Slovenia

Slovenia's tiny, green capital — Jože Plečnik's Triple Bridge and Dragon Bridge, Ljubljana Castle funicular, a car-free cobblestone center, and Lake Bled 55km away. European Green Capital 2016, strategically placed between Venice, Zagreb, Vienna, and the Julian Alps. Budget-friendly and walkable in a morning.

An impossibly photogenic 2.1 km alpine lake at the foot of the Julian Alps — fed by underground hot springs, with Slovenia's only natural island (a 17th-century pilgrimage church reached by 99 steps) at its centre and a 1,000-year-old castle on a 130m cliff above. Hand-rowed pletna boats, the original 1953 Bled cream cake (kremšnita) on the lake-facing terraces, and the dramatic Vintgar Gorge boardwalk 4 km away. Triglav National Park's gateway — pair Bled with Lake Bohinj for the broader alpine experience.

Slovenia's only proper Adriatic port — a Venetian Gothic peninsula town at the tip of the country's tiny 46-km coastline. Three hundred years under Venice gave Piran the same painted house facades, the same loggia and bell tower, and the same Italianate fish-bone street pattern as the lagoon city itself. The Tartini Square sweeps marble-paved from the harbour to the Cathedral of St George on the cliff above. Hand-harvested fleur de sel still comes off the Sečovlje salt pans 8 km south using Roman-era methods. Old town is car-free and 2 hours by car from Ljubljana.