The pile of books behind the dignified writer gave the statue a most undignified nickname.

Where Venice's gondolas go for a tune-up.

Once the legendary capital of the Dacian Kingdom, this city has been reduced to mere ruins.

This fairy-tale castle would make Dracula (who is said to have been imprisoned there) jealous.

This Transylvanian church has changed its denomination four times.

The Natural History Museum that time forgot.

Home of the first female Hungarian poet, where her secret writing lay hidden for over a century.

Romania's only crater lake with water as pure as if distilled.

Once an opulent Art Nouveau hotspot, the Constanța Casino is one of Romania's most beautiful abandoned buildings.

The ancient Greek Titan guards this massive dam holding a lightning bolt to symbolize electricity.

The legendary cliffside castle of three-time Voivode of Wallachia, Vlad the Impaler.

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

This elaborately decorated, fairytale-like Romanian royal palace is one of the most striking castles in Europe.

This enormous abandoned prison was once dubbed the "Bastille of Romania."

This eccentric folly house was designed by Romanian thinker Bogdan-Petriceicu Hasdeu, with a helping hand from his deceased daughter's spirit.

This once-derelict building is now one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world.

A celebration of all things tacky, garish, and bizarrely creative in the Romanian capital.

This memorial to the victims of the Romanian Revolution of 1989 is often compared to a potato on a skewer.

One of the most controversial statues in Romania is an emperor with no clothes.

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

Romania's triumphal arch looks out over Bucharest.

17th century palace once a meeting place for politicians.

A Romanian church built from one single oak.

The growing stones of Romania.