Ancient & archaeological sites.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
Genoni
This tiny Sardinian village in the Sarcidano subregion, dominated by the plateau hill of Santu Antine, with natural, landscape, and archaeological points of…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.