Life.Culture.Discovery.

From Transylvania via Sarajevo and Dubrovnik to Albania – like Greece in the 1980s – Gothic churches, Baroque palaces, sleepy towns and unpolished gems

Gothic churches, Baroque palaces, stunning lakes and mountains, medieval bridges – and hardly a tourist in sight … until you get to visitor magnet Dubrovnik

There’s a lot to see on a scenic journey through the Balkans, whose people have mostly put the wars of the 1990s behind them even as conflict rages in Ukraine

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Houseboats on Lake Perucac, Bajina Basta, in Serbia’s Tara National Park. The Balkan country is an underrated tourist destination. Photo: Tim Pile

Published: 4:15pm, 28 Jul 2023Updated: 9:37am, 30 Jul 2023

Cluj Napoca is my kind of place.

Romania’s second city was shortlisted for the title of European Capital of Culture, 2021, but when the bid failed, the organising committee decided to go ahead and implement the programme of events it had prepared anyway. Projects covered contemporary art, well-being, cultural and artistic education, urban regeneration and social inclusion, among other things.

A guided walking tour is a great way to get acquainted with the Transylvanian city and its soothing fusion of architectural styles. You’ll stumble upon Gothic churches, Baroque palaces, art nouveau buildings and medieval walls.

One landmark that doesn’t feature on any tour, however, is the border with Ukraine, a couple of hours to the north.

At the refugee transit centre in Cluj railway station a volunteer tells me three million Ukrainians have crossed into Romania since the war with Russia began. Most have either continued their journey westward or have returned to their homeland.

“The elderly are the ones I feel sorry for,” she says. “They all look so bewildered.”