The 50 best things to do in the world right now

Travellers, it’s time to overhaul your dusty bucket lists with these essential things to do before you die

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Catch the Montenegro Express from Belgrade to Bar

Between Belgrade, Serbia and Bar, Montenegro

This extraordinary rail journey offers the chance to travel back in time, when dusty red velvet upholstery and thickly embroidered, threadbare curtains adorned hazy carriages carrying passengers slowly through what was formerly Yugoslavia. The Montenegro Express has been virtually untouched since its Soviet-era construction – it was opened by President Tito himself – and it continues to roll along one of the last historic railways in the region. Nearly 300 miles of track stretch from the Serbian capital to the Adriatic Sea, peppered with 435 bridges and 254 tunnels. In an era of high-speed trains and white-glove service, there’s a mysterious romance to the Montenegro Express, accompanied by the rhythmic rattling of untouched china in the empty dining car. Savour this experience before it inevitably vanishes. Kristy Alpert