
Shkorpilovtsi
This small Black Sea resort village on the Bulgarian coast, Shkorpilovtsi sits steps from the beach and offers cafés and restaurants in its compact centre.
Užpaliai
Straddling the Šventoji River in northern Utena County, Užpaliai is a little Lithuanian town with a linen-working heritage and a cluster of historic landmark…
Ma`arrat an Nu`man
Birthplace of the medieval Arab poet and philosopher Abu al-Alaa al-Ma'arri, this city in northwestern Syria sits on the ancient highway between Aleppo and H…
Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora, a city in Bulgaria's Upper Thracian Plain, holds what are considered Europe's best-preserved Neolithic dwellings — discovered in 1968 and datin…
Stakliškės
Stakliškės mead — a honey-and-grain drink produced in this Lithuanian village and registered as a protected geographical indication by the European Union — i…
Tula de Allende
Tula de Allende, in the state of Hidalgo in central-eastern Mexico, is best known for its Tula archaeological site, noted for its Atlantean figures.
Mandav
This ruined sandstone arcade with pointed arches reflects in a still green lake, surrounded by dense forest, making this Madhya Pradesh hill town a rewarding…
Vorbasse
Vorbasse, a tiny village in southern Jutland, is home to Denmark's largest market, running annually since 1730 and drawing around a quarter of a million visi…
Kenitra
Port city on the Sebou River in northwestern Morocco, Kenitra has a walkable centre with a dense café and restaurant scene shaped partly by French colonial-e…
Trilj
A small inland Dalmatian town on the Cetina River, northeast of Split, with an unusually lively café and restaurant scene for its size and vineyards in the s…
Kameoka
A city in Kyoto Prefecture where visitors can ride a scenic railway through a dramatic river gorge, explore ancient stone castle ruins, and drift downstream…
Chinchero
Chinchero, a highland town in Peru's Urubamba province, sits high in the mountains above Cusco and holds a declared archaeological park built over Inca-era p…
Arslanbap
One of Central Asia's largest walnut forests surrounds this village in Kyrgyzstan's Jalal-Abad region, a protected nature reserve since 1945 producing thousa…
Balkh
Once called "a noble city and a great seat of learning" by Marco Polo, Balkh is one of the ancient world's most layered cities — known to the Persians as Zar…
Magnesia on the Maeander
The ruins of an ancient Greek city in Ionia, Magnesia on the Maeander occupied a strategically important position in the triangle between Priene, Ephesus, an…
Phanom Dong Rak
This district in Surin province, northeastern Thailand, is home to the Ta Mueang Historical Park, a cluster of Khmer temple ruins that includes Ta Mueang, Ta…
Suakin
Once Sudan's principal Red Sea port, Suakin is a town on the northeastern coast whose old city was built entirely on a coral island — the historic buildings…
Kadıköy
Kadıköy is the Asian-side district of Istanbul with one of the city's densest concentrations of cafés, bars, bookshops, and restaurants, spread across a wate…
Kingskerswell
Pocket-sized Devon village with roots in the Domesday Book, Kingskerswell has a 14th-century church and the ruins of a medieval manor house among its listed…
Al Mayadin
A town on the Euphrates in eastern Syria's Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Al Mayadin sits on the site of the ancient settlement formerly known as al-Rahba, with th…
Lopburi
Lopburi is a historic Thai town northeast of Bangkok, known for its concentration of ancient monuments and ruins spread across a compact centre.
'Anah
This ancient Iraqi town on the Euphrates with roots stretching back to the Assyrian era, 'Anah sits along a long bend of the river in Anbar province.
Chiquimula
The colonial ruins of the Chiquimula de la Sierra church, destroyed by an earthquake on 2 June 1765 and abandoned since, stand as the city's most distinctive…
Amantani
Amantani is a circular island on the Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca, known as the "Island of the Kantuta" after the national flower of Peru and Bolivia, whic…
Lihula
Lihula, a compact town in western Estonia's Pärnu County, holds a cluster of historic features in a compact centre: the ruins of a medieval castle, a manor e…
My Son
This UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999, Mỹ Sơn is a cluster of partially ruined Shaiva Hindu temples in central Vietnam, built by the kings of Champa bet…
Paphos
Coastal town in southwest Cyprus, Paphos sits on the water with a walkable centre dense with food, drink, and historic churches.
Sivetice
This Slovak village in the Revúca District carries a modest but real historic record: a Romanesque rotunda, a classicist Lutheran church, and the ruins of a…
Asyut
This large city in Upper Egypt on the Nile, Asyut is home to one of Egypt's largest Coptic Christian communities, reflected in a concentration of historic ch…
Avaldsnes
Known as "Norway's oldest capital," Avaldsnes is a little village on the Karmsundet strait in Rogaland where Harald Fairhair — who unified Norway into a sing…
Keila
Keila's medieval church — the largest rural church in Harju County, with one of the tallest towers among rural churches in northern Estonia — anchors this mo…
Mosėdis
Mosėdis, a small town in Samogitia, northwestern Lithuania, is known for its Rare Stones Museum — an outdoor collection begun by Vaclovas Intas that has sinc…
Douma
A city in Syria's Ghouta region just northeast of Damascus, Douma traces its origins to the Aramaic era and holds a substantial concentration of mosques — mo…
Andimeshk
During the Pahlavi era, a General Motors military vehicle assembly plant made Andimeshk significant enough that U.S.
Rusnė
A tiny island village in the Nemunas Delta in western Lithuania, Rusnė sits within a regional park known for its river delta wildlife and proximity to the Cu…
At-Bashi
At-Bashi, a small town in Kyrgyzstan's Naryn region, sits on the historic Silk Road route, and a caravanserai from the Bishkek–Kashgar trading road still sta…
Gram
A compact Danish town in southern Jutland where an ivy-covered manor inn faces a prehistoric dolmen across a gravel courtyard, with a medieval castle and a R…
Carthage
Built over and around one of antiquity's most storied archaeological sites, this commune east of Tunis holds the ruins of ancient Carthage alongside the Tuni…
Calvisson
This tiny wine-country town in the Gard department of southern France, Calvisson sits in the Vaunage between Nîmes, Montpellier, the Cévennes, and the Camarg…
Santa Lucia Cotzumalguapa
The Cotzumalhuapa archaeological zone, encompassing pre-Columbian Maya sites including El Baúl and Bilbao, lies within this Pacific Lowlands city in Guatemal…
Sitke
Tiny village in Vas County, Hungary, Sitke sits in wine-growing country with a documented history stretching back to 1251 — and Roman remains suggesting an e…
Claros
This ancient Greek sanctuary on the Ionian coast, Claros was home to a temple and oracle of Apollo — rivaling Delphi and Didyma as a center of prophecy — fro…
Dera Bugti
Dera Bugti, a town in Pakistan's Balochistan province, is the historic seat of the Bugti tribe and became a separate district in 1983.
San Agustín
The archaeological park surrounding San Agustín, a small town in Colombia's southern Huila department, holds one of the largest collections of pre-Columbian…
Al-Mada'in
Al-Mada'in, also known as Salman Pak, sits a short distance southeast of Baghdad on the site of the ancient Sasanian Persian capital of Ctesiphon.
Vrnograč
A modest Bosnian town in green upland country, where a mosque minaret and stone fortress ruins crowning a wooded hill give the compact settlement a layered,…
Cyme
The largest of the twelve ancient Aeolian cities along the Asia Minor coastline, Cyme — also known as Kyme or Phriconian Cyme — sits near Aliağa in Turkey's…
Lǝkit
Ivy-draped stone ruins rise from a forested hillside in this small Azerbaijani village in the Qax district, set in upland country near water and within reach…
Fouka
A coastal municipality in Algeria's Tipaza province, Fouka sits on the Mediterranean and is thought to be built on the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Cas…
Guaqui
A lakeside port on Lake Titicaca, high in the Bolivian altiplano, Guaqui sits on the site of pre-Columbian Inca ruins — its current church built directly ove…
Sofala
Sofala, now known as Nova Sofala, was once a prominent Swahili city-state and trading port on the Mozambican coast, first recorded in use by Mogadishan merch…
Vrana
This little Dalmatian village beside a lake near the Adriatic coast, where the golden-lit ruins of a substantial medieval fortification — its crenellated lim…
Fier
Founded officially in 1864 by Omer Pasha Vrioni II, Fier is a town in southwestern Albania on the Gjanica River, with a walkable centre of cafés and restaura…
Polgar
This tiny town in eastern Hungary at the meeting point of three counties, Polgár offers medicinal and open-air bathing facilities alongside a boating lake an…
Çorum
Çorum is a highland city in northern Anatolia known for its Hittite and Phrygian archaeological sites, its thermal springs, and leblebi — roasted chickpeas t…
Medininkai
Medininkai, a village southeast of Vilnius near the Lithuania-Belarus border, draws visitors to the ruins of a medieval castle — once among the most importan…
Chang'an, Tang Empire
The imperial capital of the Sui and Tang dynasties, Chang'an was at its height one of the largest cities in the world — a cosmopolitan metropolis that drew d…
Eyüp
Eyüp, on Istanbul's European shore at the head of the Golden Horn, draws visitors above all to the tomb of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari — companion and standard-beare…
Postenje
A village in the Novi Pazar municipality of Serbia's Raška District, Postenje is home to the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, a structure begun in the 4th ce…
Silistra
This Bulgarian Danube port town sitting at the point where Romania's land border meets the river, Silistra holds a late Roman tomb with rich interior decorat…
Luohe
Luohe, a large city in central Henan province, is China's leading food-processing hub, home to major brands including Shuanghui (meat products), Weilong (sna…
Stolniceni
Ruins of the Roman fort Buridava lie within this pocket-sized village on the water's edge, part of the municipality of Râmnicu Vâlcea in Oltenia, Romania, wi…
Montes Claros
Regional industrial hub in northern Minas Gerais, Montes Claros is a large Brazilian city with a walkable centre holding several historic churches, including…
Kula
A compact Bulgarian border town where substantial Roman ruins — including a striking twin-towered gateway still standing against open sky — offer an atmosphe…
El Qoseir
Red Sea town with around 5,000 years of continuous settlement, El Qoseir was known in ancient Egypt as Tjau and in the Ptolemaic era as Myos Hormos, serving…
Mojón Grande
This compact grid-plan village in Argentina's lush Misiones province, where low-rise houses and a little church sit amid rolling forested hills, with the wid…
San José de Chiquitos
Founded in 1697 as a Jesuit mission settlement, San José de Chiquitos is part of the Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site…
Kırklareli
The provincial capital of Kırklareli sits in Eastern Thrace, close to the Bulgarian border in the European part of Turkey, with a walkable centre well suppli…
Vendel
Vendel, a village in Uppland's Tierp Municipality, lends its name to the Vendel Period — an era of Scandinavian prehistory defined by the remarkable archaeol…
Kuwait City
The capital of Kuwait and a centre of modern Arab culture in the Gulf — designated Islamic Capital of Culture in 2016 — Kuwait City grew rapidly after oil wa…
Rosetta
Rosetta (also known as Rashid) is the Egyptian port city where the Rosetta Stone was discovered at nearby Fort Julien in 1799, making it one of the most cons…
Padise
Pocket-sized Estonian village in northern Harju County, Padise draws visitors to its substantial medieval stone monastery ruins — a roofless Gothic complex o…
Takedamachi
Taketa City in Ōita Prefecture, southwestern Japan, is built around the ruins of Oka Castle, where the Meiji-era composer Takeki Rentarō is said to have conc…
Lebedus
This small sandy bay curves around an ancient Ionian peninsula on Türkiye's Aegean coast, where the ruins of a once-prominent Greek city-state sit above turq…
Kosovska Mitrovica
Divided by the Ibar River since 1999 into an Albanian-majority south and a Serb-majority north, Kosovska Mitrovica is a city in northern Kosovo with a walkab…
Saraqib
This town in northwestern Syria's Idlib Governorate sitting at the intersection of the M4 and M5 motorways, Saraqib serves as a strategic crossroads between…
Elaea
The ancient port city that once served as Pergamum's gateway to the sea, Elaea stood on the Aegean coast of what is now İzmir Province in western Türkiye.
Swabi
A city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near the bank of the Indus River, Swabi sits in fertile agricultural land known for sugarcane, maize, and tobacco production, wi…
Al-Hasakah
A city in northeastern Syria where the Khabur and Jaghjagh rivers meet, Al-Hasakah is home to a concentration of historic churches in its centre, reflecting…
Karkamış district
A modest town on the Euphrates River in southeastern Turkey, Karkamış sits beside the ruins of ancient Carchemish, a Bronze Age city that some traditions ass…
Ballyferriter
A modest Irish-speaking village on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ballyferriter sits beside Smerwick Harbour at the base of Croaghmarhin Hill.
Gbadolite
Gbadolite, in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is defined by its history as the ancestral home and personal project of Mobutu Sese Seko, wh…
Näsåker
This little Swedish village on the Ångerman River, in Sollefteå Municipality, sits close to Nämforsen, where around 2,300 rock carvings are concentrated alon…
Bátonyterenye
A compact Hungarian town in Nógrád County beside the Zagyva river, at the foot of the Mátra mountains, Bátonyterenye sits within the Novohrad-Nógrád UNESCO G…
Bukovac
A quiet Serbian village in Mionica municipality, where whitewashed red-tile buildings line a rural road backed by green forested hills, with an archaeologica…
Augusta Emerita
Founded in 25 BC by Emperor Augustus to settle veterans of the Cantabrian Wars, Augusta Emerita — today's Mérida — served as the capital of the Roman provinc…
Shahrisabz
Shahrisabz, in Uzbekistan's Qashqadaryo region, is the birthplace of Timur (Tamerlane), the 14th-century conqueror whose legacy shaped Central Asia, and the…
Ramadi
Instead, writing from what the sources actually attest: Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's Al Anbar Governorate, sits on the Euphrates west of Baghdad and has lo…
Tevfikiye
Sitting directly beside the archaeological site of Troy, Tevfikiye is a compact village in Çanakkale Province that some sources describe as the "eleventh set…
Pella
The archaeological site of ancient Pella, once the capital of the Macedonian kingdom and a centre of political, military, and cultural life, sits just outsid…
Ye
Ye (Yecheng) is an ancient city site in Hebei's Linzhang County whose ruins span the banks of the Zhanghe River, straddling the border with Henan province.
Burichang
Burichang, an upazila near Cumilla in Bangladesh's Chattogram Division, draws visitors to its open grassland ruins of stepped red-brick structures rising abo…
Korazim
A pocket-sized Israeli hamlet on the upland plateau north of the Sea of Galilee, where low red-tile houses sit among palms and flowering trees against open,…
Vavuniya
This town in northern Sri Lanka that sits at the cultural boundary between the country's Tamil and Sinhalese populations, Vavuniya has a compact centre with…
Kaski
Ward of Pokhara metropolitan city set close to the Annapurna range, Kaskikot — commonly called Kaski — holds the ruins of a palace built by the rulers of the…
Manisa
Spreading across the slopes of Mount Sipylus in Turkey's Aegean region, Manisa is a city known for its old mosques and a five-hundred-year-old Mesir Paste Di…
Piešťany
Slovakia's largest and best-known spa town, Piešťany sits on the river Váh in the western part of the country and has been a centre for treating rheumatic co…
Fizuli
Extensive stone ruins spread across a hilltop above scrubby lowland vegetation tell the story of Fizuli, an Azerbaijani town near upland country that is bein…
Qus
This Nile-side city in Egypt's Qena Governorate, Qus holds the ancient Al-Omari Mosque, built in the style of Cairo's Al-Azhar, alongside scattered pharaonic…
Urasoe
This coastal city in Okinawa Prefecture that served as an ancient capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom, Urasoe sits between Naha to the south and Ginowan to the nor…
Enez
A pocket-sized town on the Aegean coast of Eastern Thrace, Enez sits at the point where the Meriç river meets the sea at the Turkish-Greek border.
Nakhon Si Thammarat
One of Thailand's most ancient cities, Nakhon Si Thammarat served as the administrative centre of the south for much of its history and was once the Kingdom…
Oc Eo
Oc Eo, in An Giang Province of southern Vietnam's Mekong Delta, is an archaeological site that was once a major port of the Funan kingdom between the 2nd cen…
Tunquen
This largely undeveloped beach on Chile's Valparaíso coast, Tunquén has remained free of the housing and infrastructure that lines much of the Central Littoral.
Qantir
Qantir, a village in Egypt's eastern Nile Delta, is believed to mark the site of Pi-Ramesses, the grand capital built by the 19th Dynasty pharaoh Ramesses II.
Kökar
A small island municipality in the south-eastern Åland archipelago, Kökar sits at the water's edge and carries a long seafaring history.
Leskovo
A depopulated upland village in North Macedonia's Demir Hisar municipality, Leskovo retains the ruins of a few stone houses, a church, and a village fountain…
Visibaba
Village in the Požega municipality of western Serbia's Zlatibor District, Visibaba holds several archaeological sites — among them Blaškovina, listed on Serb…
Al-`Ula
This town in northwestern Saudi Arabia with around 4,000 years of continuous human settlement, Al-'Ula sits in a fertile valley between two large mountains a…
Alta
Known as Nordlysbyen — "The Northern Lights City" — Alta sits at the southern end of Altafjorden in Norway's Finnmark county, where the river Altaelva meets…
Tecpan Guatemala
Founded in 1524 on the site of Iximché — the former Kaqchikel capital and Guatemala's first colonial capital — Tecpán Guatemala sits in the Central Highlands…
Vecpiebalga
Vecpiebalga, a modest village in Latvia's Vidzeme region, holds an outsized place in Latvian cultural history as the birthplace of the country's first novel…
Ovalle
A city on the Limarí River in Chile's Coquimbo Region, Ovalle has a walkable centre with cafés and restaurants, vineyards in the surrounding valley, and larg…
Hillah
The nearest city to the ruins of ancient Babylon, Hillah sits on the Euphrates River in central Iraq, a short drive south of Baghdad.
Sidyma
An ancient Lycian town on the southern slope of Mount Cragus in Muğla Province, Türkiye, Sidyma survives today as the small village of Dudurga Asari, northwe…
Qanawat
One of Syria's most significant Roman archaeological sites, Qanawat — known in antiquity as Canatha — was once a city of the Decapolis, the league of ten Gre…
Conímbriga
One of the largest excavated Roman settlements in Portugal, Conímbriga has been the country's most visited archaeological site and holds a National Monument…
İznik
İznik tiles and pottery — produced in this Turkish town since the Ottoman period — made Nicaea, as it was known in antiquity, one of the most influential cer…
Concepción de la Sierra
Founded in 1619 by the Jesuit priest Roque González de Santa Cruz, Concepción de la Sierra in Misiones Province, north-eastern Argentina, sits on the site of…
Imtan
Highland village in the southern part of Jabal al-Druze in Syria's Suwayda Governorate, Imtan sits at elevation and carries a history stretching back thousan…
Tistrup
Tistrup, a tiny railway town in southwestern Jutland, hosts an annual state-recognised art exhibition — the Kunstnernes Sommerudstilling — held in the Janus…
Dunqulah al Qadimah
Once the medieval capital of the Nubian kingdom of Makuria, Dunqulah al Qadimah sits on the eastern bank of the Nile in Sudan's Northern State.
Ouazzane
Ouazzane is a northern Moroccan town with a compact café-filled centre set against the foothills of the Rif mountains, and a long-standing reputation as a sp…
Çavdarhisar district
Aizanoi, an ancient Roman city whose ruins are scattered in and around this pocket-sized highland town in Kütahya Province, is among the most substantial arc…
Eišiškės
A small southeastern Lithuanian town where a freshly landscaped central promenade leads to a monument, low-rise whitewashed buildings line the square, and ne…
Chavín de Huantar
A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985, Chavín de Huántar preserves a major pre-Inca ceremonial complex built from around 1500 BC at the confluence of two r…
Changde
The Changde Poetry Wall — a flood wall along the Yuan River lined with ancient Chinese poems and listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest…
Armazi
Excavations begun in 1943 at Armazi, a hamlet near Mtskheta in Georgia, have uncovered the remains of what Georgian sources identify as the first capital of…
Kollam
One of India's oldest continuously inhabited cities, Kollam sits on the Arabian Sea at the southern gateway to Kerala's Backwaters, with Ashtamudi Lake on it…
Hakem Barikot
Barikot, on the Swat River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, sits above the ruins of the ancient city of Bazira, captured by Alexander the Great and inhabited since aro…
Estoi
This small Algarve town where low stone walls and open excavated ruins of a Roman-era site sit against a backdrop of rolling scrub hills, with a modest café…
Ghazni
This highland city in southeastern Afghanistan whose name derives from the Persian word for "treasure," Ghazni has drawn travelers and archaeologists for cen…
Paunküla
A little Estonian hamlet on the Pirita River in Harju County, Paunküla has a history layered beneath its quiet setting: two treasure finds have been unearthe…
Vila Pouca de Aguiar
Between the Serra do Alvão and Serra da Padrela mountains in northern Portugal's Vila Real district, Vila Pouca de Aguiar is a small town with a café-filled…
Taravai
The second largest island in French Polynesia's Gambier archipelago, Taravai sits just southwest of Mangareva with an archaeological record stretching back t…
Calbuco
Founded in 1603 as a Spanish fort, Calbuco is the oldest city in Chile's Llanquihue Province, sitting on an island in the Los Lagos Region and connected to t…
Jalaun
A town in Uttar Pradesh where an open-air site of weathered tombs, a tall fluted column, and stone ruins set against flat scrubland offers a quietly atmosphe…
Piltene
Piltene, a small town in Latvia's Courland region, was once the principal city of the Bishopric of Courland and served as the final residence of Magnus, its…
Amyntaio
A little town in western Macedonia named after Amyntas III — father of Philip II and grandfather of Alexander the Great — Amyntaio sits near two lakes, Vegor…
Kernavė
Once the medieval capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Kernavė is a little settlement on the right bank of the Neris River whose archaeological site earn…
Kashihara
Kashihara, in Nara Prefecture, is considered in both mythology and historical scholarship to be the founding ground of Japan — the site where, according to t…
Gowran
This small County Kilkenny village built around a medieval collegiate church with a battlemented tower and ancient graveyard, complemented by a well-regarded…
Yarkhoto
Built on a leaf-shaped plateau between two deep river valleys, Yarkhoto — also known as the Jiaohe ruins — is the remains of a city founded before the 2nd ce…
Nanjo
Coastal city on the southern tip of Okinawa Island, Nanjo sits where the land meets the sea and is scattered with ancient castle ruins — known locally as gus…
Managua
Nicaragua's largest city and capital, Managua sits on the southwest shore of Lake Xolotlán, with a centre that has rebuilt itself around a walkable café and…
Ödemiş district
A town in İzmir Province with a walkable centre full of cafés and restaurants, Ödemiş is also known as Turkey's leading potato-growing region and for its loc…
Salgotarjan
This county-seat town in the forested hills of north-eastern Hungary, Salgótarján sits within the Novohrad-Nógrád UNESCO Global Geopark and offers access to…
Mary
This broad civic plaza with manicured gardens and a gold-domed mosque rising behind white government buildings gives this Central Asian city a monumental, un…
Sijilmasa
Sijilmasa was one of the most important medieval trade centres in the Maghreb, serving as the northern terminus of the western trans-Saharan caravan route un…
Mongo
This town in central Chad where weathered sandstone ruins with pointed arches stand among acacia trees, hinting at layered history, with surrounding hills an…
Kamphaeng Phet
This central Thailand town on the Ping River whose historical park — containing ruins of 14th- to 16th-century temples, city fortifications, and Buddha statu…
Ballymote
This little market town in southern County Sligo whose notable sons include Brother Walfrid, the Marist Brother who founded Glasgow Celtic Football Club, and…
Felsotelekes
This compact village in northeastern Hungary's Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County sits alongside a mine lake at Rudabánya, which is also the site of an ancient homi…
Nasiriyah
The closest major city to the ruins of ancient Ur, Nasiriyah sits on the lower Euphrates in southern Iraq and serves as the gateway to one of the most signif…
Foça
A compact Aegean town in Izmir province with a walkable centre of cafés and restaurants and scenic coastal viewpoints, Foça stands on the site of ancient Pho…
Copán
This UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980, the Maya ruins at Copán stand in a fertile mountain valley in western Honduras near the Guatemalan border.
Batu Arang
Coal mining built Batu Arang in the early 20th century, and the industry's rise and collapse — from the 1908 discovery of deposits through wartime disruption…
Aghmat
Aghmat, a village south of Marrakesh on the Ourika road, holds the tomb of al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad, the Andalusian poet-king who spent his final years here in…
Kran
Village just south of the Balkan Mountains in central Bulgaria, Kran holds a conserved ancient Thracian tomb, a Thracian sanctuary, and the ruins of a mediev…
Babo Dehri
Recent archaeological excavations at Babo Dehri, a village in Swabi District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, uncovered close to 400 Buddhist relics and monuments from…
Kastolatsi
This little southeastern Estonian village in the Otepää uplands, home to the striking ruins of a stone-and-brick church — its roofless tower and arched windo…
San Ignacio
San Ignacio Miní, a Jesuit reduction whose ruins are among the best-preserved of their kind in the region, sits within this compact town in Misiones Province…
La Isabela
Founded by Christopher Columbus in 1494 during his Second Voyage, La Isabela in Puerto Plata province is the first permanent European settlement established…
Al Khums
Leptis Magna, one of the best-preserved Roman cities in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies on the eastern edge of Al Khums, a coastal city in n…
Tsurugashima
This town in western Saitama Prefecture, Japan, sits at a major road junction where two expressways meet and has preserved several traditional folk performin…
Ropaži
On the left bank of the Lielā Jugla river in Latvia's Vidzeme region, Ropaži is a village with a riverside park and open-air stage, castle ruins, and a Luthe…
Mehikoorma
Sitting on the shore of Lake Lämmijärv at the narrowest point of the Peipsi-Pskov lake system, this little hamlet in southeastern Estonia has a lighthouse, a…
Shendi
Town in Sudan's River Nile State with a concentration of historic churches in its centre, Shendi sits on the Nile a short distance northeast of Khartoum and…
Buják
Small Hungarian village in Nógrád's upland country, where the overgrown stone ruins of a hilltop fortress rise above dense forest, sitting within the cross-b…
Rummu
Flooded limestone quarry in northern Estonia, where partially submerged concrete ruins rise from turquoise water amid sculpted pale rock terraces and autumn…
Baoji
Baoji, in western Shaanxi Province, sits where the Wei River crosses the Guanzhong Plain, with the Qinling Mountains rising to the south.
Germa
Germa is an abandoned ancient Libyan city in the Sahara, where sprawling mud-brick ruins and scattered palm trees evoke the lost world of the Garamantian civ…
Ishan Abu Salabikh
Archaeological site in Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate marking the remains of a small Sumerian city occupied from the Neolithic through the late 3rd millennium BC,…
Glencolumbkille
This small Atlantic-coast district in south-west County Donegal, Glencolumbkille sits at the edge of the sea with mountain terrain close behind and scenic vi…
Zula
A small Eritrean town on the Red Sea coast near the head of Zula Bay (also known as Annesley Bay), within a short distance of the ancient archaeological site…
Jamjamal
Near Jamjamal, the archaeological site of Jarmo — considered among the oldest agricultural villages in the world, with occupation dating back more than 9,000…
Chaoyang
Known as China's "fossil city," Chaoyang in western Liaoning Province has yielded some of the most significant Early Cretaceous paleontological finds on reco…
Chunarughat
Satchari National Park, one of Bangladesh's national parks, sits within this upazila in the Sylhet Division, where tea gardens, rubber plantations, and sugar…
Non Din Daeng
A district in Buriram province, northeastern Thailand, Non Din Daeng draws visitors to the Lam Nang Rong reservoir, the Nong Hong castle ruins, and the Dong…
Tabuk
Tabuk, the largest city in northwestern Saudi Arabia, sits at the northern gateway to the Arabian Peninsula and is surrounded by some of the region's most si…
Katerini
A town in northern Greece's Pieria region with a walkable centre dense with cafés, restaurants, and historic churches, Katerini sits between Mount Olympus an…
Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya
The ruins of the Ayutthaya Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, spread across this island town at the confluence of the Chao Phraya and Pa Sak rive…
Corpus Christi
Small Argentine town in forested Misiones province, reached along a tree-lined road, where yerba mate country and the surrounding hills place you within easy…
Yinxu
Yinxu, on the outskirts of Anyang in northern Henan, is the archaeological site of Yin, the final capital of China's Shang dynasty, occupied from around the…
Polonnaruwa
The Ancient City of Polonnaruwa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the second-oldest of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, sits alongside a large lake in the North Central…
Al Lisht
Al Lisht, a village south of Cairo in Giza Governorate, holds one of Egypt's significant Middle Kingdom burial sites, with two pyramids built by the pharaohs…
Trebenista
An Iron Age necropolis on the northern shore of Lake Ohrid, Trebeništa is known for 56 richly furnished graves — including gold funerary masks — spanning fro…
Vidisha
A historic city in Madhya Pradesh serving as a Jain pilgrimage centre, Vidisha sits a short distance from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sanchi and holds…
Tullyallen
A village in County Louth's Boyne Valley, Tullyallen sits within reach of some of Ireland's most significant prehistoric and medieval sites: the Newgrange, K…
Al Mazghunah
Two unfinished 12th Dynasty mudbrick pyramids stand at Mazghuna, a village in Egypt's Giza Governorate south of Dahshur.
Gobernador Roca
This little roadside town in Argentina's lush Misiones province, Gobernador Roca sits close to water and rolling hills, serving as a low-key base for explori…
Huế
Vietnam's former imperial capital, Huế holds a UNESCO-listed complex of palaces, tombs, and temples from the Nguyễn dynasty, which ruled here from 1802 to 1945.
Banteay Chhmar Lech
An Angkorian-era temple complex in northwestern Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey province, built in the Bayon style under Jayavarman VII and considered a rare exa…
San Juan Opico
This compact town in El Salvador's La Libertad department is home to a colonial-era church and the pre-Columbian archaeological site of Joya de Cerén, a UNES…
Hipólito Yrigoyen
This small village in Argentina's lush Misiones province, Hipólito Yrigoyen sits along a forested waterfront corridor, with dense subtropical greenery, a loc…
Vahessaare
This small Estonian village in Tartu County where a grass-covered ancient mound rises among birch and pine woodland, with water nearby and a UNESCO-listed si…
Anegundi
This village on the northern bank of the Tungabhadra River in Karnataka, Anegundi is older than the nearby UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi and forms part…
San José
Little Misiones town with low-slung cream-and-red civic buildings, surrounded by yerba mate and citrus farmland, and well-placed as a gateway stop near the r…
Indrapura
Indrapura — known today as Đồng Dương, in Quảng Nam province — served as the capital of the Cham kingdom from 875 to 982 AD, founded under the Buddhist king…
Tukrah
Tukrah, a small Libyan town east of Benghazi, carries one of the region's longest recorded histories: settled before the Greeks arrived in the late 7th centu…
Loreto
The Jesuit mission ruins of Nuestra Señora de Loreto are the main draw of this compact village in Misiones Province, north-eastern Argentina, reached via Rut…
El Abra
Rock-shelter and cave system in the Cundinamarca highlands, El Abra is one of the earliest known sites of human settlement in the Americas, with evidence of…
Taleh
Taleh, in Somalia's Sool region, draws historically curious visitors to its arid highland setting, where dry-stone ruins and painted political murals speak t…
Yarim
Highland town in Yemen's Ibb Governorate, roughly midway between Sanaa and Taizz, Yarim sits within reach of the ruins of Zafar, an ancient Himyarite site a…
Yli-Ii
Sparsely populated Finnish village in North Ostrobothnia, where dense boreal forest lines quiet roads along the Ii River, offering a raw taste of northern wi…
Vallentuna
Waterside town in Stockholm County with cafés and restaurants concentrated in a compact centre, Vallentuna sits within a cultural landscape where human habit…
Challapampa
This pocket-sized hamlet on the northern tip of Isla del Sol sits on the shores of Lake Titicaca high in the Bolivian altiplano, within walking distance of t…
Singa
Singa, the capital of Sudan's Sennar State on the western bank of the Blue Nile, holds a place in archaeological history as the site of the oldest known foss…
Tiflet
A mid-sized Moroccan city between Rabat and Khemisset, Tiflet sits in a historically layered region once settled by Berbers, Phoenicians, and Romans, with wi…
Çayönü
Çayönü Tepesi is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlement in Diyarbakır Province where excavations have traced the continuous transition from hunter-gatherer life…
Dunaújváros
A town on the right bank of the Danube south of Budapest, Dunaújváros is one of the most coherent surviving examples of early post-war Eastern European archi…
Kunda
Kunda is a little Estonian town on the Gulf of Finland coast, known for its cement factory, port, and archaeological heritage.
Xianyang
Xianyang, in Shaanxi Province, served as the political capital of the Qin state and the Qin dynasty from 350 BCE, when Duke Xiao relocated the court here and…
Puerto del Hambre
Puerto del Hambre — also known by its original name Ciudad del Rey Don Felipe — marks the site of the first European attempt to establish a permanent settlem…
Kilwa Masoko
Kilwa Masoko is the mainland town that faces Kilwa Kisiwani, a UNESCO World Heritage island whose medieval Swahili ruins sit just across the water.
Tokmok
The ruins of Burana, the remains of the medieval Silk Road city of Balasagun and a northern capital of the Karakhanid state, lie just southwest of Tokmok, a…
Ezra's Tomb
A revered religious site in southern Iraq, Ezra's Tomb draws pilgrims and history-minded visitors to its riverside setting, situated within a region rich in…
Giannitsa
Greek market town in the heart of Macedonia's wine-growing plains, Giannitsa offers a lively café-lined centre and sits within easy reach of the region's cel…
Kamalapura
Town in Karnataka's Bellary district, Kamalapura sits close to water and upland country, and serves as a practical base for exploring the UNESCO World Herita…
Polokwane
Polokwane is South Africa's northern gateway city, offering a lively urban base close to upland bushveld, with easy access to the wider Limpopo region's rema…
Dambulla
Dambulla, a town in Sri Lanka's Central Province, is home to the country's largest and best-preserved cave temple complex, with the nearby Sigiriya rock fort…
Ruins of Tróia
A waterfront destination on Portugal's Atlantic coast where Roman ruins meet a lively café and restaurant scene, with UNESCO-listed sites and upland country…
Los Naranjos
A small Honduran highland village with a surprisingly lively local food scene for its size, set in upland country with water within easy reach.
Qasr Qarun
A remote desert site in Egypt's Fayoum region, Qasr Qarun sits beside an ancient lake and offers visitors a well-preserved Ptolemaic temple rising from stark…
Citânia de Sanfins
An ancient hilltop settlement in Portugal's Tâmega e Sousa uplands, Citânia de Sanfins offers visitors a rare encounter with well-preserved Iron Age ruins se…
Íquira
A small Colombian town set in upland Huila department, Íquira sits near water and within reach of the region's UNESCO-recognized archaeological landscapes, m…
Taftanaz
This compact Syrian upland town within reach of the region's remarkable concentration of UNESCO World Heritage sites, making it a practical base for explorin…
Phong Châu
A riverside town in Vietnam's Phu Tho province, Phong Châu sits at the water's edge amid rolling hills, and serves as a gateway to the wider region's UNESCO-…
El Qaa
A small Lebanese settlement near water and upland terrain, El Qaa sits within reach of several UNESCO World Heritage sites, making it a practical base for ex…