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Let’s be real for a moment: as magical as a beach holiday on the Mediterranean and an escape in the Swiss Alps are, the main reason we all flock to Europe year after year is that unparalleled allure of the Old World.
Yes, the nature is breathtaking, and sign me up for a pistachio gelato date with an Italian lungomare every day, but nothing makes my heart beat faster than the sight of a medieval castle on a remote hill, or wandering the medieval maze of an ancient city.
If you’re anything like me, you’re not exactly queuing to board the first flight to overcrowded Dubrovnik.
No, I can’t handle the crazy crowds this year, especially with the sticker shock of those hefty price tags.
Luckily for you, I recently went on quite a reconnaissance mission around the Old Continent and have 5 real ancient gemstones most tourists have never heard of…:
Pula, Croatia
The Croatian Colosseum
I wasn’t about to turn down Dubrovnik and then completely discard everything else Croatia has to offer.
Located on the same Adriatic coastline, except hundreds of kilometers away from the tourist cesspool, the majority of travelers this season will make an emergency landing. Pula is that wonderful alternative to the Old World I just can’t fathom why, or how it hasn’t exploded in popularity yet.
It has picture-perfect white pebble beaches with blue-green water, a relaxed Mediterranean atmosphere, pastel-coloured Venetian-style houses with green shutters and seafood terraces, and Roman heritage to back it up.
In fact, it is home to one of the best preserved Roman amphitheatres still standing in Europe!
If you are awed by the Colosseum in Rome, wait until you see Pula’s almost perfectly preserved, intact on all four sides, elliptical beauty of an arena, built all the way back in the 1st century AD.
To be precise, in the year 27 BC. No less than 2,053 years ago.
Pula’s Roman flexibility doesn’t stop there: just a stone’s throw from the arena site is the Temple of Augustus, a surviving 2010-year-old temple dedicated to the legendary emperor, located in the ruins of a Roman forum.
On the edge of the old town you will find a relief of the mystical hero at the Gate of Hercules, and the Arch of the Sergii is just a 4-minute walk away. yet another first century miracleis another man-made wonder that has stood the test of time.
Lugo, Spain
The last city surrounded by Roman walls
Tucked away in the criminally underrated northwestern Spanish region of Galicia, Lugo is a forgotten ancient Roman outpost that most Roman Empire enthusiasts are completely unaware of.
Spain (or Hispania) was once under Rome, remember?
Europe probably has thousands of fortified cities surrounded by medieval walls, but what if we told you that this is the case? only city in Europe still is completely surrounded by Roman-era city walls more than 1800 years old?
No pile of ruins, or traces of temples or city walls to indicate what might once have stood there. This time you don’t need an information board with illustrations to bring the place to life:
You have a complete, continuous circuit that you can walk on.
The entire UNESCO protected walk is approximately 2.1km long, it takes about 40 minutes to complete at a relaxed pace, and from the top of the walls, you’ll get fantastic views of Lugo’s grid-like old streets, dotted with squares and ancient churches.
In the center of the maze is a monumental building Cathedral of Santa Maria rises above the old red-tiled roofs: another UNESCO-recognized monument, it is an excellent example of Romanesque architecture with later Gothic and Baroque additions.
The gilded main altar is probably the most ornate you will ever see.
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
The oldest continuously inhabited city
Bulgaria may not be the first country that comes to mind when you think of Roman heritage – and we can’t blame you, given Sofia’s socialist woes in the 20th century – but it is home to one of the most important cities of the bygone empire:
Originally known as Philippopolis, from which the Bulgarian ‘Plovdiv’ etymologically comes, it was part of the province of Thrace, located directly on the main Roman road that connected the Adriatic Sea to Constantinople (modern Istanbul).
It was a large settlement with a forum, baths, an amphitheater and an entire racing stadium, all of which are still in use today. today partly visible around the old townpeeking around modern storefronts and sidewalks like the past half-buried.
Plovdiv is an absolute dream to wander around, with its cobbled streets and colorful buildings with covered balconies, although the most breathtaking sight is without a doubt the Greco-Roman Theatre, perched on a hill with panoramic views over the city. Marble chairs, an intact stage and a surviving backdrop:
The first century has never been so alive.
The Roman allure is certainly the most striking part of Plovdiv, but what you may not know is that this Europe’s oldest continuously inhabited settlement. Older than Athens or Rome: people have been here for more than 6,000 years, as far back as the Neolithic Age.
At Nebet Tepe, a prominent hill that locals climb for sunset views over Plovdiv’s maze-like Old Town, you can even find remains of prehistoric fortifications.
Orange, France
The best preserved ancient theater
You’ve visited Nîmes and its 2,000-year-old bullring, the impressive Pont du Gard, a Roman aqueduct spanning a crystal-clear river, and Avignon, a former papal capital.
Now it’s time to deviate a little from the path and discover Orange, a small town in the interior of Provence with a remarkably well-preserved Roman theater. The most beautiful in Franceat that.
An unassuming UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has not lost its stage walls, as most Roman theaters have done over the past two millennia. It still has the entire 37 meter high background, decorated with niches and Corinthian columns.
Oh, and if you think our modern arenas are the pinnacle of entertainment, just wait until you see an opera performance at the Orange Theater.
There’s a reason why more than 7,000 spectators gathered here in ancient times for their Friday night entertainment: thanks to the elliptical shape of the hall and the acoustics, what we like to call Roman wizardry.
You can hear the performers clearly from all seats, no microphone required.
Come summer and you can… Chorégies d’Orangeone of the oldest and most traditional opera festivals in Europe.
Other must-sees in Orange Town? How about one Triumphal arch from the 1st century, with all reliefs intact? Or perhaps a collegiate church from the 12th century? Yes, we wouldn’t mind spending a whole day here gazing at these monumental stone giants with breathtaking eyes.
Ravenna, Italy
The forgotten Byzantine gem
A former capital of the Western Roman Empire, Ravenna is the gateway to Paleo-Christian Europe you never knew existed.
If you’re wondering what that actually means, think of it as a treasure trove of early Christian art. The streets are lined with some of the oldest, most breathtaking monuments of the late Roman world, where 6th-century basilicas glitter with vibrant mosaics that have outlasted entire empires.
Bee Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovoan astonishing cycle of 26 mosaic panels tells the story of the New Testament in vibrant color. It is also one of the first artistic attempts to ‘illustrate’ the Bible.
On the other side of the city, the beautifulT Basilica of San Vitale steals the spotlight featuring the world-famous portraits of Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora, depicted in glass tiles that still ethereally catch the light 1,500 years later.
And yet these are just the opening acts of Ravenna:
The Baptistery of Neon features a deep indigo domed ceiling studded with gold crosses and stars that seem to float overhead, original Byzantine mosaics and a small Brick crypt from the 5th century that defies almost two millennia of decay.
Spread out about being UNESCO protected centre are Ostrogothic tombs (such as the monument Mausoleo of Teodorico), the early Christian jewel Mausoleo of Galla Placidiawith an otherworldly display of Byzantine mosaic art, and even the ghostly outline of a once-mahogany Roman amphitheater.
Ravenna is not just any town: it is an open-air museum of fading grandeur, where most tourists still sleep.
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