Though players have most likely wandered across these places before, they might not have been aware that they were cities. Perhaps you blew past these cities while running from angry wildlife, maybe you experienced them as part of a quest or accidentally dropped into one while looking for a shortcut between zones.

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It's possible you visited one of them while you were running a dungeon or finishing a quest chain and never had a chance to stop and enjoy the sights. Here are ten of Azeroth's secret and hidden cities that you can only see if you're playing Classic World of Warcraft.

10 The Scarlet Bastion

Crusaders'_Square_Stratholme_Warcraft screenshot

We can't really put Stratholme itself on this list, as it's not a functioning city unless you're a mage, ghoul or giant spider that serves the Scourge. The Scarlet Bastion, however, functions as a working city within the ruined one, even if it is just a few buildings and a section of the old ruined city.

You have to hand it to the Scarlet Crusade to maintain a presence here, even sending a messenger and a team of escorts to Tyr's Hand at the other side of the zone every so often to make sure everyone knows that they aren't dead.

9 Darrowshire

Darrowshire_Eastern Plaguelands World of Warcraft

There are ruins of cottages and villages throughout the eastern and Western Plagurlands, but this one is different. One of the tragic and haunted cities on this list, most players never complete this long and difficult quest chain and experience the struggle of a small town as it tries but fails to fight back the Scourge invasion.

If you follow the chain to its end, which requires a full raid party to finish, you get a chance to hear about Darrowshire before it was destroyed. The ghosts of yesterday appear during the raid and you get to see a glimmer of Darrowshire and the Kingdom of Lordaeron before it fell.

8 Caer Darrow

When it came to wealth and property, the Barov Family didn't mess around. Their home is the infamous Scholomance now, but the island on which their home estate was located was home to a thriving city that often gets overlooked, Caer Darrow.

If you finished the quest chain that started with talking to the ghosts of Eva and Lucen Sarkoff outside, the Barov servants outside of Scholomance and ended with killing Kritanos the Herald, you're rewarded a trinket that allows you to see and talk with the ghostly inhabitants of the city that remain.

7 Eldre'Thalas

You know this city by a different name, Dire Maul. If you have time between fighting ogres and angry ghosts, take a closer look at the architecture. This was once one of Azshara's most impressive cities and considering the breadth of her empire that's saying a lot. The inhabitants of Eldre'Thalas weren't just any Night Elves, they were Shandra'alar, the most gifted and magically inclined of the Highbourne.

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While the Sundering and Sargeras tore the world apart, the inhabitants of Azshara's favorite city withdrew further as demons and ogres took over most of it, especially since they were weakened by the loss of the Well of Eternity. There they remain, a relic of a long lost civilization, only a few expansions away from extinction. Or maybe they'll come out of hiding and rejoin Night Elf society but considering the damage they did, there would have to be another massive, global disaster for that to happen.

6 Stromgarde Keep

Here's another "training" non-instance for later dungeons that players can miss unless they spend a few extra levels in the Arathi Highlands. The history of this place is really detailed and interesting, reaching far into the darkest shadows of Azerothian history when it was known as the capital city of the kingdom of Stromgarde.

Although part of it is in ruins and yet other parts are inhabited by ogres and other hostile factions and creatures, the interior of the keep and its outlying buildings remain intact and still function as a city under the protection of the Strongarde military.

5 Hordemar City

You call it a dungeon, but the servants of Rend Blackhand call it home. That includes Orcs, Dragonkin, Ogres, Trolls, a few Goblins, and one unfortunate Trogg. Lower Blackrock Spire is a barracks, for the most part, housing the armies of the Dark Horde, but the residents also include families, visitors and some form of local leadership that takes care of some basic needs.

The place is mostly in ruins, as is the rest of the dungeon, and takes up a relatively small part of the instance along with other areas like the Skitterweb Tunnels and Tazz'Alaor.

4 Timbermaw Hold

It doesn't look like a conventional city, but the inhabitants aren't conventional either. If you were a bear, wouldn't it be natural for you to build a city underground or in a giant tree? Most players enter the Hold through one of the more humble entrances in Felwood, Moonglade or Winterspring, but if we used the big door in Azshara that nobody seems to know about, it would be easier to recognize Timbermaw Hold as a city.

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There's a much more illustrative version of this in retail, where you can find a sprawling furbolg city in the remains of a massive tree stump in Grizzly Hills, Northrend.

3 Dancing Troll Village

If you've only played retail WoW, then you've never known the thrill of dancing with the Trolls in this hidden mountain town. We're not sure why this merry little town is here or why it exists as it's almost impossible to get there, but it has a temple, several houses, and a perpetual beach dance party. Technically, the city is in Darkshore, but only accessible via an unmarked road that winds through the mountains of Winterspring's western border.

Even once you find it, the village is in a protected valley far beneath the cliffs. Only players with slow fall abilities, engineering devices like parachutes, spells like soul stone or self-rez, or other means of dealing with long falls can get into the isolated valley that houses the secret city.

2 Hearthglen

Hearthglen isn't a secret for those that follow the quest chain given by Tirion Fondring. Other players who aren't interested in one of Azeroth's most compelling heroes or his fearsome sword, Ashbringer, will likely never travel up that lonely road in the northern section of the Western Plaguelands.

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The Scarlet Crusade managed to keep an entire city, including the adjoining lumber camp, free of the Scourge invasion. The remaining human kingdoms would be happier about this if it wasn't the Scarlet Crusade residing there, which is why this city remains hidden in the northernmost corner of the Western Plaguelands to all except the most intrepid adventures.

1 Shadowforge City

blackrock-depths mole machine near the anvil wow classic

Sure, you know Shadowforge City! This is where the Grim Guzzler is, the most rockin' tavern in Azeroth. Nobody is surprised by this, as it's easily big enough to contain a whole city. The proud Dark Iron Dwarves don't refer to this place as Blackrock Depths like you and your friends do, and they don't take kindly to you tramping through their backyards.

The city was designed and built by none other than Franclorn Forgewright, the Dwarf also responsible for the Stonewright Dam and the purple hammer, Ironfoe. His tomb still exists, suspended above the molten center of Blackrock Mountain, and he gives you a quest if you see him in ghostly form.

NEXT: Classic WoW: Top Ten Scenic Flight Paths