Koper is Slovenia’s port city on the Adriatic, but it is its history as part of the Venetian Republic that appeals to the visitor. The Old Town is an easy walk from the port, and Tito Square is a good place to start. Visit the Venetian-influenced Praetorian Palace dating back to the 15th century and Da Ponte Fountain, a replica of Venice's famed Rialto Bridge. Rebuilt many times, the 12th-century Cathedral of the Assumption features a tall campanile with sweeping bay views.
Bronze bodies bask in the sun on golden beaches, blue-domed churches dot the island, and picturesque windmills paddle the horizon. This is Mykonos, one of the most charming and fashionable of the Greek isles. Chora, its capital, is a cubist jumble of whitewashed houses and a maze of alleyways built long ago to foil pirates. Get lost in these narrow, twisting lanes filled with exclusive boutiques, art galleries and world-class restaurants.
Super yachts crowd the harbor and waterside bars hum with wealthy vacationers and young partiers in this posh island getaway with a laid-back Mediterranean vibe. The island of Hvar is famous for its lavender fields, vineyards, year-round sunshine and nonstop nightlife, but it’s also rich in culture and history. Near the harbor stands a Benedictine convent where nuns fashion lace as part of a 150-year-old tradition recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.
It was George Bernard Shaw who famously described Dubrovnik as “the pearl of the Adriatic” and recommended that “those who seek paradise on Earth should come … and see Dubrovnik.” Coral-tiled roofs and a backdrop of green hills contrast sharply with the spectacular blue of the Adriatic Sea. Thick medieval walls wrap around beautiful Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains. Dubrovnik is truly amazing, and it’s no wonder this UNESCO World Heritage site played a central role in TV’s popular Game of Thrones.
History oozes from every corner of Corfu, an island prize coveted by a succession of maritime powers since the Peloponnesian War in the 4th century BC. But who can blame them? This Ionian idyll is the greenest of all Greek islands, swathed in orange and olive groves and endless beaches bathed by a cerulean sea. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Old Town of Corfu includes the magnificent Esplanade, where you can watch a game of cricket from a sidewalk café. There are also beautiful palaces, castles and archaeological sites to explore.
Make sure to be on deck to witness sailing into one of the Aegean’s most spectacular sights: the volcanic caldera that is Santorini’s bay. Rising from the sea, the earth transforms into a wall of stone that looms in striating hues of ochres, grays and pinks. Dotted with the island’s iconic blue-domed churches, the whitewashed village of Fira hovers in the cliffs, bustling with shops, tavernas and a fine museum while clinging to the caldera’s rim.
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Rich with history, with monuments and ruins dating back to the earliest civilizations, the Mediterranean moves at a slower pace than its northern neighbors.
Named as one of Canada's 50 Places of a Lifetime by National Geographic, L'Anse aux Meadows transports visitors back in time a thousand years. Perched on the northernmost tip of Newfoundland, the ancient Viking settlement is heralded as the oldest in North America and widely accepted as evidence of European contact here prior to Columbus. Discovered in 1960, L’Anse aux Meadows was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978 and now brings the struggles of early settlers to life.
San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, is an intriguing blend of the old and the new. Founded in 1521, the city was a key port in the Spanish colonial empire, as evidenced by El Morro, the huge fortress that guards the harbor. Behind thick stone walls, Old San Juan retains its original character of blue cobblestone streets, elegant plazas and brightly colored heritage architecture. This lively center is the city’s – and island’s – cultural hub for museums, music, dining and more.
