Vilnius

Vilnius holds the largest Old Town in Central and Northern Europe, a genuinely dense stretch of Baroque, Gothic, and Renaissance architecture layered across seven centuries, and it draws a fraction of the visitors that similarly sized old towns get further west. The Baroque churches in particular — St. Peter and St. Paul's, with its roughly 2,000 stucco figures covering every interior surface, chief among them — reward slow visits rather than quick photo stops.

Across the Vilnia River from the Old Town sits Užupis, a neighborhood that jokingly declared itself an independent republic on April Fools' Day in 1997. The bit has a full constitution — 41 articles, ranging from the earnest ("everyone has the right to be happy") to the absurd ("everyone has the right to understand nothing") — posted on a wall in dozens of languages, and the neighborhood has genuinely grown into Vilnius's artsy, bohemian quarter as a result, full of galleries, cafés, and studios rather than staying a one-off gag.

Gediminas Tower, the last standing remnant of Vilnius's medieval castle complex, sits on a hill overlooking the Old Town and gives one of the better orientation views in the Baltics — the city's mix of red rooftops, church spires, and, further out, Soviet-era apartment blocks all visible in one sweep. A funicular or a short uphill walk gets visitors to the top.

About 30 minutes outside the city, Trakai Island Castle sits on its own small island in Lake Galvė, connected to shore by a wooden footbridge — a genuinely photogenic red-brick fortress that was the medieval seat of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and remains one of the more popular half-day trips from Vilnius.

Vilnius tends to get folded into a "Baltic capitals" itinerary alongside Riga and Tallinn, connected by long-distance buses, and holds its own within that trio — the largest Old Town, the strongest Baroque architecture, and noticeably fewer crowds than either of the other two.