It's a place people return from with a taste for chilled Beaujolais, a fresh appreciation for fresco paintings and the odd bon mot that will be dropped into conversation as frequently as they mention "that time they were on the Camino".
It's easy to do. Having been exposed to those cultures, cuisines and experiences you'd come back with a spring in your step, too.
Europe is home to the classics. It's the birthplace of 79 recognised regional languages, 12 royal households and the three tenors.
It offers world capitals of culture, cuisine and the arts, all within an area roughly the size of Western Australia, and with far better transport. After a two-year interregnum, the Romes, the Amsterdams and Barcelonas of the old world are welcoming travellers back.
But these "eternal cities" are on everybody's bucket list. For better, or worse - they have reputations to live up to or exceed.
It's often on the roads between these metropoles that you'll find the most memorable experiences. A guided tour can help join the dots, translate the route ahead and pick up the heavy lifting of logistics.
With their planned itineraries for 2022 and beyond, many tour operators are taking their passengers off the beaten track with the aim of illuminating some lesser-known corners of the map. Here are just a few of the many options available, to help inspire your plans.
Italy's Southern Sole
Hidden on the under-heel of Italy is another side to the Apennines. The ancient region of Apulia and Calabria is famously relaxed. Neighbouring Neapolitans look down their noses at "Puglia" for being a bit agrarian, but that's just the vibe we're after.
The white-walled conical houses define the region. Called "Trulli" these are the traditional field shelters and storehouses of the laidback Apulian farmers. More recently they've been transformed into everything from stores to boutique-diffused hotels.
Globus offers a nine-day Hidden Treasures of Southern Italy itinerary, cruising along the bottom of "the boot".
Highlights include tastes of local produce at the masserie farm estates and the white caves of Castellana Grotte. Once known as the home of the infamous crime family Sacra Corona Unita, you'll find a different kind of underworld on this tour of Apulia: walking the 3km network of of karst limestone grottoes.
The off-grid region is popular with celebrities looking for a low-key escape. There's no danger the Paparazzi will catch you in sleepy Savelletri or Arbelobello.
From $2969pp, globustours.co.nz
Iceland and geothermal fire
Transformed by geothermal energy, the volcanic land of the sagas has changed more in the past decade than it has in the past two millennia, although its landscapes are still full of primordial charm.
One of the countries hardest-hit by the 2008 GFC, Iceland emerged from the turmoil like a magma-powered phoenix. You'll find space-age power plants, thermal baths and pristine black beaches and waterfalls.
The timeless landscape has helped fuel a renaissance in Viking romance as well as the country's burgeoning film and television industry. The inspiration for fantasy writers George R. R. Martin and J. R. R. Tolkien, New Zealanders from Middle-Earth are likely to find kindred spirits.
With G Adventures' nine-day Explore Iceland return trip from Reykjavik, you'll get to strap on crampons to visit the Vatnajokull glaciers, soak in Hverageroi's "hot spring valley" and explore the edge of Europe at Thingvellir, where tectonic plates divide.
From $5099pp, gadventures.com
Turkish delight
Where does Europe end? A question that has puzzled Turks, Trojans and tourists over the years. Where East meets West on the banks of the Bosphorus, Turkey's place on the Dardanelles makes it a favourite place for both beach lovers and history buffs.
Many Kiwis feel compelled to visit the Gallipoli Peninsula at least once in their lifetime. But beyond the parapets of Anzac cove and the World War battlefields, there's a lot more to Turkey.
Intrepid Travel's Treasures of Turkey 15-day trip around the country begins in Istanbul and ends in the fairytale cliffs of Cappadocia, with three nights at the Splendid Cave Hotel.
Optional extras include joining one of the 100 daily hot air balloons in a ride over Goreme, Turkey's ballooning capital.
From $3488pp, intrepidtravel.com
Crossing the Caucasus
If you're looking to push the boundaries of a European tour as far as they go, you're in the right place. Wedged between the Black and Caspian seas, Georgia and Armenia have all the ingredients of a European holiday - castles, brandy and some seriously edgy history - but none of your pre-conceptions.
Beginning in Yerevan and heading north across the Tsiv-Gombori Range into Tbilisi, you'll see a part of Europe that travel guides forgot with G Adventures' eight-day Best of Georgia and Armenia.
From the snow-capped Mt Ararat and the monastery of Khor Virap to the unfamiliar runic alphabet, parts of Armenia feel like Europe in a parallel universe. In spite of famous exports such as adopted Kiwi rock stars, Russian dictators and Churchill's favourite brandy, the region remains little explored.
Across mountains in Uplistsikhe you'll find grottos, castles and Roman amphorae. Finishing in the fortified capital of Tbilisi, the "Rome of the Caucasus" is a European city break you might not have considered.
From $1983pp, gadventures.com
Operatic Oberammergau
Oberammergau. Difficult to say, easy to appreciate.
The picturesque town in southern Bavaria is on the edge of the Alps. On the mountain route between Austria and Germany, its streets are painted with Bauernmalerei murals. It is a familiar stop on the way to the operatic Zugspitze, Germany's tallest summit.
However, once every 10 years the sleepy village of 5000 welcomes half a million visitors, making a pilgrimage to the foothills of the Alps for the Oberammergau Passion Play.
Since 1634 the parish has held the medieval epic telling of the Passion of the Christ. Drawing the faithful from around the world - and more than a few curious tourists - it is performed in an open-air amphitheatre against a backdrop of mountains.
There is extra drama following the postponement of the 2020 festival due to the pandemic, the first time this has happened since World War I. They are resurrecting the Passionsspiel for September 2022. At a crossroads in the alps, itineraries converge from central Europe, Northern Italy and Switzerland.
If you want to stay hyperlocal, and remain in the mountains, Globus runs a nine-day Bavarian Highlights tour with the chance to visit more Wagnerian landmarks, including Bayreuth and Neuschwanstein Castle. Where to begin, Lohengrin?
From $4659pp, with alternate transcontinental itineraries via the Passionsspeile at globustours.co.nz
The Baltic backcountry
There are few better ways to get a feeling for the mystery that is Russia than wrapped up in a guided tour. Intrepid has put together a 19-day Tolstoyan epic of a journey that travels West via the northern route from Russia, through Finland, Estonia and the Eastern Baltic.
With portions of overnight train travel, rail and sail, the journey is a chance to see the country up close and personal. Yes, the star attractions of Moscow and St Petersburg are en route, but from here the trip leaves Red Square for the Green-roved medieval Kremlins of Suzdal and the spoked fortress of Novgorod.
Crossing the Curonian Spit - and Europe's largest sand dunes - and into Lithuania, the trip finishes in Vilnius.
From $4608pp, intrepidtravel.com
