Southeastern Slovenia
This protected area follows the meandering path of the Kolpa River from the brilliantly named village of Fučkovci (fuch-kow-tse), just north of Adlešiči,…
Must-see attractions in Central Europe
Leipzig & Western Saxony
Around 2.5km south of the centre, this small but choice museum occupies the 1903 Villa Esche, which was Belgian artist Van de Velde's first commission in…
Óbuda & Buda Hills
A short distance north along Frankel Leó út and tucked away in an apartment block is the Újlak Synagogue, built in 1888 on the site of an older prayer…
Historic Mitte
Constrained by rigid building regulations, architect Frank Gehry had to transfer his trademark sculptural approach to the atrium of the Berlin…
Bremen & the East Frisian Coast
Situated a few kilometres south of Bremerhaven’s train station, this so-called ‘shop window to the fishing harbour’ is a former fish-packaging hall that's…
Cologne
Winning top honours for Cologne's most handsome church exterior is Gross St Martin, with an ensemble of four slender turrets grouped around a central…
Harz Mountains
This purpose-built gallery exhibits the work of influential Bauhaus artist Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956), who was born in New York and came to Germany at…
Mausoleum of Struggle & Martyrdom
Warsaw
Once used by the Gestapo for interrogation, torture and murder, this building now stands as a memorial to the thousands of Poles who passed through its…
Wiesbaden
The five glinting gold onion domes of this Russian Orthodox Church, constructed between 1847 and 1855, rise above a canopy of trees 600m southeast of the…
Cologne & Northern Rhineland
It took two centuries to complete this beautiful Gothic hall church whose four gables overlook the market square. Rebuilt after burning down during WWII,…
The Romantic Road
Located just outside the easternmost town gate, this is an engaging place to entertain young minds, bored with the Romantic Road's twee medieval pageant…
Carpathian Mountains
The Kromer Townhouse, a second branch of the Biecz Regional Museum, occupies a 16th-century tenement house 100m west of the Rynek and directly in front of…
Warsaw
Today housing the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts, Czapski Palace, completed in 1705, is regarded as one of the best examples of rococo architecture in the…
Vienna
The northern side of Judenplatz is occupied by the former chancery building. Built between 1709 and 1714, and expanded over the centuries, the baroque…
Moselle Valley
Part of the St-Nikolaus-Hospital complex, this small museum has interactive screens (best appreciated by German speakers) and features such as an Aromabar…
Prague
The House of the Hlahol Choir, built in 1906 by Josef Fanta for a patriotic choral society associated with the Czech National Revival, is decorated with…
Eastern Slovakia
This pyramid-shaped Greek Catholic church, dating to 1730 and consecrated by St Basil the Great, houses rare icons including a depiction of Jesus…
Pécs
One of Pécs’ most enjoyable pedestrian streets, Ferencesek utcája, runs east from Kórház tér to Széchenyi tér and boasts the magnificent baroque…
Óbuda & Buda Hills
The Roman Civilian Amphitheatre is about half the size of the one reserved for the military to the south. Much is left to the imagination, but you can…
Mahnmal Gegen Krieg und Faschismus
Vienna
Designed by Alfred Hrdlicka and installed in 1988, this series of pale block-like sculptures on Helmut-Zilk-Platz has a dark, squat shape wrapped in…
Lower Saxony & Bremen
This town museum is located in the reconstructed Knochenhauerhaus, one of Germany’s most intricate half-timbered houses. Exhibits are spread over five…
Kraków
The retro-modern Arka Pana was the first church in Nowa Huta, built from 1967 to 1977 after much controversy. Authorities had intended the workers' suburb…
Bratislava
Shaped like an upside-down pyramid, this memorable building is either an eyesore or a marvel of brutalist design, depending on who you ask. The 80m-tall…
Graubünden
This Romanesque church is perched on a hill that has been a site of worship since prehistoric times, as attested by the line-up of modest menhirs leading…
Thuringian Forest & the Saale Valley
This museum, housed in the 1866 villa once owned by writer Fritz Reuter, hosts the most extensive collection on the composer Richard Wagner’s life and…
Lower Silesia
Housed in Świdnica's town hall, this institution contains reconstructions of an old tavern – Świdnica was always famous for its beer – along with a…
Katowice
This blocky, 14-storey, 60m-high apartment building was Poland’s tallest building from 1934 until 1955. Considered the purest example of functionalism in…
Warsaw
It's easy to completely miss what has to be Warsaw's narrowest building, measuring between 70cm and 122cm width. Dedicated to the Israeli writer Edgar…
Kreuzberg
Right in the Spree River, near the Elsenbrücke bridge, this giant aluminium sculpture shows three bodies embracing and is meant to symbolise the joining…
Friedrichshain
This enchanting 1913 neo-baroque fountain consists of an arcade and a lusty cascade flanked by sculptures of frolicking turtles, frogs and characters from…
Eastern Slovenia
Rogaška Slatina is as celebrated for its crystal glass as it is for its mineral water. Individuals are welcome to take a guided tour of the town's glass…
Bohemia
Moving memorial built into the old fortress's casemates holds the ashes of thousands of residents who were killed and cremated during the Nazi occupation…
Warsaw
At this spot stood one of the major gates to the small ghetto. Fragments of the original brick wall have been preserved.
Warsaw
A church has stood on this spot since the 14th century, but the neo-rennaissance St Anne's you see today dates to 1870. The tombs of the Potocki and…
Vienna
This huge red-brick complex, today housing the police, Defence Department and Vienna’s traffic office, was originally built as a barracks after the 1848…
Kreuzberg
A former factory has been reincarnated as a cross-cultural cauldron of creativity, led by the venerable namesake publishing house Aufbau Verlag. Other…
Geneva
As well as its permanent collection of stuffed animals (including nearly every creature that walks on Swiss soil), Geneva's Natural History Museum hosts…
Sejm of the Republic of Poland
Warsaw
Apply online or by phone at least a week in advance to arrange a tour around Poland's national parliament, the Sejm. You will need to bring some form of…
Monument of the Slovak National Uprising
Bratislava
The central feature of broad Nám SNP is a bronze monument honouring the antifascist revolt for which the square is named. In November 1989 huge crowds…
Ticino
The Collegio Papio, now a high school, boasts a fine Lombard courtyard and includes the 15th-century Chiesa Santa Maria della Misericordia, with medieval…
