The unexpected delights of Brutalist architecture in the Balkans

Across the cities of former Yugoslavia, striking concrete buildings in a style known as brutalism rub shoulders with more classical European or Ottoman architecture. Some people think the Yugoslav legacy is ugly, others love it. There’s even a cult following devoted to old brutalist buildings on social media. We love the mix of both –

Read more

Wilderness: 7 truly wild places in the Balkans

Perućica Forest, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Simon Reeve’s new Wilderness series is a reminder of just how remote some of the planet’s wild places remain (which is why they’re still wild). But you don’t need to take a long-haul flight or trudge for days through a rainforest to find landscapes where nature still sets the terms. The Balkans are home to

Read more

Best hiking in Albania: beyond the Valbona to Theth trail

Ten years ago, the path over the Valbona Pass was a shepherds’ route between two isolated villages, walked mostly by locals and the occasional determined backpacker. Today it’s the most famous trek in Albania and one of the best known in the Balkans. Theth, a village of around 200 residents, now welcomes something like 15,000

Read more

The 7 Best Wildflower Hikes in the Balkans (Where and When to Go)

Pink wildflowers in a grassy hillside foreground, with a green valley village and mountains under a partly cloudy sky.

Late spring and summer are wildflower season in the Balkans, and every hike in the mountains brings a bouquet of colour. Wild orchids carpet the meadows, blue forget-me-nots dot the slopes, and pink gentians climb straight up against snow-capped peaks. Seen from a distance the meadows look subtle; up close they’re intense, every blade humming

Read more

Lake Skadar or Lake Shkodra? A Guide to the UNESCO Biosphere shared by Montenegro and Albania

A small orange boat with people glides through a calm waterway at Lake Skadar in Montenegro, surrounded by green lily pads, with rocky hills and a clear blue sky in the background.

If you’ve been researching a trip to the largest lake in the Balkans, you’ve probably noticed something confusing. Some maps call it Skadar Lake. Others say Lake Shkodra or Lake Shkodër. Some sources put it in Montenegro. Others in Albania. UNESCO appears to use different names for what might be the same place. And now

Read more

The best holidays for spring 2027 in the Balkans

In need of a warm and sunny escape to Europe in spring? Look no further than the Balkans. Being in southern Europe, you can expect mild to warm weather in Croatia, Montenegro and Albania from April onwards while the UK is still thawing out.  Not only that, but it’s one of the most beautiful times

Read more

Authentic Balkan Travel: 10 Cultural Experiences You Can Be Part Of

Group of people in colorful traditional folk costumes dancing in a grassy meadow with mountains in the background.

While people travel thousands of miles paying top dollar for indigenous tourism experiences, the Balkans is home to some of the richest and oldest traditions, making it the best place for authentic travel in Europe. When we say ‘indigenous’, the word often conjures an idea of traditions practiced far away in Asia, South America, or

Read more

Montenegro 20 years on: the places most people miss

Wide coastal landscape with green hills rising from calm blue water and scattered clouds in a bright sky, distant mountains on the horizon.

Whether you’re planning an active holiday, a family adventure, or simply wondering whether Montenegro deserves the hype it’s been getting in recent years, this guide should help. May 2026 marks 20 years since Montenegro voted for independence. We’ve been here for 18 of them, long enough to watch a small Balkan nation of 600,000 people

Read more

A Guide to Yugoslavia’s Brutalist Spomenik Monuments

Massive concrete angular sculptures in a grassy park with a mountain backdrop; people walk along a paved path, foregrounded by a wide walkway.

Scattered across the mountains and national parks of the former Yugoslavia — in countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia — are hundreds of striking brutalist monuments. These are Spomeniks: abstract brutalist monuments commissioned during Yugoslav times to honour WWII’s fallen. Some look like gigantic fists, alien spacecrafts, or wings in flight. All are

Read more

Wildlife in Montenegro and Albania: where to find Brown Bears, Wolves, Pelicans and more

If you’re planning a trip around wildlife in Montenegro or Albania and wondering what you might encounter, prepare to be surprised. The Balkans is one of Europe’s last great wildlife frontiers, a region where bears still roam mountain forests, wolves howl across river valleys, and pelicans the size of small children patrol vast spring-fed lakes.

Read more
1
2
…
5