Scotland is a beautiful and sparsely populated country with rolling lowland, dramatic mountains, lochs and many offshore islands. These days, Scotland's cities – which have always been considered a bit, well, gloomy – have become as popular as the pastoral countryside. The annual Edinburgh International Festival, which gets bigger and zanier every year, is one of the hottest arts tickets in Europe. With the opening in 1999 of its Parliament, Scottish politics is abloom as well.

Even with all that activity, Scotland has plenty of places to get away from it all. In the Highlands, you can walk for hours across misty moors and clamber up and down rocky slopes without seeing a soul, and only a shaggy Highland cow or a thread of smoke curling from a cottage chimney will dispel the feeling of blissful solitude. And when you're ready for company, you'll find it at friendly pubs and inns: For all its air of wildness, reinforced by its rebellious history and its moody weather, Scotland has a wonderfully cozy and warm side. The Scots (not Scotch – that's what you drink) have a strong hospitable streak and a great sense of humor.

Scotland's geography is characterized by the fabled Highlands, the lowlands and its coastline, which is cut by firths (similar to fjords). The national symbol, the thistle, combines with evergreens and heather to enhance the countryside. And while the land can be bleak or even barren in places, the nation has many lush, dramatic and heart-stopping scenes of beauty in others. Industry is concentrated in the central valley of Scotland and around the main cities, especially Glasgow.