Europe

Balkans

The Balkan Peninsula in southeastern is located between the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea. The region has a mixed scenery with many tall mountain ranges, as well as deep forests, plains and rivers.
Tap on a place
to explore it
Wikivoyage
Wikipedia
Photo: ajy, CC BY 2.0.

Essential Destinations

Top destinations include Greece and Romania.

Photo: Ggia, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a country with a captivating history and culture that has influenced the world for thousands of years. Ancient , home to one of Europe's first urban civilizations, was the origin of Western culture.

Photo: El bes, CC BY 3.0.
is a country of great natural beauty and diversity and a rich cultural heritage, including a variety of ethnic, linguistic, and confessional groups.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a Mediterranean country in Southeastern , and is a part of the Balkans. Much of the tourist industry is concentrated along the coast. Nautical tourism is supported by marinas, while cultural tourism relies on the appeal of medieval coastal cities and cultural events taking place during the summer.

Destinations to Discover

Explore places such as Bulgaria and Albania.

Photo: Pamporoff, Public domain.
, officially known as the Republic of , is a country in the Balkan region of , west of the Black Sea and south of the Danube river.

Photo: Dirk.heldmaier, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a country in the Balkan region of with unspoiled beaches, mountainous landscapes, traditional cuisine, archaeological artefacts, unique traditions, low prices and the wild atmosphere of the countryside.

Photo: Pudelek, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The Republic of , mostly still referred to as simply Macedonia by its residents, is a landlocked country in the heart of the Balkans. The country has an ethnically diverse population sharing an often ruggedly beautiful landscape.

Photo: Hrast, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a European country on the Balkan Peninsula. Mostly mountainous, it has access to a tiny portion of the Adriatic Sea coastline in the south.

Photo: Lošmi, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a Balkan country in Southeastern . It is at the crossroads of European history, and as such is a mix of cultures, ethnicities and religions.

Photo: Dirk.heldmaier, CC BY-SA 3.0.
is a country in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of Europe's newest independent countries, having gained its independence in 2006.

Photo: USAID Digital Development, CC BY 2.0.
is a small, landlocked country nestled between and . is one of the least visited countries in Europe, but adventurous travellers will find some rewarding experiences.

Photo: Marko Markovic, CC BY-SA 3.0.
(Albanian: Kosova or Kosovë is a largely mountainous country in the Balkan region of . Its attractions for travelers include its archaeological and religious heritage, natural beauty, hiking and skiing.

Balkans

  • Type: peninsula
  • Description: geopolitical and cultural region of Southeast Europe
  • Also known as: “Balcans”, “Balkan”, “Balkan countries”, “Balkan Peninisula”, “Balkan peninsula”, “Balkan penninsula”, “Balkan Pennisula”, “Balkan States”, “Balkanoid”, “Balkans peninsula”, “Balkins”, “Haemus Peninsula”, “Peninsula of Haemus”, “South Balkan area”, and “The Balkans”
  • Categories: cultural region, historical region, and region
  • Location:
  • View on Open­Street­Map
Latitude of center
44.21° or 44° 12′ 36″ north
Longitude of center
22.15° or 22° 9′ east
Wiki­data ID
Q23522
This page is based on Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikivoyage.
We’d love your help improving our open data sources. Thank you for contributing.

Satellite Map

Discover Balkans from above in high-definition satellite imagery.
© Stadia Maps, Airbus DS, CNES, PlanetObserver, and Copernicus

In Other Languages

From Abkhazian to Zhuang—“Balkans” goes by many names.
  • Abkhazian: “Балкантәи адгьылбжьаха”
  • Abkhazian: “Балкантәи адгьылбжьахабжа”
  • Achinese: “Balkan”
  • Afrikaans: “Balkan-skiereiland”
  • Afrikaans: “Balkan”
  • Afrikaans: “Balkanskiereiland”
  • Albanian: “Ballkan”
  • Albanian: “Ballkani”
  • Albanian: “Gadishulli Ballkanik”
  • Amharic: “ባልካኖች”
  • Arabic: “البلقان”
  • Arabic: “بلقان”
  • Arabic: “بلقاني”
  • Arabic: “جنوب شرق أوروبا”
  • Arabic: “جنوب شرقي أوروبا”
  • Arabic: “دول البلقان”
  • Arabic: “شبه جزيرة البلقان”
  • Aragonese: “Balcans”
  • Aragonese: “Peninsula Balcanica”
  • Aragonese: “Peninsula d’os Balcans”
  • Armenian: “Բալկանյան թերակղզի”
  • Armenian: “Բալկաններ”
  • Arpitan: “Balcans”
  • Assamese: “বলকান অঞ্চল”
  • Asturian: “Balcanes”
  • Asturian: “Península balcánica”
  • Asturian: “Península de los Balcanes”
  • Azerbaijani: “Balkan yarımadası”
  • Azerbaijani: “Balkanlar”
  • Bashkir: “Балҡан ярымутрауы”
  • Basque: “Balkan”
  • Basque: “Balkanak”
  • Basque: “Balkanetako penintsula”
  • Belarusian: “Балканская паўвыспа”
  • Belarusian: “Балканскі паўвостраў”
  • Belarusian: “Балканы”
  • Bengali: “বলকান অঞ্চল”
  • Bengali: “বলকান”
  • Bosnian: “Balkan”
  • Bosnian: “Balkanski poluotok”
  • Bosnian: “Balkansko poluostrvo”
  • Breton: “Balkanioù”
  • Breton: “Balkanoù”
  • Bulgarian: “Балкани”
  • Bulgarian: “Балканите”
  • Bulgarian: “Балкански държави”
  • Bulgarian: “Балкански полуостров”
  • Bulgarian: “Балканския полуостров”
  • Bulgarian: “Балканският полуостров”
  • Bulgarian: “Югоизточна Европа”
  • Catalan: “Balcànic”
  • Catalan: “Balcans”
  • Catalan: “Europa sud-oriental”
  • Catalan: “Països Balcànics”
  • Catalan: “Península balcànica”
  • Catalan: “Península dels Balcans”
  • Catalan: “Sud-est d’Europa”
  • Cebuano: “Balkan Peninisula”
  • Cebuano: “Balkan Peninsula”
  • Central Kurdish: “بالکان”
  • Central Kurdish: “بەلقان”
  • Chechen: “Балканийн ахгӀайре”
  • Chinese: “Balkan poàn-tó”
  • Chinese: “坡勤半島”
  • Chinese: “巴尔干”
  • Chinese: “巴尔干半岛”
  • Chinese: “巴爾幹”
  • Chinese: “巴爾幹半島”
  • Chinese: “巴爾幹地區”
  • Church Slavic: “Балкани”
  • Chuvash: “Балкан çурутравĕ”
  • Corsican: “Balcani”
  • Corsican: “Penisula Balcanica”
  • Crimean Tatar: “Balqan yarımadası”
  • Crimean Tatar: “Balqan”
  • Crimean Tatar: “Balqanlar”
  • Croatian: “Balkanski poluotok”
  • Czech: “Balkán”
  • Czech: “Balkánský poloostrov”
  • Danish: “Balkan-halvøen”
  • Danish: “Balkanhalvøen”
  • Dimli (individual language): “Balkanan”
  • Dutch: “Balkan”
  • Dutch: “Balkanschiereiland”
  • Egyptian Arabic: “البلقان”
  • Esperanto: “Balkana duoninsulo”
  • Esperanto: “Balkanio”
  • Esperanto: “Balkano”
  • Esperanto: “Balkanoj”
  • Estonian: “Balkan”
  • Estonian: “Balkani poolsaar”
  • Faroese: “Balkan”
  • Faroese: “Balkanhálvoyggin”
  • Finnish: “Balkan”
  • Finnish: “Balkanin niemimaa”
  • Finnish: “Balkanlaiset”
  • French: “Balkanique”
  • French: “Balkans”
  • French: “Les balkans”
  • French: “Péninsule balkanique”
  • French: “Péninsule des Balkans”
  • Friulian: “Balcans”
  • Gagauz: “Balkan”
  • Galician: “Balcánico”
  • Galician: “Balcáns”
  • Galician: “Península Balcánica”
  • Galician: “Península dos Balcáns”
  • Georgian: “ბალკანეთი”
  • Georgian: “ბალკანეთის ნახევარკუნძული”
  • German: “Balkan-Halbinsel”
  • German: “Balkan”
  • German: “Balkanhalbinsel”
  • German: “Balkanstaaten”
  • Gothic: “𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌺𐌰𐌽”
  • Greek: “Αίμος”
  • Greek: “Βαλκάνια”
  • Greek: “Βαλκανική χερσόνησος”
  • Greek: “Βαλκανική”
  • Greek: “Χερσόνησος του Αίμου”
  • Hakka Chinese: “Balkan pan-tó”
  • Hakka Chinese: “Pâ-ngì-kòn pan-tó”
  • Hebrew: “ארצות הבלקן”
  • Hebrew: “באלקאן”
  • Hebrew: “בלקן”
  • Hebrew: “בלקנים”
  • Hebrew: “הבלקן”
  • Hebrew: “הבלקנים”
  • Hebrew: “חבל הבלקן”
  • Hebrew: “חצי האי בלקן”
  • Hebrew: “חצי האי הבלקני”
  • Hebrew: “מדינות הבלקן”
  • Hindi: “बाल्कन प्रायद्वीप”
  • Hindi: “बाल्कन”
  • Hungarian: “Balkán-félsziget”
  • Hungarian: “Balkán”
  • Icelandic: “Balkanskagi”
  • Icelandic: “Balkanskaginn”
  • Ido: “Balkan”
  • Ido: “Peninsulo Balkani”
  • Indonesian: “Balkan”
  • Indonesian: “Eropa Tenggara”
  • Indonesian: “Semenanjung Balkan”
  • Interlingua: “Balkanes”
  • Irish: “Balcáin”
  • Irish: “na Balcáin”
  • Irish: “Na Balcáin”
  • Italian: “Area balcanica”
  • Italian: “Balcani”
  • Italian: “Europa balcanica”
  • Italian: “Europa sud-orientale”
  • Italian: “Europa sudorientale”
  • Italian: “penisola balcanica”
  • Italian: “Penisola balcanica”
  • Italian: “Stati balcanici”
  • Jamaican Creole English: “Balkans”
  • Japanese: “ヴァルカン半島”
  • Japanese: “バルカン半島”
  • Japanese: “バルカン地域”
  • Japanese: “バルカン地方”
  • Japanese: “バルカン諸国”
  • Japanese: “ヨーロッパの火薬庫”
  • Japanese: “南東ヨーロッパ”
  • Japanese: “南東欧”
  • Javanese: “Balkan”
  • Kabyle: “Tazunegzirt n Balqan”
  • Kashubian: “Bałkanë”
  • Kazakh: “Балқан түбегі”
  • Kirghiz: “Балкан жарым аралы”
  • Korean: “발칸 반도”
  • Korean: “발칸”
  • Korean: “발칸반도”
  • Kurdish: “Balkan”
  • Kurdish: “Nîvgirava Balkan”
  • Kurdish: “Nîvgizirta Balkanê”
  • Ladino: “Balkanos”
  • Lao: “ບານຄານ”
  • Latin: “Balcania”
  • Latin: “Paeninsula Balcanica”
  • Latvian: “Balkānu pussala”
  • Limburgan: “Balkan”
  • Lingua Franca Nova: “Balcanes”
  • Literary Chinese: “巴爾幹半島”
  • Lithuanian: “Balkan”
  • Lithuanian: “Balkanai”
  • Lithuanian: “Balkanų pusiasalis”
  • Lombard: “Balcan”
  • Low German: “Balkan”
  • Lower Sorbian: “Balkańska połkupa”
  • Luxembourgish: “Balkan”
  • Macedonian: “Балкански Полуостров”
  • Macedonian: “Балкански”
  • Macedonian: “Балканско полуострво”
  • Malagasy: “Balkana”
  • Malay: “Balkan”
  • Malay: “Semenanjung Balkan”
  • Malayalam: “ബാൾക്കൻ”
  • Manx: “Ny çheeraghyn Balkanagh”
  • Manx: “Ny Çheeraghyn Balkanagh”
  • Marathi: “बाल्कन”
  • Mazanderani: “بالکان”
  • Min Nan Chinese: “Balkan Poàn-tó”
  • Min Nan Chinese: “Balkan Poàⁿ-tó”
  • Min Nan Chinese: “Balkan Pòan-tó”
  • Min Nan Chinese: “Balkan”
  • Mingrelian: “ბალკანეთიშ ჩქონი”
  • Mongolian: “Балканы хойг”
  • N'Ko: “ߓߊߟߑߞߊ߲”
  • Narom: “Balkans”
  • Neapolitan: “Balcane”
  • Nepali: “बाल्कन प्रायद्वीप”
  • Nepali: “बाल्कन”
  • Newari: “बाल्कन”
  • Northern Frisian: “Balkan”
  • Northern Sami: “Balkan”
  • Northern Sami: “Balkannjárga”
  • Norwegian Bokmål: “Balkan-halvøya”
  • Norwegian Bokmål: “Balkan”
  • Norwegian Bokmål: “Balkanhalvøya”
  • Norwegian Bokmål: “Baltar”
  • Norwegian Bokmål: “Balter”
  • Norwegian Bokmål: “Sørøst-Europa”
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: “Balkan”
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: “Balkanhalvøya”
  • Norwegian: “Balkan”
  • Occitan (post 1500): “Balcans”
  • Old English (ca. 450-1100): “Illyricum”
  • Ossetian: “Балкайнаг æрдæгсакъадах”
  • Ossetian: “Балканы æрдæгсакъадах”
  • Panjabi: “ਬਾਲਕਨ”
  • Persian: “بالکان”
  • Persian: “شبه جزیره بالکان”
  • Persian: “شبه‌جزیره بالکان”
  • Polish: “Bałkany”
  • Polish: “Półwysep Bałkański”
  • Pontic: “Βαλκανικόν Χερσόνησος”
  • Portuguese: “Balcãs”
  • Portuguese: “Bálcãs”
  • Portuguese: “Peninsula balcânica”
  • Portuguese: “Península Balcânica”
  • Portuguese: “Península dos Balcãs”
  • Portuguese: “Península dos Bálcãs”
  • Portuguese: “Sudeste da Europa”
  • Pushto: “بالکان”
  • Quechua: “Palkanu ñaqa wat’a”
  • Quechua: “Walkan yaqa wat’a”
  • Romanian: “Balcani”
  • Romanian: “Balcanii”
  • Romanian: “Europa de Sud Est”
  • Romanian: “Europa de Sud-Est”
  • Romanian: “Peninsula Balcanică”
  • Romanian: “Peninsulei Balcanice”
  • Romansh: “Peninsla dal Balcan”
  • Russian: “Балканский полуостров”
  • Russian: “Балканский регион”
  • Russian: “Балканы”
  • Russian: “Юго-Восточная Европа”
  • Rusyn: “Балканскый полуостров”
  • Samogitian: “Balkanā”
  • Santali: “ᱵᱳᱞᱠᱟᱱ”
  • Sardinian: “Balcanos”
  • Sardinian: “Balcànus”
  • Scots: “Balkans”
  • Scottish Gaelic: “Balkans”
  • Scottish Gaelic: “Na Balcain”
  • Serbian: “Балкан”
  • Serbian: “Балканско полуострво”
  • Serbo-Croatian: “Balkan”
  • Serbo-Croatian: “Balkanski poluotok”
  • Serbo-Croatian: “Balkansko poluostrvo”
  • Serbo-Croatian: “Балкан”
  • Sicilian: “Balcani”
  • Sicilian: “Pinìsula balcànica”
  • Silesian: “Bałkany”
  • Silesian: “Boukany”
  • Sindhi: “بلقان”
  • Slovak: “Balkán”
  • Slovak: “Balkánsky polostrov”
  • Slovenian: “Balkan”
  • Slovenian: “Balkanski polotok”
  • Slovenian: “Jugovzhodna Evropa”
  • Somali: “Jasiiradda Balkaan”
  • South Azerbaijani: “بالکان”
  • Spanish: “Balcanes”
  • Spanish: “Balcanica”
  • Spanish: “Balcánica”
  • Spanish: “Balcanico”
  • Spanish: “Balcánico”
  • Spanish: “Balcanicos”
  • Spanish: “Balcánicos”
  • Spanish: “Los Balcanes”
  • Spanish: “Peninsula balcanica”
  • Spanish: “Peninsula Balcánica”
  • Spanish: “Península Balcanica”
  • Spanish: “península balcánica”
  • Spanish: “Península balcánica”
  • Spanish: “Peninsula de los Balcanes”
  • Spanish: “Península de los Balcanes”
  • Spanish: “Peninsula Helenica”
  • Spanish: “Península Helénica”
  • Swahili: “Balkani”
  • Swahili: “Balkans”
  • Swahili: “Rasi ya Balkani”
  • Swedish: “Balkan”
  • Swedish: “Balkanhalvön”
  • Swedish: “Balkanism”
  • Swedish: “Balkanländerna”
  • Swedish: “Illyriska halvön”
  • Swiss German: “Balkan”
  • Tagalog: “Balkan”
  • Tagalog: “Balkanikong Tangway”
  • Tagalog: “Balkans”
  • Tajik: “Нимҷазираи Балкан”
  • Tamil: “பால்கன் குடா”
  • Tamil: “பால்கன் தீபகற்பம்”
  • Tamil: “பால்கன் பகுதிகள்”
  • Tamil: “பால்க்கன்”
  • Tatar: “Балкан ярымутравы”
  • Tatar: “Балкан”
  • Tatar: “Балканнар”
  • Telugu: “బాల్కన్లు”
  • Thai: “Balkan states”
  • Thai: “Balkans”
  • Thai: “คาบสมุทรบอลข่าน”
  • Thai: “บอลข่าน”
  • Thai: “รัฐในคาบสมุทรบอลข่าน”
  • Tosk Albanian: “Balkanhalbinsel”
  • Turkish: “Balkan ülkeleri”
  • Turkish: “Balkan yarımadası”
  • Turkish: “Balkanlar”
  • Turkish: “Güneydoğu Avrupa”
  • Turkmen: “Balkan ýarymadasy”
  • Tyap: “A̱fafap-a̱byin Ba̱li̱kan”
  • Tyap: “A̱yaaba̱li̱kan ba”
  • Tyap: “A̱yaaba̱li̱kan”
  • Tyap: “Ba̱li̱kan”
  • Tyap: “Bibyin Ba̱li̱kan”
  • Tyap: “Sí̱tet Ba̱li̱kan”
  • Uighur: “بالقانلار”
  • Ukrainian: “Балкани”
  • Ukrainian: “Балканський півострів”
  • Upper Sorbian: “Balkanska połkupa”
  • Urdu: “بلقان”
  • Urdu: “جزیرہ نما بلقان”
  • Urdu: “جنوب مشرقی یورپ”
  • Uzbek: “Bolqon yarim oroli”
  • Venetian: “Balcani”
  • Venetian: “Penisola balcanica”
  • Venetian: “Penixoła balcanega”
  • Venetian: “Penixoła balcanica”
  • Venetian: “Penìzoła balcànega”
  • Vietnamese: “Ba Nhĩ Cán”
  • Vietnamese: “Balkan”
  • Vietnamese: “Bán đảo Balkan”
  • Vlaams: “Balkan”
  • Waray (Philippines): “Balkan”
  • Welsh: “Balcanau”
  • Welsh: “Penrhyn y Balcanau”
  • Welsh: “Y Balcanau”
  • Western Armenian: “Պալքանեան Թերակղզի”
  • Western Frisian: “Balkan”
  • Western Panjabi: “بلقان”
  • Wu Chinese: “巴尔干半岛”
  • Xhosa: “I-Peninsula yaseBalkan”
  • Yakut: “Балкаан”
  • Yakut: “Балканнар”
  • Yiddish: “באלקאן לענדער”
  • Yiddish: “באלקאנער האלבאינזל”
  • Yue Chinese: “巴爾幹半島”
  • Zhuang: “Bahwjgan buendauj”
  • “Balkanā”

Europe: Must-Visit Destinations

Delve into Central Europe, Britain and Ireland, Italy, and Nordic countries.

Explore These Curated Destinations

Discover places selected for their distinct character and enduring appeal.
About Mapcarta. Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikivoyage page “Balkans”. Photo: ajy, CC BY 2.0.