Photo by Naftalin9

The European Cities of Culture movement was launched in 1985 by Melina Mercouri, and has become more and more popular with every passing year. In 1999, Europe’s villages decided they wanted a piece of the action. Ever since, the EU has nominated European Cultural Villages every year—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 month, from May until October, the representatives of two different countries organise colourful programs: fairs, musical and dance performances, and children’s entertainment.

This year’s other European Cultural Villages are: Aldeburgh (UK), Bystré (Czech Republic), Kilinge Nōmme (Estonia), Kirchheim (Austria), Mellionec (France), Paxos (Greece), Pergine Valdarno (Italy), Porrúa (Spain), Schachdorf Ströbeck (Germany), Tommerup (Denmark), and Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands).

Photo by garthwalker

Travelers to Bulgaria short on time will be pleased to know that Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second largest city, is often referred to by visitors as a “one-day town.” Most of what tourists typically find interesting—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 maze of tangled, cobbled streets lined with Bulgarian National Revival Era houses from the 18th and 19th centuries. Some of these houses have been renovated on the inside and are now galleries, restaurants, or museums showing the elaborate furnishings and ornamentation from that time period in post-Ottoman Bulgaria.

The Municipal Institute of Old Plovdiv (+359 032 633 380) is now offering a package for visitors to see Old Plovdiv’s Top 5 in one shot. For BGN9 (€4.50), one can gain admission to the Balabanova House, Hyndlian House, Nedkovich House, Zlatio Boyadzhiev Gallery, and the city’s pride and joy, its Ancient Roman Amphitheater, renovated as a modern-day venue for some of Plovdiv’s summer performances. All of these sites are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, except for the Nedkovich Gallery, which is closed on the weekends.

Photo by Karen Bryan

Hawick is the largest town in Scotland’s Borders Region. The Rough Guide to World Parties recently voted the city’s June Annual Ridings festival of the best festivals in the world.

The Ridings follows the ancient custom of riding around the town boundaries in order to look out for dawn raids. The proceedings last for several days. Events include the reinactment of the capture of the English flag in 1514, various ceremonies, and horse racing.

You can find our about local history at the Hawick Museum. Since 1910, the museum has been housed in Wilton Lodge, a grand Victorian mansion. Clotheshorses should know that Hawick is also known the “Home of Cashmere,” with a tradition of producing high quality knitwear. Peter Scott has an outlet shop in the town.

One of the new Hawick landmarks is the James Thomson Bridge—a modern footbridge—which crosses the River Teviot. The bridge is named after James Thomson (1827 - 1888) a local poet and songwriter best known for composing the lyrics to the “Star o’ Rabbie Burns,” the only song not written by the great baird to be sung at traditional Burns suppers.

Thomson also wrote songs and poems about the Hawick Ridings. A statue of Thomson, sculpted by local artist Bill Landles, sits at the bridge. Landles’ great great grandmother was a friend of Thomson’s. The two once lived in the same row of tenement flats. When the row of houses was demolished, Thomson carved Landles’ great great grandmother a goblet out of a wooden roof beam. A cast of the goblet sits prominently at the front of the statue today.

Photo courtesy of dogliao

Good news for travelers planning to visit Prague’s ever expanding airport. The authorities at Ruzyne have begun posting a timetable of flights. Updated every ten seconds, the listing also allows users to search by airline, destination, and even a specific window of time. It’s a pretty snazzy tool.

It’s perfect for those making a last-minute switch in flights through Ruzyne, or for passengers who don’t want to spend time perusing the wide selection of sausages and pickles at the Duty-Free in hopes of grabbing an earlier flight. According to Prague airport officials, Ruzyne is the third airport to offer this service after Copenhagen and Amsterdam.

Photo courtesy of Huanita

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 by bus—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 legs, etc.

There’s plenty to see around Tartu, whose Old Town is pleasantly compact and walkable. Our favorite sights: the bombed and decaying St. John’s Church, which no longer has an interior; the palm house at the Botanical Gardens; and the original deathmask of everyone’s favorite Enlightenment philosopher, Immanuel Kant. At night, students at the renowned Tartu Ülikool (University of Tartu) keep the bar scene hopping.

Exciting cultural events run all year long—and include a beery Midsummer’s Eve Party—so check out Tartu tourist sites, like this one from the fantastic In Your Pocket series.

Photo by Martin Baran

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 visit. We found one-way fares from Bratislava to Košice for as little as SKK436 (€13; $18) in May. That’s including taxes and charges, Cheapos.

In Košice, take time to just wander through the cobbled streets with their pastel buildings, dating from the time when Košice was an eastern metropolis of the Hapsburg Empire. We recommend a visit to Craftsman’s Row, a long street in the heart of the city, where leather and jewelry makers, silversmiths, coin minters, herbalists, potters, and bakers make and ply their wares.

In the summer, cold Czech beer flows freely on the streets and squares. On the main street look down. Glass panels under your feet display 13th century fortifications underground. Finally, pay a visit to the Jakab’s Palace, a small gem of art nouveau architecture.

Photo by Karen Bryan

The coastal town of Arbroath, in the county of Angus, lies twenty miles northeast of Dundee. It is probably best known for its coppery gold Arbroath Smokie smoked haddock. The Smokie is now protected by European Union legislation and, in accordance with EU law, must be smoked in the traditional manner. A tartan was even launched in honour of the Smokie in 2005.

The town centre is dominated by Arbroath Abbey, founded in 1178. The Declaration of Arbroath, in which Scottish nobles swore their independence from the English, was signed here.

Also noteworthy is the Bell Rock Lighthouse. Finished in 1811, it is eleven miles out to sea from Arbroath. It was a real challenge to build, as part of the rock is often submerged beneath the North Sea. Said to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Industrial World, it has been automated since the 1950s. The Signal Tower—originally constructed as accommodation for the families of lighthouse keepers—now houses a museum devoted to the Bell Rock and local history.

Weather permitting, we recommend grabbing fish and chips from “Marco’s on the Shore,” and eating with a view of the harbor and its colorful houses. And if you feel like a walk after eating, the coastal path feaures dramatic red sandstone cliffs that plunge down into the sea.

Photo by Karen Bryan

Photo by Elen Farkas

In literal translation, Burgenland means “land of castles.” Annexed to post-Imperial Austria in the early 1920s after the monarchy’s defeat in World War I, the once-Hungarian province is home to a number of palaces and chateaux still maintained today by their owners.

One fascinating castle is Halbturn in the northern part of Burgenland. It is very close to Vienna—just over 30 minutes by car—and is a favored cultural hangout for tourists following a dip in nearby Lake Neusiedl.

The history of Halbturn is very rich. Built in 1711, the castle’s late baroque architecture was designed by Lucas von Hildebrandt and formerly served as the summer residence of the Habsburgs during the reign of Charles VI. Later, Empress Maria Theresia gave the castle to her favorite daughter Archduchess Marie Christine and her husband Duke Albert-Casimir von Sachsen-Teschen, who in turn founded the Albertina Museum’s graphic art collection.

The castle was destroyed during the World War II and the late 1940s. It was rebuilt by its present owners with the help of the Austrian government. Today, it is in the possession of the family of Baron Paul Waldbott-Bassenheim, a direct descendant of the Habsburg family. The castle is open to the public with various exhibitions and concerts for culture lovers. One part of the castle has become a museum.

From tomorrow April 27 through October, the museum will feature an exhibit on the secrets of Tibet. It will be open from 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. The entrance fee is €8.

Aside from the castle’s park, which is free to visit, one can experience culinary delights from the on-site restaurant and sample the wines from their cellar. We recommend their Backhendl (chicken in breadcrumbs) with Vogerlsalat (a type of field lettuce) in pumpkin oil and vinegar for less than €10.

Halbturn Castle is located at Parkstrasse 4. Telephone: +43 (0)2 172 8594. Email: office@schlosshalbturn.com.

Photo by stumblintrucker

Drag your dirty laundry over to the hip Canal St Martin neighborhood to wash it at the WashBar (not pictured above). WashBar was opened last December by Korean electronics maker LG.

The concept is unique: buy a drink at the bar and get free access to the upstairs “apartment” where you can do your laundry—washing powder comes free too!—browse books from the library, watch movies, and check your e-mails at the two free wireless hotspots. It’s a great place to hang out. The feel is cosy minimalist design meeting a high-tech appliance aesthetic. There’s even a dance floor downstairs for DJ nights.

LG plans to open between 10 and 15 WashBars by the end of the year in towns across France.

WashBar by LG is located at 65 boulevard de la Villette in Paris. Metro: Colonel Fabien.

The laundry/apartment is open from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. from Monday through Friday, 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Saturday. The bar is open from 8 a.m. until 2 a.m. from Monday through Friday, and 4 p.m. until 2 a.m. on Saturday.

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 buy and sell everything from locally-grown organic vegetables to homemade perfume to medicinal herbal teas.

Gail Jewellery is our favorite stall. It features exquisitely crafted handmade jewellery, using antique and tribal beads from around the world. Prices range from just a few euros to about €150 for a necklace of crude emeralds with an antique silver Rasjasthani prayer box. At Saks or Harrod’s, these prices would be tenfold more expensive.

Grab a café con leche, and get there early. The market runs from 10 a.m. til 1 p.m. At the lower end of the market, the Baraka cafe is a great place to nosh on a felafel while observing the local hippie life.

From Granada, Orgiva can be reached in just under two hours on the Alsina Graells bus line. The town is very small. Any local can point you toward the mercado.

Wandering Cheapo Diane Schutz is a television producer, writer, and budget traveler based in New York City. She has worked recently as a producer for the Travel Channel’s “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.”