The Balkans and Eastern Europe have dominate the Lonely Planet's list including Albania's colourful city of Tirana. Photo / Getty
The Balkans and Eastern Europe have dominate the Lonely Planet's list including Albania's colourful city of Tirana. Photo / Getty
Planning a trip to Europe this year? Don't book those tickets before having a look at this list.
The Lonely Planet has released their annual list of recommendations for 2018. The usual suspects of Western Europe have been overlooked for some spectacular places you didn't even know were on your bucket list.
Foodie favourites of the South of France and Romangna, northern Italy, are sure to please gastrophiles and traditionalists, but that's about as predictable as the list gets.
The rest of the picks seems to have come from left of field. Or should that be east of field?
The Lonely Planet champions 2018 as the year to visit Lithuania and the Balkan states of Albania and Kosovo.
Still tinged with the memories of conflict, Kosovo will be celebrating its first decade of independence from Serbia. Apart from these celebrations the list highlights the young country as a "burgeoning wine region" with plenty to discover.
The Picos de Europa are part of the remarkable Spanish scenery surrounding Cantabria. Photo / Getty
Albania is also carving its name onto the tourist route. The country's prime minister was a former mayor of Tirana, who rose to polularity for his renovation of this new European destination. The guide praises his initiatives such as buildings "painted in primary colours" and the cycle friendly streets.
But the pick that is still surprising readers is Scotland's Dundee.
The Scotsman newspaper was eager to claim that this accolade marked an end to the "days of Dundee being Scotland's 'overlooked' city".
In the past decade, bonnie Dundee has undergone something of a revolution. The small Northern city on the banks of the Tay was once famous for jute sacks, marmalade jam and journalism… well the Beano comic. Now it can add the Scottish Rep Theatre, and the northern Victoria and Albert Museum to its attractions.
The V&A museum is just part of a 30-year regeneration project which is fuelling what the Lonely planet calls a "creative scene that increasingly attracts some of the UK's most visionary talent."
Dundee is a city with one eye on a cultural future but it's also got plenty to offer by way of past.
It's within swinging distance of the St. Andrews golfing greens and a gateway to the beautiful Tay valley and Scottish Highlands.
Dundee on Tay's waterfront restoration is one of the most exciting cultural developments in Europe. Photo / Getty
The Lonely Planet's European Top Ten
Emilia Romagna, Italy
Home of Parma Ham and the best place to eat in Italy.
Cantabria, Spain
A land of wild, sandy beaches, mist-shrouded Picos de Europa.
Friesland, Netherlands
Fertile Dutch fields criss-crossed by dykes, heartland Holland.
Kosovo
The world's second-newest nation and wine region.
Provence, France
Romantic, embodiment of the French l'art de vivre.
