Latvia

'Riga smells of sea salt and old timber, of incense and roasting coffee beans, of musk and sunflower seeds, of leather and lime trees', and not too much has changed since the novelist Graham Greene wrote about the Latvian capital.

The patchwork of red and yellow façades at the heart of the city, constitute the finest collection of art nouveau buildings in Europe. The twisting streets of Riga's old town, Vestriga, lead through such a rich jumble of building styles as to bring any architectural historian close to tears.

Sandwiched between its brother Baltic states, Estonia and Lithuania, feisty Latvia has battled to maintain its own identity. The result is a unique culture pulled from a number of influences, and epitomised (oddly enough) by its eclectic cuisine; preserved lampreys, beer and sausages.

For a bit of R&R head for the seaside town of Jurmala, the perfect panacea to the ills of city life with a string of sandy beaches and wonderfully clean pine-scented air.

Alternatively, visit the Gauja Valley. Despite its diminutive stature its claim of being the Switzerland of Latvia still holds water. The forested valley is riddled with caves, watched over by a chain of medieval castles and criss-crossed with some of the best hiking trails in the Baltics.