2026 Skopje

Just don't call him Alexander the Great

The most amazing thing about this place is that it exists, a complete culture and nation that practically no one outside knows about. It is like a secret land, hiding in plain sight. This ensemble – the square, statues, river, buildings – is astonishing. Although quite new, it has an eternal, classical feel to it. It brings to mind The Ideal City, usually attributed to the architect and artist Fra Carnevale.

A short trip to the mysterious and little-known Skopje, capital of North Macedonia, with its intriguing mixture of ancient Ottoman culture and in-your-face neoclassicism.  It also has 202 red double-decker buses - made in China.