The Peloponnese: Still off the beaten track

Travel guide publisher Lonely Planet has revealed its annual list of the best places to visit in Europe.

This year, along with the usual suspects there are "a scattering of off-the-beaten track places", such as the Dutch island of Texel and Lviv in western Ukraine, says The Guardian.

Topping the list is the Peloponnese peninsula, the southernmost region of mainland Greece, which is "characterised by a mountainous interior and indented coastline, as well as historic sites such as Olympia and Mycenae", says The Independent.

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While recent international attention has focused on the country's worsening economy and refugee crisis, Greece remains a somewhat underappreciated and, relative to other tourist hotspots in Europe, extremely "affordable" travel destination says The Guardian.

"Dive shipwrecks off the Navarino coast or visit the wild and remote Mani," says Lonely Planet, or experience the "beautiful Nafplio which blends contemporary art with atmospheric architecture and classic town squares, ideal for a long, lazy lunch".

2016 also brings the chance to hike the recently opened Menalon trail or take a tipple in the Nemean wine region. And with British Airways having recently launched flights to its largest city, Kalamata, from Heathrow, it has never been easier to reach.