PHOTOGRAPHS MARKK READ/LONELY PLANET, COURTESY OF GRAANMARKT 13/PH. FREDERIK VERCRUYSSE
BELGIUM
Graanmarkt 13, Antwerp Hazel Lubbock, digital platform editor
Graanmarkt 13 takes the concept store concept to the next level This elegant townhouse is home to a ground-floor shop stocking work by emerging fashion and interior designers, a vegetable-forward basement restaurant by chef Seppe Nobels and a gorgeous (and bookable) rooftop apartment for up to six people. Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen’s cool concrete interiors (pictured below) create a harmonious link between each of the spaces, which feel like homely layers rather than distinct floors. It’s the kind of place you wish you lived in. And you can - for a few days, at least (Graanmarkt 13; 00 32 3 337 79 91).
BOSNIA
Mostar Aircraft Hangar, Gnojnice
Joe Davis, online marketing coordinator
Take a taxi to this site, four miles outside the city of Mostar’s Old Town, and at first glance it feels as if you’ve arrived at an illegal rubbish tip - but this debris-filled aircraft hangar was a top-secret hideaway for fighter jets during the Yugoslav Wars. You can still see the camo-painted polystyrene made to look like rock, and navigate through a warren of’blast doors’. Anywhere else in Europe, this would be a ticketed historic site with a gift shop.
CROATIA
Mljet Matt Phillips, destination editor
I only had eyes for Korcula. The Adriatic island off the coast of Croatia, with its maj estically fortified town of the same name (picture a pint-sized Dubrovnik), had called to me ever since unfavourable wind directions had forced me to give it a miss during a previous sailing holiday.
Yet, as I dropped anchor in the shadow of Korcula’s ramparts on day three of my latest sailing adventure, I was still thinking about the island of Mljet. Td cruised along its ruggedly beautiful north coast the previous evening at sunset, tucked the yacht up near some ancient Roman ruins in the quaint village of Polace for some sleep, and then spent my morning running through the forested hills of Mljet National Park. It was all a revelation.
So, after taking in the Gothic and Renaissance architecture in the citadel of Korcula, I soon set sail back to Mljet. I hugged the island’s southwestern shore, looking into the dense forests of the national park, home to pristine saltwater lakes, before I stopped for some lunch on-board within a stunning cliff-bound bay. Eating had to wait, however, as caves and seductive inlets pulled us from our plates. I took to a stand-up paddle board, while my friends donned their swimmers for a dip. As I paddled, the view looking down into the sparkling blue was spellbinding. It was only overwhelming hunger that eventually brought us back to the boat, though our minds were still swimming.
Mljet kept us happily captive for a couple more days, with the island’s eastern end proving equally rewarding. We anchored awhile in the sheltered bay of Okuklje (pictured left), and lingered in the tiny eastern village of Saplunara, with its beach, shorefront restaurant and large bay perfect for open-water swimming, seafood feasts and lounging. Our remote anchorage the following night between Mljet and the islet of Veliki Skolj was the most spectacular I’ve ever experienced. I have only love for Mljet (visit-croatia.co.uk).
CYPRUS
Karpas Peninsula Brana Vladisavljevic, destination editor