52 Places to Go in 2014
Witness a city in transformation, glimpse exotic
animals, explore the past and enjoy that beach before the crowds.
4. Albanian Coast, HIMARA REGION
On a rugged shore, Europe at its best.
What if you could combine the rugged beauty
you’d find on Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast with the ruins of an
undiscovered Turkey or Greece, all wrapped in the easygoing nature
characteristic of rural Italy — at a fraction of the cost? Turns out you
can, on the coast of Albania. The roughly Maryland-size country,
between Greece and Montenegro, sits about 45 miles east of Italy on the
eastern shores of the Adriatic and has limestone-ringed beaches, ancient
ruins like Butrint and waterfront inns where you can stay for less than
$50 a night. Rampant development threatened to turn it all to concrete
in the years after Communism, but a new government took office in
September on promises of keeping the coast authentic. Head to villages
like Qeparo, within sight of Corfu, where you can kayak past Cold War
submarine tunnels, swim by abandoned forts and watch the tide rise
during a dinner of fresh fish at an inn called the Riviera. This is
Europe when it was fresh and cheap. — TIM NEVILLE
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