Once a sleepy riverside city best known for its fortified wines, Porto has emerged as a vibrant arts capital that’s rightfully getting a lot of buzz as a great value destination. At the vanguard of the city's bohemian art scene is the gallery-lined Rua Miguel Bombarda - liveliest during Simultaneous Openings when new exhibitions and streetside concerts create a festive ambiance. Big museums such as the Museu de Arte Contemporânea in Parque de Serralves host cutting-edge exhibitions. Meanwhile, Rem Koolhaas' wildly designed and hugely popular Casa da Música keeps the music going at year-round performances, including free outdoor concerts in the summer. Celebrated new restaurants have also tapped into the city's creative new outlook. Rui Paula's DOP showcases Portuguese ingredients with a contemporary twist. Historic port wine lodges provide tours and tastings for free or a nominal fee. Beyond Porto lies the Douro Valley, a picturesque region of steep terraced hillsides covered in some of Portugal's most celebrated vineyards, with river cruises and scenic train rides for day-trippers.
What’s old is new again in the buzzy Danube-straddling Budapest. Want to try a new type of bar? Head to the ruin pubs (romkocsma) and garden bars (kertek), trendy watering holes in old, atmospheric unrenovated buildings and wild plant-scapes. For novel digs from previous eras, stay in retro chic historic hotels like the former prime minister’s residence, Bródy House, or the one-time artistocrat’s palace Hotel Palazzo Zichy. Budapest has long been famed for its many thermal baths, and the 16th century Turkish-era Rácz Baths are set reopen this year after a long period of closure as part of the luxurious Rácz Hotel (www.raczhotel.com). The retro-hip trend continues in the food, with old-fashioned coffee shops and rustic etkezdek (mom-and-pop canteens serving simple Hungarian fare).
Few destinations seems to be attracting as much word-of-mouth love as Iceland right now. With a window of affordability, popular Icelandic bands, mystery writers, and a seeming worldwide need for a long soak in a hot spring, Iceland seems to be on every traveller’s mind this year. Nearly all of the focus has been on Reykjavik and the Golden Circle, but don’t ignore Iceland’s second city Akureyri and the wild charms of Northern Iceland, all easily accessed by a short connecting flight from Reykjavik. You’ll leave most other travellers behind and there’s no shortage of dramatic geysers, lava fields and towering waterfalls to keep you company. For those in search of a soak, Myvatn Nature Baths (www.jardbodin.is) is a smaller and less touristy version of the famed Blue Lagoon. 2013 marks the end of the 11 year maximum in aurora borealis activity, with a better light show in Northern Iceland than you’ll find in even more northern parts of Scandinavia. Fancy a peek at a puffin? On the island of Grimsey, Iceland’s only true piece of the Artctic Circle, birds outnumber people 1000 to one. Divers can swim with seabirds, watching guillemots hunting for food deep in the crystal waters.
The Cinque Terre, the string of five towns clinging precariously to the most rugged portion of Liguria’s coastline, is back. Ligurian farmers have been reclaiming the wild slopes with neat stone terraces for over 2000 years but catastrophic flooding in late 2011 wiped out the centuries of work put into the terraced vineyards and parts of the famed paths connecting the towns. In the intervening year and a half, the locals have gone to heroic lengths to rebuild the terraces, dig out the paths, and repair the damaged buildings. Steep cliffs and car-free towns made construction and debris removal highly challenging, but it’s looking better than ever today. Walking is the essential way to experience Cinque Terre, but don’t race: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore - each village has its own personality. Along the way, be sure to explore the small hidden beaches below and climb to the heights at the five scenic sanctuaries perched above the towns. The best way to get around the Cinque Terre is with the Cinque Terre card available at all of the local train stations, which gives you unlimited use of the walking paths, electric village buses, the elevator in Riomaggiore and cultural exhibitions (one/two days €5/9).
If the tourist commotion of the increasingly popular Prague and Bohemia proves too much, Moravia is just waiting to be discovered by those seeking a quieter, authentically Czech experience. Moravia is known for its robust reds wines, and recently for local late-ripening whites. The tasting experience here is laid-back – no Michelin-starred restaurants or high-end boutiques like you find in flashier wine regions of the world. Instead think harvest festivals, family-run wineries, and leisurely bike rides through rolling vineyards. Olomouc is one of the Czech Republic’s most underrated destinations, with a great nightlife scene, a mini-Prague feel and one of the country’s biggest beer festivals. Bustling Brno has a fantastic museums, including the Brno City Museum housed in the 13th century Špilberk Castle and the Mendel Museum devoted to the monk that established the basis for modern genetics. Telč, one of the countries prettiest towns, has a pristine UNESCO-listed Old Town square, ringed with Gothic arcades. To pedal your way through Moravian wine country, follow the Mikulov Wine Trail. The Mikulov tourist office (www.mikulov.cz/tourism) can help steer you to a one-day ride that takes in the nearby chateaux at Valtice and Lednice, stopping at small local vineyards along the way.
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Top 10 European travel destinations
Size isn’t everything: Europe is just one quarter the size of Asia, one third the size of Africa, but its pull for travellers is unmatched around the world. If you’re exploring Europe this year – or just dreaming about it – some destinations are bound to come to mind: East London with its shiny post-Olympics makeover, or Amsterdam with its newly reopened Rijksmuseum (not to mention a freshly crowned King). But if you’re the type of traveller that looks for the next step – the destinations that are just starting to get the buzz right now, the overlooked places that are poised to be the next traveller find, and the old favorites that have timely and fresh reasons to visit this year – we’re here to help. Our editors, wide-roaming authors and local experts pitched in and crafted this list: Lonely Planet’s Top 10 European Destinations for 2013, the ten places we think travellers should be heading in Europe right now.