The Western Balkans don’t tend to be towards the top of the classic European adventures list, but they really should be and especially so if you’re looking for a 2-3 week adventure. Whilst the likes of Spain, France and Italy offer the beautiful settings and a similar(ish) geographical area, the Western Balkans offer the variety of 8 different countries, are more compact, less busy and go toe-to-toe with those countries in terms of beaches, dramatic settings and cute old towns. Examples? The Havar area has the best beach and boat setting in Europe; Lake Bled and Sveti Stefan must be up there with the most picturesque spots in Europe; Dubrovnik has arguably the best Old Town and city walls in the world; and, in my opinion, Montenegro has the most beautiful coastline in the world. Don’t believe this? Give it a go – as I say, one of the best 2-3 week European adventures in Europe
Country: Bosnia & Herzegovina
Seeing Mostar’s Stari Most Bridge and its bullet-holed history
A visit to Mostar is all about the famous UNESCO World Heritage-listed Stari Most bridge. The bridge itself looks like something straight from Naboo in Star Wars with its beautiful sweeping arch held high by the two cylinder towers and with its setting as the focal point of the town surrounded by the Herzegovina mountains. Despite being part-destroyed by the bombing in the 1990 Civil War, they have done a superb job of repairing it and you can still get a great feeling of its history that stretches all the way back to 1474 and the first arch that was added by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in 1557. Sitting by the river having lunch overlooking the bridge is beautiful, and when combined with a wander through the nearby Old Town, very much justifies the 2.5 hour / 3.5hour trip from Sarajevo / Dubrovnik