Helgoland
Pocked by fisherman's huts slicked in dazzlingly bright lacquers of paint and set on an archipelago in the North Sea, this charming little island feels more Scandinavian than it does Germanic. Once a colony of the Danes and later the Brits, Helgoland today dances to the beat of its own drum - islanders have a dialect and traditional dress all of their own. Come here for delightfully sparse, sandy beaches and a wealth of biodiversity. Twitchers, bring your binoculars.