Places xavierdesilets Wants to Go

Nine centuries-old fortresses guard the walls of this medieval Romanian city.

This bone-filled cave got its name after they found 140 bear skeletons inside.

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

One of the oldest churches in Romania is believed to have been built on the site of a pagan temple.

A giant portrait of an ancient king looms over the river.

The romantic botanic tunnel feels like a well-kept secret.

A countryside Romanian cemetery filled with colorful crosses bearing lyrical, ironic, or satirical rhymes.

Moss and stone turn this waterfall into an otherworldly liquid veil.

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

Crossing a suspension bridge above a forest is the only way to reach this 12th-century monastery.

A striking symbol of the Bulgarian capital.

An ancient Thracian city where fire rituals were practiced on the largest cult altar in Southeast Europe.

Bizarrely shaped rock formations in northwest Bulgaria come with equally bizarre legends.

An abandoned saucer-shaped monument in the Bulgarian mountains.

These abandoned salt flats are now a haven for wildlife.

A crushed gate and giant bronze head serve as a reminder of Greece's fight for freedom.

Swarms of dainty flying insects swarm into the Petaloudes Valley to get busy.

The ruins of this monumental city founded by the first Roman Emperor are strangely overlooked by most travelers.

A small island with shimmering pink sands, home to loggerhead turtles and rare plants.

An autonomous republic of Orthodox monks.

The ruins of an abandoned medieval city where the last Byzantine emperor was crowned.

This legendary city has been a tourist attraction for centuries.

This ancient Greek place of assembly and marketplace is being revealed layer by layer below the modern Athens cityscape.

Perched on a spindly rock spire in a Greek archipelago, this lighthouse would make a perfect wizard's tower.