Monasteries

This often-missed monastery, set in a scenic mountain landscape, features unique frescoes, fortifications and legends.

This lesser-visited World Heritage site in Athens boasts an impressive ensemble of medieval gold mosaics.

This medieval fortress guards a monastery near the border of Serbia and Montenegro.

According to a gruesome legend, an architect sacrificed his wife to build this spectacular, 16th-century cathedral.

After 400 years of being closed to the public, this monastery's underground tunnels and secret garden are now a museum.

The remains of a 13th-century Romanesque church lie abandoned on a hillside.

A Buddhist monastery tucked away in the mountains of Colorado.

An off-the-beaten-path monastery in the northern hills of Ulaanbaatar.

This fortress-like monastery is covered with intricate frescoes.

A martyred saint built a nunnery and school for girls here known as the "Parthenon."

The former "holiday home" for monks at the Durham Cathedral.

On a teardrop-shaped island in the Danube, the ruins of a convent and the final resting place of a saint.

A hike outside of the town of Zuun Mod will take visitors to a monastery complex steeped in Mongolian history.

These 400-year-old ruins are all that's left of the monastery where Ines de Castro was assassinated by the King of Portugal.

The remains of one of Wales’ great medieval buildings, with a pub in the cellar.

A monastery considered a state-protected cultural monument of exceptional importance, founded in the 14th century by Serbian King Stefan Dečanski.

Established hundreds of years ago, Gandan remains the premier Buddhist monastery in Ulaanbaatar.