Are heavy doses of history musts on your vacations? If so, here are five, off-the-beaten-path destinations for you to consider next year. They’ll take you to Europe, Asia, and beyond.

Szczecin: Poland has a city that resembles Paris. It has Gothic and Renaissance buildings along the Oder river, a little Old Town above a waterfront promenade, a castle, a national museum, a cathedral, and a luxury hotel in a restored Neo-Renaissance villa.

Butrint National Park: Albania has a forgotten national park. The Greeks built a fortified city with an acropolis and a theater. The Romans added an aqueduct, a bathhouse, and a nymphaeum. The Byzantines turned it into an ecclesiastical center. The Venetians and the Ottomans eventually took over to control the strategic spot along the Ionian Sea.

Champasak: Laos has a sleepy little village that was once the seat of the Kingdom of Champasak. French Colonial architecture, crumbling shophouses, and ancient temples now sit along the banks of the Mekong.

Failaka Island: Kuwait’s longest continuously inhabited spot is an island. It’s covered with historic sites: the ruins of a Babylonian palace, a Hellenistic fort, a Characene station, and Nestorian churches.

Signy Island: The South Orkney Islands are a scientific research base. The small archipelago off the Antarctic Peninsula’s northeastern tip is home to a biological research station, colonies of breeding birds, and Antarctic fur seals.