Sarajevo, Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe spot where WWI began — the Ottoman bridge over the Miljacka River where Gavrilo Princip shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand on 28 June 1914. A small museum marks the event; the bridge itself is unremarkable except for its extraordinary historical weight. The most consequential 10 square meters in 20th-century history.
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The Ottoman heart of Sarajevo — a 15th-century bazaar of copper workshops, carpet merchants, and burek bakeries, centered on the Sebilj fountain. The copper artisans hammering away in their workshops, the smell of grilling ćevapi, and the minarets above the rooftops create one of the most powerful sensory experiences in European travel.
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The tunnel that kept Sarajevo alive during the 1992–95 siege — an 800-metre underground passage dug beneath the airport runway to supply the besieged city with food, weapons, and civilians. The museum at the tunnel entrance is one of the most moving war memorials in Europe; deeply necessary for understanding the city.
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Where East meets West in a single city block — Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque and the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral standing 200 meters apart, the Jewish synagogue another 100 meters away, and a Catholic cathedral all within the same medieval quarter. Nowhere in Europe demonstrates multicultural coexistence more powerfully.