Hillside town of Ottoman-era houses beneath a castle; UNESCO-listed together with Gjirokastër since 2005.

Stone-house town on a hillside dominated by a large castle; UNESCO-listed since 2005.

14th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery near Deçan, the largest medieval church in the Balkans with extensive frescoes; UNESCO World Heritage since

Ottoman-era town on the Lumbardhi river with mosques, a stone bridge and a hilltop fortress.

Bulgaria’s largest and best-known monastery, founded in the 10th century in the Rila mountains.

Old town on a rocky peninsula on the Black Sea with ancient and Byzantine ruins; UNESCO World Heritage since 1983.

Medieval Orthodox church on the outskirts of Sofia; UNESCO World Heritage since 1979.

Late Roman fortified palace and memorial complex in eastern Serbia; UNESCO World Heritage since 2007.

Medieval walled town at the head of the Bay of Kotor, with narrow lanes, squares and fortifications climbing the hillside;

Glacial lake near Žabljak surrounded by pine forest and peaks, in Durmitor National Park, a UNESCO site since 1980.

Small fortified island village on the Adriatic coast near Budva, joined to the mainland by a narrow causeway.

Historic lakeside town with Byzantine churches and a hilltop fortress; part of the Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid

Old stone bridge over the Vardar that links the main square with the old bazaar quarter.

Ancient coastal site in southern Albania with Greek, Roman and Byzantine ruins; UNESCO World Heritage since 1992.

Renaissance cathedral built entirely of stone; UNESCO World Heritage since 2000.

16th-century Ottoman stone arch bridge over the Neretva, rebuilt after its destruction in 1993; part of a UNESCO-listed area since

Ottoman bridge over the Drina designed by Sinan, about 180 m long; UNESCO World Heritage since 2007.

Historic Ottoman-era bazaar and old trading quarter of Sarajevo with craft shops, cafés and mosques.

Late 12th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery, the largest and richest in Serbia; UNESCO World Heritage since 1986.

Fortress and park above the confluence of the Sava and the Danube, the city’s best-known viewpoint and landmark.

Castle built into the mouth of a cave halfway up a cliff face, a few kilometres from Postojna.

Glacial lake in the Julian Alps with a small island church and a medieval castle on the cliff above the

Medieval hilltop castle above the old town of Slovenia’s capital, reached on foot or by funicular.

Chain of terraced lakes joined by waterfalls in forested karst; a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.

Walled Adriatic city with limestone streets, fortifications and a main promenade; UNESCO World Heritage since 1979.

Roman emperor’s palace complex that forms the living heart of Split’s old town; UNESCO-listed since 1979.

River Krka with a series of travertine waterfalls and lakes, best known for the boardwalks around Skradinski buk.

Vast karst cave system with a huge underground canyon carved by the Reka river; a UNESCO World Heritage Site since

One of the best-known show caves in Europe, with long halls and passages that visitors enter by an underground train.