Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Just one letter away from 'club,' Cluj isn't quite as pretty or mountainous as the Saxon towns to the south, but it earns much of its nationwide fame for the dozens of cavernous, unsnooty subterranean discos that blare and bounce with many of the city's thousands of university students. Outside the clubs, though, it's one of Romania's most welcoming and energised cities - a 'real' city where there's everything going on (football, opera, espresso, heated politics, trams), regardless of who visits or not. Its attractions don't hit you over the head like Dracula's 'birthplaces' do, but if you look closer Cluj's are some of Transylvania's most arresting. It's also a great base for renting a car - it's cheaper here than in Braşov - and has several good travel agencies, so it serves as a common shooting-off point for the Apuseni Mountains and the farther-flung Maramureş.