Grand banqueting halls, opulent lobbies and vast ballrooms; you could easily be forgiven for thinking this was a collection of photographs was documenting some of Europe’s grandest hotels. However, a closer look will reveal the majestic rooms to be engulfed in swathes of dust and moss; hotels that once hosted royals and high society abandoned to the elements. This is the latest result of urban exploration photography, going beyond “no entry” signs to capture images of dilapidated buildings across Europe. IT worker Thomas Windisch, from Graz in Austria, indulged his passion for photography by traveling across the continent, visiting over 100 abandoned hotels along the way. Here: inside a hotel in Austria. (Photo by Thomas Windisch/Caters News)

Miss Brazil Julia Gama reacts after her team won the tug of war event during the Miss World sports competition at the Lee Valley sports complex in north London, November 26, 2014. Contestants from 126 countries are in London to compete in the 2014 Miss World competition. (Photo by Andrew Winning/Reuters)

The villas of Marabe Al Dhafra in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates are home to approximately 2,000 people. Located in one of the hottest regions of the world, the record high temperature here is 49.2C° (120.6F°). (Photo by Benjamin Grant/Penguin Random House)

Sellers sort persimmons for sale at a wholesale market in Hanoi, Vietnam October 3, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Kham)

People are seen near a Christmas decoration installed on city Square for the upcoming New Year and Christmas season in Skopje, Macedonia December 23, 2016. (Photo by Ognen Teofilvovski/Reuters)

A stray dog is pictured besides a graffiti made on a shutter of a closed shop at a market area during an ongoing state-wide weekend curfew imposed by the directive of the Delhi government to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in New Delhi on January 9, 2022. (Photo by Sajjad Hussain/AFP Photo)

An Afghan vendor selling birds to be kept as pets wait for customers in his shop in Kabul on December 11, 2021. (Photo by Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP Photo)

A woman poses next to an artwork depicting Kerch bridge on fire, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in central Kyiv, Ukraine on October 8, 2022. (Photo by Vladyslav Musiienko/Reuters)