In Europe, 76 destinations off the beaten path

Image 51 of 76

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

The roads here are very good. You can take the autostrada across the island from Trapani to Catania in three hours. And the kind of desperate poverty there once was isn't anymore except in limited areas of the big cities.<br>
<br>
The historical center of Palermo, for example, is a mixture of deteriorating houses and palaces. Some of the bomb damage from World War II has only recently been repaired. But restoration is going on there. Churches and palaces are being turned into concert spaces. Now it's quite fashionable.<br>
<br>
-- Mary Taylor Simeti / Susan Spano<br>
<br>
Read more: <a href="http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-spano15jan15,0,2391342.column">U.S. expat with a Sicilian soul</a><br>
<br>
<i>Pictured: The town of Salemi in southwestern Sicily.</i>

Sicily, Italy

( Giuseppe Piazza )

The roads here are very good. You can take the autostrada across the island from Trapani to Catania in three hours. And the kind of desperate poverty there once was isn't anymore except in limited areas of the big cities.

The historical center of Palermo, for example, is a mixture of deteriorating houses and palaces. Some of the bomb damage from World War II has only recently been repaired. But restoration is going on there. Churches and palaces are being turned into concert spaces. Now it's quite fashionable.

-- Mary Taylor Simeti / Susan Spano

Read more: U.S. expat with a Sicilian soul

Pictured: The town of Salemi in southwestern Sicily.