Vilnius

Here you can stroll through the famed Vilnius University campus and wonder at its frescoes, be stunned by the breath-taking views of the red-bricked roofs from the majestic Hill of Three Crosses or the striking Tower of Gediminas, and marvel at the bridges chained with lovers’ padlocks in kooky art district known jokingly as the ‘Republic’ of Užupis.

Many students from all over the world, including Spain, Poland, Russia, France, Chile and the States embark on a semester or two of study here, so you will not be alone in not speaking Lithuanian, which has linguistic features also seen in Sanskrit.

Don’t worry, locals often have more than a smattering of English, and backpackers often pass through here on the way to neighbouring Estonia, Poland or Latvia so there will be no shortage of cosmopolitan friends to make!

You can locate various cuisines in Vilnius, from traditional Lithuanian ‘village-peasant’ fare of herring and potato dumplings, to Italian, Spanish, Chinese and Brazilian, so wherever you hail from and whatever you are craving, you will be able to find something to cater to your tastes. Lithuanians tend to be fairly health-conscious, so if you’re looking to counter-balance all those beer-calories, you’ve come to the right city.

Yet, Vilnius is not often chosen as a study-abroad destination, leaving space for you to carve your own inimitable North-eastern European experience that nobody else back home will have.

All in all, lots to discover, see and do in Vilnius. You just don’t know it yet.