From Salzburg To Dubrovnik

Late evening arrival to Salzburg airport – transfer to hotel and overnight

SALZBURG — The joke ‘lf it’s baroque, don’t fix it’ is a perfect maxim for Salzburg: the story- book Altstadt (old town) burrowed below steep hills looks much as it did when Mozart lived here, 250 years ago. Standing beside the fast-flowing Salzach River, your gaze is raised inch by inch to graceful domes and spires, the formidable clifftop fortress, and the mountains beyond.  lt’s a backdrop that did the lordly prince-archbishops and Maria proud.

KLAGENFURT is different – from what you expect! It is old, it is new, it is rural, it is urban and so varied. With one foot in the city and the other in nature. From historic buildings and monuments to picturesque Alps-Adriatic influences in the old town, and characterised by green oases. Klagenfurt am Wörthersee features a multifaceted urban art scene, is the venue for numerous events and home to exceptional cultural treasures.

Tip to visit: Pyramidenkogel

Transfer to Bled area for overnight.

Bled’s greatest attraction is its exquisite blue-green lake, measuring just 2km by 1.4km. The lake is lovely to behold from almost any vantage point and makes a beautiful backdrop for the 6km walk along the shore.

Slovenia’s capital and largest city is one of Europe’s greenest and most livable capitals; it was the European Commission’s Green Capital of Europe in 2016. Car traffic is restricted in the centre, leaving the leafy banks of the emerald green Ljubljanica River, which flows through the city’s heart, free for pedestrians and cyclists. ln summer, cafes set up terrace seating along the river; it almost feels like a nightly street party.

Zagreb is made for strolling. Wander through the Upper Town’s red-roof and cobblestone glory peppered with church spires. Crane your neck to see the domes and ornate upper-floor frippery of the Lower Town’s mash-up of secessionist, neobaroque and art deco buildings. Search out the grittier pockets of town where ugly-bland concrete walls have been transformed into colorful murals by local street artists. This city rewards those on foot.

Within the boundaries of this heavily forested national park, 16 crystalline lakes tumble into each other via a series of waterfalls and cascades. The mineral-rich waters carve through the rock, depositing tufa in continually changing formations. Clouds of butterflies drift above the 18km of wooden footbridges and pathways that snake around the edges and across the rumbling water.

ZADAR—Boasting a historic old town of Roman ruins, medieval churches, cosmopolitan cafes, and quality museums set on a small peninsula, Zadar is an intriguing city. lt’s not too crowded and its two unique attractions – the sound-and-light spectacle of the Sea Organ and the Sun Salutation – need to be seen and heard to be believed.

Croatia’s second-largest city, Split (Spalato in ltalian) is a great place to see Dalmatian life as it’s really lived. Always buzzing, this exuberant city has just the right balance between tradition and modernity. Step inside Diocletian’s Palace (a Unesco World Heritage Site and one of the world’s most impressive Roman monuments) and you’ll see dozens of bars, restaurants and shops thriving amid the atmospheric old walls where Split has been humming along for thousands of years.

Mostar is the largest city in Hercegovina, with a small but thoroughly enchanting old town centre. At dusk, the lights of numerous millhouse restaurants twinkle across gushing streams, narrow Kujundžiluk bustles joyously with trinket sellers and, in between, the Balkans’ most celebrated bridge forms a majestic stone arc between medieval towers.

Hidden in the small bay in the southern part of the Adriatic coast is Neum, Bosnia’s sole sea resort. Try to picture this – lush greeneries, glittering sandy beaches and dazzlingly blue sea – all this without the major crowds and high-prices of neighboring Croatia. Sounds appealing?

Regardless of whether you are visiting Dubrovnik for the first time or the hundredth, the sense of awe never fails to descend when you set eyes on the beauty of the old town. lndeed it’s hard to imagine anyone becoming jaded by the city’s limestone streets, baroque buildings and the endless shimmer of the Adriatic, or failing to be inspired by a walk along the ancient city walls that protected the capital of a sophisticated republic for centuries.

Departure from DBV airport (also possible Podgorica)