Weekend Escapes Beyond the Tourist Trail
Places your friends haven't been yet
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Europe. Roman theatre, an Ottoman old town of painted timber houses, and a converted printing-district called Kapana that has become the city's coolest dining quarter. Two hours from Sofia by train and almost unknown to western European weekenders.
Matera
Matera's Sassi are the cave dwellings carved into a ravine in southern Italy. Inhabited continuously for 9,000 years, abandoned in shame in the 1950s, restored, and now a UNESCO site with cave hotels in some of the original homes. Combine with a day in the trulli town of Alberobello, an hour east.
Cluj-Napoca
Cluj in Transylvania is Romania's second city and has, quietly, one of the country's most interesting food and bar scenes. The old town is small but elegant, the Botanical Garden is excellent, and the price level is friendly. Untold festival in August fills the city if you want a different reason to go.
Maribor
Maribor is Slovenia's second city, on the Drava river. The oldest grapevine in the world (over 450 years and still producing) climbs a wall in the old town. The wine region begins immediately at the city's edge. A satisfying counter-program to a Ljubljana weekend.
Suggested itinerary
- Plovdiv weekend: Direct flight or train from Sofia. Three nights.
- Matera weekend: Fly to Bari, drive 90 minutes, three nights in a sassi cave hotel.
Local highlights
- Plovdiv's Kapana creative quarter
- Matera's Sassi cave dwellings
- Maribor's wine cellar walk
- Užupis's bohemian republic in Vilnius
- Cluj's nightlife and food scene
Nearby destinations
Other places worth combining with this trip: Sofia, Alberobello, Maribor, Targu Mures.
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