History could hang heavily over Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country that has emerged as a modern – and deeply beautiful – European nation after the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.

Instead, Sarajevo, the capital, sings of many eras: Ottoman footsteps still echoing amid the mosques, markets and restaurants of its Baščaršija district; skiers racing down the slopes in the state-of-the-art resorts on the adjacent mountains of Jahorina and Bjelašnica. Further afield, Mostar is a symbol of healing, its Old Bridge over the River Neretva fully rebuilt. Second city Banja Luka adds rich nightlife. And there is a coastline. Admittedly, just 12 miles of it, where resort-town Neum perches on the Adriatic’s edge, squeezed between Croatia on either side. But the views are no less lovely for the smallness of it all.