Dubrovnik, Croatia

Today, still an exquisite walled city, Dubrovnik's character reflects its storied past an an independent city-state that rivaled Venice. Dubrovnik was a fortress city that served as the base for a fleet of ships that carried trade between much of Europe and the Middle East. The city-state's period of automomy extended from 1358 to 1808. In recent times, some of Dubrovnik's historic sites sustained damage in the Balkan conflicts of the early 1990's, but the city has been peaceful for over ten years and largely restored under UNESCO supervision.