Kaunas

Kaunas spent two decades billed as Lithuania's temporary capital - installed in 1920 only because Vilnius sat in Polish hands. Instead of building cautiously, it built like it meant it: Art Deco cinemas, Bauhaus apartment blocks and cafés rose along Laisvės alėja so fast that a century later, UNESCO put the whole ensemble on its list.

Most visitors do the avenue at a stroll, past the fountain and the Freedom Monument, and call it a day - without ever ducking down a side street to find the Rotušė locals still call Baltoji Gulbė, the White Swan.

VoiceMap's self-guided audio tours take that stroll further: past the modernist facades and Yard Gallery's street art, then into Old Town for the Choral Synagogue - sole survivor of thirty-five - and Kaunas Castle's ruined walls. Or step back to 1940, when two consuls, working through the nights, wrote visas fast enough to save thousands of Jewish refugees before the borders closed.

Kaunas built itself against a clock once. Walk it at your own pace, and see what a temporary capital left behind.