Over the past few days we relaunched our blog and gave it a major, much-needed overhaul. We added all sorts of things that didn’t exist previously to make it more navigable, social, and – we hope – easier to use. But sort of like moving out of your first cramped apartment with no windows and » Read more

The European Cities of Culture movement was launched in 1985 one for each member country—together with a “Cultural Village of Europe” titleholder for the year. This year the title has been awarded to Palkonya, a settlement of 350 people in southern Hungary, famous for its protected buildings, beautiful natural scenery, and spicy red wine. Each » Read more

Travelers to Bulgaria short on time will be pleased to know that Plovdiv, Bulgaria‘s second largest city, is often referred to concentrated in Plovdiv‘s Old Town—can be seen in a single day. Built around three hills under Roman rule in the 1st century A.D., Old Plovdiv (known in Roman times as Trimontium) a very walkable » Read more

And you thought you could simply “do Tallinn” and be done with Estonia! Tartu, Estonia’s second-largest city—just two and a half hours away from capital Tallinn can be reached for a mere EEK70 (€4.50; $6.10.) You do get what you pay for, though: dated Spaghetti Westerns on cracked bus TVs, no room for your big » Read more

Košice, Slovakia’s second city, ranks high on our short list of underexplored European gems. Set in a valley, with the Ore mountains to the west and the Salt Hills to the east, Košice remains a delightfully unspoilt place. Slovakia’s budget airline SkyEurope flies between Košice and Bratislava, making the city both easy and cheap to » Read more

Órgiva, the main town in Spain’s western Alpujarras, is a small—though bustling and slightly crunchy—place. Since the publication of Chris Stewart’s book Driving Over Lemons in 1999, the town has absorbed a large influx of Brits. Be sure to be around on a Thursday, market day, when locals and the sizable expat community gather to » Read more