Pyramiden ghost town, Svalbard

An abandoned Soviet coal-mining town, closed in 1998 and left almost as it was, with the world's most northerly statue of Lenin, a cultural centre with a grand piano, and empty apartment blocks, set by a glacier in the Billefjorden.

It can only be visited on a boat trip (summer) or snowmobile trip (winter) from Longyearbyen, usually including a stop at the Nordenskiöld Glacier. A Russian guide shows you around, and there's a small hotel.