This story is part of the October 20 edition of Sunday Life. See all 14 stories . Whatever gets you going – culture, food, baroque cathedrals, beaches, wilderness – here are six European destinations that take you off the beaten track while still hitting all the right notes.
Albania Views of Albania’s capital Tirana. Credit: iStock You have to look hard to find a part of Europe where the word “undiscovered” still applies, yet Albania qualifies in spades. The capital Tirana, where most Albanian journeys begin, is a relatively new city by European standards, laid out by an Ottoman sultan in the 17th century and animated by the efforts of Edi Rama, mayor from 2000-2011, who encouraged citizens to paint building facades in a range of bright colours and encouraged an Italianate cafe culture.
Infrastructure is basic, but third-world roads have preserved the Albanian Riviera, a 130-kilometre strip from Vlora to Saranda, from mass tourism. The drive along this coast, over the Llogara Pass, offers scenery to rival that of Italy’s Amalfi coast, with spots like Drymades – just a handful of hotels set among olive groves near a five-kilometre stretch of beach – a highlight. Behind the coast is a raw and untamed landscape of scalped mountains, lakes and expanses of grassland, a paradise for walkers.
Finding a bed is no problem, and you can expect to pay about half what you would for accommodation, food and drinks in neighbouring Croatia. The Albanians themselves are an asse.