When I first laid eyes on Dubrovnik's main road I had an overwhelming desire to rip off my shoes and slip down it in my socks or, even better, dive belly first and see how far I could slide. The road, known as the Stradun, was so shiny I could almost see my face in it.
'It's made out of pure marble,' a companion told me and I spluttered in disbelief. Isn't marble reserved for the lobbies of five-star hotels or the bathrooms of the super-rich? Apparently not.
But it's not just the polished Stradun that's helping this Croatian jewel move up the list of unmissable city getaways. Last spring, British Airways introduced thrice-weekly flights from Gatwick. At under three hours, the flights make the city a viable short break option.
As the coach from the airport snaked its way down the coastline, the views were mesmeric: to my right, mountains with towering, thin cypress trees; to my left, the translucent Adriatic.
The Old City of Dubrovnik came into view, looking almost unreal, as if it were plaster of Paris moulded intricately into hundreds of tiny white buildings, roofs the same shade of orange, packed together inside a circular wall dotted with fortresses.
Beyond towered a hill crowned with a single white cross and a fortress, signalling a city that has known siege. The law insists that the image, so steeped in history and culture, is retained.
In the early 1990s, Dubrovnik was attacked from all sides by the Serbian and Montenegrin elements of the Yugoslav army. Every few steps I could see the scars of shrapnel damage, left as a pointed reminder.
But there is no unsightly tourist detritus in Dubrovnik: no discarded chewing gum, no gutters filled with litter. Buildings look scrubbed clean and you can barely distinguish between what's original and what rose from the rubble of the war.
The hotel Excelsior stands just outside the Old City, so close to the sea that the balconies and terraces overhang it. My room was simple and elegant and, on entering, I pulled open the balcony doors, drawing in the fresh sea air. Even from the fifth floor, squinting in the bright afternoon sun, I could make out details on the sea bed.
From here, Dubrovnik transformed with the changing light of the day, ultimately into a silhouette against a hypnotic sunset. It was all I could do to drag myself away for dinner.
Dubrovnik is bliss for food lovers - by the time I stumbled back into Gatwick my stomach was pushing uncomfortably against my once-baggy jeans, but it was worth it. Restaurants in town serve excellent food - three courses for as little as £10 a head with wine. Squid, mussels and risotto are specialities but meat eaters will find plenty to satisfy cravings.
We dined one night at the Taverna Rustica, the Excelsior's own restaurant, done out like a Swiss chalet, serving fish from different parts of Croatia. After delicious shell fish - for the first time ever I wasn't lying when I said I loved the oysters - a black pasta dish with half a lobster landed before me.
As a guitarist serenaded from a balcony above, I spent 20 minutes trying to break open the shell and pull out the meat. It was hard to disguise my embarrassment on discovering eventually that the meat was already sliced and mixed with the pasta.
Later, the cosy Hard Jazz Caffe Troubadour offered a chance to discover the joys of aperitifs and digestifs: plenty of grappa and a local herb brandy. I ordered Ecstasy (a lethal cocktail) and listened to live music, chatting to the regulars.
The owner Marko is famous locally, his claim to fame being that, in the year Cliff Richard came second in the Eurovision Song Contest, Marko and his band came fifth. Over a grappa or three we organised a speedboat trip to the island of Locrum, which you can also reach in summer by larger tourist boat for 15 kuna (£1.50).
Surrounded by a rocky coastline popular with nudists, Locrum has beautiful botanical gardens, an ancient monastery and a fort. Following the signs, I came across a steep, rocky hill and, gasping for air every few minutes, I scrambled up through the fort and out on to the roof.
It was a round building with window holes and I imagined a time gone by when city guardsmen would have stood there poised with bows and arrows. On the steps were some flowers to mark the death of a 22-year-old man in a more recent war, another reminder of what this community has been through.
Looking back to Dubrovnik, I wondered how such a tiny place supports the influx of tourists at the height of summer, then headed down the steep hill to the beach and fell, fully dressed, face first into the freezing water.
Back on the sunny hotel terrace, nursing a gashed knee, I consoled myself with cocktails and the prospect of an imminent massage and algae wrap in the hotel spa. It was here that I met a couple who were moving to Dubrovnik to set up a business hoping to cash in on the booming tourist market - many Germans and Italians already own holiday homes here but now Brits are getting in on the act.
'We had English and Irish banging on our door in the summer, asking if we would sell,' one local woman told me. Not quite ready to set up a home I decided to take in one final luxury. I lay down in my room and let the warm sea breeze float from the balcony doors as I flicked to the news channel to watch the UK weather reports.
Factfile
British Airways (0870 240 0747; www.ba.com) has return flights from Gatwick from £99, out and back on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Until 30 September, doubles with sea view at the five-star Excelsior Hotel (00 385 20 414222; www.hotel-excelsior.hr) start from about £178 per night including breakfast.
The pride of the Balkans
Ljubljana
Slovenia's capital is known by the hip crowd as 'LJ', according to style magazine Wallpaper, yet it feels traditional - made for strollers and drinkers. It's a fairytale canvas of Grimm ginger-tiled baroque and Art Nouveau, a river wrought with bridges apparently jemmied off the Seine, and an Old Town abuzz with wine bars. Among them, Movia, popular for the tasty red cultivated in the Vipava Valley. Three-night packages from £389pp in a three-star through Slovenija Pursuits (0870 220 0201, www.slovenijapursuits.co.uk). Flights with EasyJet from Stansted airport.
Belgrade
The cityscape is Commie-sombre, but the citizens are disco dynamos. Find the action at the Sky Bar or onboard house boats, where dancing on tables to folk or house (or whatever takes your fancy) is the order. By day, there are art galleries glittering with Orthodox icons, earthy fish restaurants and Beogradsko beer for 20p a tankard. They'll soon be calling it the new Prague. Three-night packages from £369 in a three-star through Regent Holidays (0117 921 1711; www.regent-holidays.co.uk). Try also Bridge Travel (0870 191 7270; www.bridgetravel.co.uk).
Zagreb
The Croatian capital, opulent collision of Italianate and Balkan, is yet to be overrun with tourists. It is neat and walkable, with parks and pavement cafes, art galleries and architecture. The Regent Esplanade Hotel, the city's only five-star hotel, was built in 1925 for Orient Express passengers and has now been refurbished. Two-night packages are from £285pp B&B in the Regent Esplanade through Airline Network (0870 234 0705; www.airlinenetwork.co.uk).
· Nick Redman