Vilnius Historic Centre

Baroque spires crowd the skyline of Vilnius so thickly that the city has been nicknamed a Rome of the north. As seat of Lithuania's Grand Duchy from the 13th century to the late 18th, it radiated culture across eastern Europe, and its medieval street net still winds among Gothic, Renaissance and classical landmarks despite wars and occupations. UNESCO inscribed the historic centre in 1994 as one of Europe's largest surviving old towns.