Estonia

The smallest of the Baltic States is also one of the least densely populated in Europe. That's because Estonia has managed to preserve a large part of its wilderness. It is home to the continent's largest concentration of brown bears. With its hills, beaches, dense forests and many lakes, as well as almost 2,000 islands, it feels like Scandinavia is just around the corner. Tallinn, its magnificent capital, is without doubt one of the prettiest small towns on the continent. Nestling behind its ramparts, it is disarmingly uniform, arriving almost intact in a straight line from the Middle Ages. This natural, historic aspect is in stark contrast to the inhabitants' taste for design and the technological and digital progress of this country nicknamed E-Estonia, where Skype, Wise, Bolt and electronic voting, among others, were born.