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15 destinations
The Balkans' most underrated coastline, backed by dramatic mountains and some of Europe's lowest prices.
Ottoman old towns, emerald rivers and mountain scenery, still one of Europe's best-value trips.
Lake Ohrid's old churches and a laid-back capital, among the cheapest and least crowded trips in Europe.
Carpathian castles, painted monasteries and Transylvanian towns, with some of Europe's best road-trip roads.
Rebuilt medieval old towns, sobering WWII history and excellent trains, at very reasonable prices.
Grand thermal baths and Danube views in Budapest, easily paired with Vienna and Bratislava.
Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania
Three compact, walkable medieval capitals connected by an easy bus corridor, still overlooked by most travellers.
Fjord-like bays, walled coastal towns and alpine mountains packed into a country the size of a large city.
Atlantic coastline, tiled cities and port wine, priced noticeably lower than Spain or Italy.
Fairy-tale Prague, excellent beer culture and some of the best train connections in Europe.
Alpine lakes, caves and a tiny stretch of coast, compact enough to see most of it in under a week.
Everything from Gaudí's Barcelona to Andalusian palaces and Mediterranean beaches, in one large, varied country.
Ancient ruins, whitewashed islands and some of Europe's best food, at the cost of serious summer crowds.
A polished Adriatic coastline of walled towns and island-hopping, at a premium compared to its Balkan neighbours.
Rome, the Amalfi Coast, Tuscany and the Alps — extraordinary depth, extraordinary crowds and prices to match.
14 itineraries
Sarajevo's layered history followed by Mostar and the Herzegovina countryside, reachable by bus or car.
A loop from Tirana through Ottoman old towns to the Riviera coastline and back, best with a rental car.
Transylvanian Saxon towns and Carpathian mountain roads, built around a rental car.
Prague's fairy-tale old town, the storybook riverside village of Český Krumlov, and student-city Brno to finish.
Three medieval old towns connected by an easy bus corridor — a low-crowd alternative to Western Europe.
The rebuilt capital, medieval Kraków and Auschwitz-Birkenau, gnome-covered Wrocław, and the Baltic port of Gdańsk.
Three capitals, three countries, entirely by train — no rental car needed at any point.
Ancient Athens, the Peloponnese's castles and coastline, and the monasteries of Meteora — no islands required.
Two of the Adriatic's most dramatic, least crowded coastlines combined into one cross-border road trip.
Croatia's coastline and Plitvice Lakes combined with a day trip into Bosnia's Mostar for contrast and value.
Lisbon's hills and trams, the fairy-tale palaces of Sintra, port-wine Porto, and Algarve beaches to close.
Portugal's coastal cities and Spain's Andalusian south, linked by train and one short flight.
Italy's classic first-timer route — ancient Rome, Renaissance Florence, a Bologna food stop and canal-side Venice, all by high-speed train.
Madrid's museums into Andalusia's Moorish palaces, a Costa del Sol stop in Málaga, then Gaudí's Barcelona to finish.