Athens doesn't live in the past. Glamorous and forward-looking, it blends galleries, gelaterias, bijoux boutiques, and museums with the wonders of the Acropolis and Parthenon. Wander lively streets and markets, dance at bouzoukia, sing in tavernas, then head to the harbour for dimly lit bars and cold beer. With salty air and fishing boats setting out at dawn, Athens feels both ancient and progressive.

Explore Istanbul's east-meets-west charm: the Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Turkish baths, and the old city's vine-shaded streets. Haggle for gold, linen, and antiques, feast on meze, bluefish, kebabs, baklava, and olives, then sip raki. Cross to Asia for street food, browse the Spice Bazaar, and party late by the Bosphorus until dawn.

Explore Istanbul's east-meets-west charm: the Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Turkish baths, and the old city's vine-shaded streets. Haggle for gold, linen, and antiques, feast on meze, bluefish, kebabs, baklava, and olives, then sip raki. Cross to Asia for street food, browse the Spice Bazaar, and party late by the Bosphorus until dawn.

Syros lies just across from Mykonos, but feels a world away from its hedonism. Far from sleepy, its capital Ermoupoli-once the Aegean's mercantile heart-is an elegant neo-classical city buzzing with Greek life. Explore marble boulevards to Vaporia, with preserved merchant palaces, waterfront cafes, and the Apollo Theatre. Also visit Ano Syros, a Venetian hilltop village crowned by San Giorgio, plus fishing villages, sandy shores, and quiet coves.

Kotor Bay, a less-travelled amphitheatre on Montenegro's Adriatic coast, shimmers with jade waters and emerald slopes. In the fjord-like shelter, Kotor Old Town feels fairy-tale: fortified walls, Romanesque churches and medieval bastions recall masked carnivals and earthquakes. Italian and Mediterranean influences shape the cuisine, with gelato, brodetto and fresh Adriatic seafood. Above town, the Church of Our Lady of Remedy offers sweeping views of Kotor's red-tiled UNESCO rooftops.

Sheltered by pine-covered hills, Split is a spellbinding Adriatic city of terracotta roofs and sea views. Explore Diocletian's seafront palace: its colonnaded courtyard, cathedral, busy streets, cafés, shops, and lived-in alleyways. Then linger over coffee on the Riva promenade, climb to the hilltop park past small churches for sunset, or head to sandy Bacvice beach to swim, watch picigin, and practice fjaka, the Dalmatian art of doing nothing.

Explore Slovenia's Adriatic gems: Koper's medieval old town, Venetian architecture, Tito Square, Bell Tower and Praetorian Palace; the underground Škocjan Caves with their stalagmites and stalactites; and Piran for seafood, Tartini Square, medieval walls, St George's Church, and sweeping views over cobalt-blue sea.

Explore Venice's ancient palaces, galleries, and modern exhibits; walk among masterpieces, catch an opera, admire medieval buildings, and blow Murano glass. Drift the Grand Canal by gondola past churches, convents, and campi, cross hump-backed bridges, and reach Piazza San Marco, the Basilica, and the Doge's Palace. From palazzos to perfumeries and the Bridge of Sighs, beauty is always moments away in this liquid-gold city.