Vilnius

Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, is one of Europe's best-preserved Baroque cities and one of its most pleasant and undiscovered. The old town, a Unesco World Heritage Site, is one of the largest medieval old towns in Northern Europe — a labyrinth of narrow streets, hidden courtyards, Catholic and Orthodox churches, and 16th–18th century Baroque buildings in various states of elegant decay that give the city a romantically imperfect beauty. Gediminas Hill with its medieval tower provides the dominant image and the best panoramic view over the city's terracotta-tiled roofscape and church spires. The Cathedral Square and Gediminas Avenue (the main boulevard) form the modern city centre. Pilies Street, the main tourist thoroughfare, leads through the heart of the old town toward the Gates of Dawn, a Baroque city gate containing an extraordinarily venerated icon of the Madonna. Užupis, a bohemian neighbourhood that declared itself an independent republic in 1997, has its own constitution (posted in 35 languages), its own president and a community of artists that gives it a unique creative energy. The food and café scene is excellent and very affordable. Lithuanian cuisine — žuvinė (fish casserole), cepelinai (potato dumplings stuffed with meat), dark rye bread, cold beetroot soup — is hearty and honest. The Jewish heritage of Vilnius (the "Jerusalem of Lithuania") is significant and well-interpreted in the Vilna Gaon Jewish State Museum. May–September is ideal.