Visit Rijeka

River-beach city near the Jesuit ruins.

The oldest city in Western Europe, founded by Phoenicians, with Carnival, beaches and the Atlantic on three sides.

Slovenia's oldest town, a Roman settlement with a castle and the shaggy Kurent masks of carnival.

Greece's biggest carnival, the Rio-Antirrio bridge and the ferry port for Italy.

A hilltop colonial town of churches and artists, with the giant puppets of its Carnival.

Visit Split, Croatia's second-largest city, built around the Roman Emperor Diocletian's Palace (a UNESCO World Heritage site with ancient cellars and a peristyle). Walk along the Riva waterfront promenade, climb Marjan Hill for panoramic views of the Adriatic Sea, and explore the Cathedral of Saint Domnius (originally Diocletian's mausoleum, one of the oldest Catholic cathedrals in the world).

Visit Dubrovnik, a historic coastal city in Croatia. Walk the ancient city walls (2 km long with views of the Adriatic Sea and red-tiled roofs), explore the Stradun (main limestone-paved street lined with Baroque buildings), and see the Rector's Palace (Gothic-Renaissance palace housing a cultural history museum). Take a cable car up Mount Srđ for panoramic vistas over the Old Town and Elaphiti Islands.

Roman forum, Romanesque churches and the Sea Organ — steps that play music from the waves — on a Dalmatian peninsula.