SERBIA

Travellers visit the landlocked Balkan country for its rural tranquillity, from pastoral Vojvodina in the north, which gives way to rolling hills dotted with monasteries, to the wooded valleys rising to the rugged Dinarides Mountains in the west.

Serbia’s distant and recent history is more evident in its capital, Belgrade, which lies at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers. Here, churches, palaces, forts and Soviet-style buildings all rub along between the buzzy bars, boutiques and bakeries.

The city’s landmarks include the palaces of the Karageorgevich dynasty in upscale Dedinje; the Kalemegdan Fortress; and the lavish Saint Sava Temple, the largest Serbian Orthodox church. A more contemporary attraction is the new waterside Nikola Tesla Museum.

Easily accessible from Belgrade is the southern city Nis, home to an array of Roman, Ottoman and World War II relics, and an 18th-century fortress. Serbia’s second largest city, Novi Sad is dominated by the equally well-preserved Petrovaradin Fortress, built by the Habsburgs to repel the Ottomans.