Browse by kind

Ruins in Europe

67 places, most popular first.

Ruins places

Ruins · UNESCO

Ephesus

Selcuk, Turkey

One of the best-preserved ancient cities of the Mediterranean, with a grand library facade.

Ruins · UNESCO

Roman Forum

Rome, Italy

The ruined heart of ancient Rome: temples, arches and the old political centre.

Ruins · UNESCO

Ancient Olympia

Olympia, Greece

The sanctuary where the ancient Olympic Games began, with the original stadium.

Ruins · UNESCO

Butrint

Sarande, Albania

Ancient ruins in a forested lagoon setting, layered from Greek to Roman to Byzantine and Venetian times.

Ruins

Knossos Palace

Heraklion, Greece

The great Minoan palace, linked in legend to the Minotaur and the labyrinth.

Ruins

Kourion

Limassol, Cyprus

A Greco-Roman city on a cliff with a restored theatre and mosaics, looking out over the sea.

Ruins · UNESCO

Mycenae

Nafplio, Greece

The hilltop citadel of the legendary King Agamemnon, entered through the Lion Gate.

Ruins · UNESCO

Newgrange

Ireland

A passage tomb in the Boyne Valley, older than Stonehenge, aligned with the winter sun.

Ruins · UNESCO

Paphos Archaeological Park

Paphos, Cyprus

Roman villas with detailed mosaic floors beside the harbour, part of ancient Nea Paphos.

Ruins

Ancient Agora of Athens

Athens, Greece

The old marketplace and civic heart of ancient Athens, with a beautifully preserved temple.

Ruins · UNESCO

Avebury

United Kingdom

A huge prehistoric stone circle with a village built within it.

Ruins

Dun Aonghasa, Inis Mor

Ireland

A prehistoric stone fort perched on a cliff edge on the largest Aran Island.

Ruins · UNESCO

Fountains Abbey

United Kingdom

Majestic ruins of a Cistercian abbey in a landscaped water garden, a UNESCO site.

Ruins

Hammershus

Denmark

The ruins of a vast medieval fortress on a cliff edge at the northern tip of Bornholm.

Ruins · UNESCO

Herculaneum

Naples, Italy

A smaller, better-preserved Roman town buried by the same eruption as Pompeii.

Ruins · UNESCO

Palatine Hill

Rome, Italy

The hill where Rome's emperors built their palaces, with views over the Forum and Circus Maximus.