And in case your festival proclivities are of a fierier nature, the annual Celebration of Light (late July-early August) illuminates the city skies for its 20th year in 2010, with four countries vying for the best display of fireworks set to music.

BBC: Vancouver: Land of the lotus-eaters

Still, Mr Gligorov's government was understandably twitchy when Abdul-Rahman Ariti, leader of Macedonia's middle-of-the-road ethnic-Albanian party, which is part of the ruling coalition, recently accompanied Arben Dzaferi, the head of the country's much fierier Albanian nationalist party, on a trip to Albania's capital, Tirana.

ECONOMIST: Macedonia