The Republic of Macedonia is located in South-Eastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. It shares boundaries to the north with Serbia, to the east with Bulgaria, to the south with Greece, and to the west with Albania.

Its capital Skopje is a pleasant city to spend a few days exploring its famous bazaar and seeing intricate wooden carved iconostasis in the Church of the Holy Saviour. But the highlights of a holiday to Macedonia lies outside the capital in its beautiful countryside and stunning monasteries.

The town of Ohrid, in the southernmost part of Macedonia, was the cradle of Slavonic literacy, which brothers Cyril and Methodius, and later their disciples - St. Clement and St. Naum, spread to other Slav peoples from the Ohrid Literary School which was, actually, the first Slavonic University in the Balkans, long before Bologna. This rich cultural tradition is still very much alive today. The Ohrid Summer Festival and the Balkan Folklore Festival brings magic to the summer evenings beside the lake. Today, Ohrid is a city-museum with numerous archaeological values, with a number of early Christian basilicas and a great number of churches.

Lake Ohrid, the blue Macedonian pearl, is one of the oldest and best-preserved lakes in the world. It lies at an altitude of 695m and covers an area of 358km². Cradled by dark blue mountains the views of the lake are magnificent and one never tires of gazing at the calm shimmering water. The lake is famous for its fish, Ohrid trout, which unfortunately is now illegal to fish and sell. Another tradition of the town is that they make Ohrid pearls from the scales of bleak, a small fish found in the lake.

Bitola, the southernmost city of former Yugoslavia and second largest in Macedonia, sits on a 660m (2165ft) plateau between mountains just barely north of the Greek border. The old bazaar area is colourful and not to be missed are the Ruins of Heraclea. Founded in the 4th century BC by Philip II of Macedonia, Heraclea was conquered by the Romans two centuries later and became an important stage on the Via Egnatia. Excavations continue, but the Roman baths, portico and theatre can now be seen.

Macedonia's top ski resort is Popova sapka, 1845m (6050ft) high on the southern slopes of Sar Planina west of Tetovo. Hiking in any of the three national parks - Pelister, Galicica and Mavrovo - is a good way to get to know the countryside.