Vilnius is beautiful in the old European sense of the word: narrow cobbled lanes polished by centuries of footsteps, the aroma of fresh coffee drifting through the cold northern air, little shops with display windows that seem to ask you to linger a while longer, lively pedestrian streets lined with markets and boutiques, benches scattered along hilltop paths overlooking the river, museums in improbable abundance, lookout points where the city suddenly unfolds in church towers and red rooftops.