Remote Scottish island in the spotlight

Despite being some 170 kilometers of the northeast coast of mainland Scotland, Shetland has also developed ties with China. With the population of less than 24,000 inhabitants, the isles currently house two Confucius Classrooms, promoting the Chinese language and culture as well as supporting local Chinese teaching.

Last May, China's ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, unveiled a plaque at the Confucius Classroom at Mid Yell Junior High School, making him the first ever foreign ambassador to visit the Shetland Islands.

It is the second such classroom in Shetland, with one in Sandwick Junior High having opened in 2016. More than 1,000 pupils have since received Mandarin lessons paid for by the Chinese and Scottish governments.

Slovakia's High Tatras Mountains took the overall top spot of Best in Europe 2019. Lonely Planet called it a destination where travelers can experience a "mythical" landscape of "crooked peaks and plunging waterfalls", as well as spot brown bears, which, now eradicated from most parts of Europe, "thrive in this wild, rugged region".

Also on the list are the Spanish capital Madrid, which is "springing back into step with renewed vigor"; Iceland's newly-founded Arctic Coast Way, which winds between 21 villages and four islands along Iceland's elemental north coast, "offering the best of Iceland minus the crowds"; the once down-at-heel port city of Bari in Italy, which is "enjoying a renaissance that's been a decade in the making"; and "beautiful", "food-obsessed" and "cultured" Lyon in France.

Best in Europe 2019 has been compiled by Lonely Planet's travel experts, who for traveled the continent for the last 45 years, looking for new experiences to keep their readers ahead of the crowds. This is the seventh year the list has been published.