In Europe, 76 destinations off the beaten path

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Arezzo, ItalySalina, ItalyCrete, GreeceRoquefort, FranceKvarner Islands, CroatiaTaormina, ItalyBonn, GermanyMonschau, GermanyCanterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, EnglandSt. Albans, EnglandCambridge, EnglandBrighton, EnglandCarnac, FranceCotswold Way, EnglandIstanbul, TurkeyGiglio, ItalySpain's Basque CountryAlbaniaAndorraViennaArdennes, BelgiumHay on Wye, BritainGiant's Causeway, Northern IrelandScotland's Tweed ValleyBulgariaZagreb, CroatiaHvar, CroatiaOsijek, CroatiaKladska, Czech RepublicTallinnHelsinki, FinlandBarbizon, FranceVerdun, FranceLourdes, FranceBeaujolais, FranceLyon, FranceChâteau des Milandes, FranceMillau, FranceLacoste, FranceMunich, GermanyIceland's countrysideGalway City, IrelandSkibbereen, IrelandCampania region, ItalySiena, ItalySperlonga, ItalyCinque Terre, ItalyPuglia, ItalyGenoa, ItalyPiedmont, ItalySicily, ItalyLipari, ItalyCastel del Monte, ItalyRiga, LatviaJurmala, LatviaLiechtensteinVilnius, LithuaniaLuxembourgMoldovaMonacoMontenegroOslo, NorwayTransylvania, RomaniaDanube River Delta, RomaniaSt. Petersburg, RussiaSan MarinoBelgrade, SerbiaSloveniaCatalonia, SpainSegovia, SpainIcehotel, Jukkasjarvi, SwedenZurich, SwitzerlandVals Valley, SwitzerlandCappadocia, TurkeyLviv, UkraineVatican City

Segovia

( Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times )

A growing number of tourists is coming to Segovia, a city in Spain's Castile region, not only to see its towering Roman aqueduct but also to get a glimpse of a rediscovered Jewish past. "People want to see the Jewish quarter because it's practically unknown and because they don't expect it," said Marta Rueda, a guide who once led former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres on a tour through Segovia's old streets.

Granted, the Jewish cemetery stands on an unmarked hill opposite the town; the old synagogue has been turned into Corpus Christi Church; and about 100 Jewish homes were leveled centuries ago to make way for a vast Gothic cathedral. Nowadays, the most notable Jewish features of Segovia are its modern eateries, such as the Menora Café and El Fogón Sefardí restaurant. Nonetheless, the mere investigation of its Jewish legacy "is something new."

-- Michael Levitin

Read more: Spain connects with Jewish history via Sephardic Routes

Pictured: Girona, one of the finest preserved Jewish quarters in Europe