North Macedonia is small — you can cross it in a few hours — but it packs in a surprising amount. It's one of the cheapest countries in Europe and, outside the Balkans, mostly undiscovered.
Ohrid is the undisputed highlight. Perched on the shores of one of Europe's oldest and deepest lakes, this small town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for both its natural and cultural values. Medieval churches cling to a hillside above glassy water. In summer it's busy; in spring or early autumn it's quietly beautiful.
Skopje is a city worth at least two days. The Ottoman Old Bazaar (Čaršija) — one of the largest in the Balkans outside Istanbul — is the real Skopje, full of craft workshops, tea houses, and old mosques. The bizarre neoclassical statues and monuments erected since 2010 are a spectacle in themselves, for better or worse.
Bitola is North Macedonia's second city, with a graceful Ottoman streetscape along Širok Sokak and the extensive ruins of Heraclea Lyncestis on its outskirts.
Mavrovo National Park offers the best scenery in the country: beech forests, glacial lakes, the partially submerged Church of St Nicholas, and the ski centre at Mavrovo.
The monasteries scattered across the countryside are some of the finest medieval art in the Balkans. Sveti Jovan Bigorski (near Mavrovo) and Treskavec (above Priep) are highlights.
Galičnik hosts a spectacular traditional wedding festival each July — an unusual and genuinely moving event.
North Macedonia rewards travellers who slow down and wander. The country is compact enough that Ohrid, Skopje, Bitola, and Mavrovo can all be done in a week without feeling rushed.