Zagreb, Croatia

Although the capital of an independent nation for less than two decades, Zagreb has been the cultural and political focus of Croatia since the Middle Ages. Now home to almost a quarter of the country's population, the city grew out of the medieval communities of Kaptol and Gradec, which began life as separate fortified settlements but gradually grew to identify themselves as a single city. However, the present-day appearance of Zagreb owes most to the rapid growth of the nineteenth century, and many of the city's buildings are grand, peach-coloured monuments to the self-esteem of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Outwardly, at least, Zagreb still shares the refined urban culture of Mitteleuropa – public transport is well organized, the streets are clean, the parks impeccably manicured – but behind the city's genteel facade teems a complex blend of central European, Mediterranean and Balkan cultures.