Quick answer: Europe’s best under-the-radar cities include Ljubljana, Porto, Ghent, Kotor and Matera — beautiful and far less crowded than the big names.
Skip the overtouristed capitals. These twelve European cities deliver charm, history and great food without the crowds.
12 hidden-gem European cities
Ljubljana, Slovenia
A dragon-guarded, car-free old town and one of Europe’s greenest capitals.
Porto, Portugal
Port wine, tiled facades and the Douro, with more soul than Lisbon’s crowds.
Ghent, Belgium
Medieval canals and gabled houses — Bruges without the tour buses.
Kotor, Montenegro
A walled town beneath dramatic mountains on a fjord-like bay.
Matera, Italy
Ancient cave dwellings (the Sassi) carved into a ravine.
Wrocław, Poland
Colorful market square, islands and bridges, and hundreds of bronze dwarfs.
Valencia, Spain
Beaches, paella’s birthplace and futuristic architecture, minus Barcelona’s crowds.
Bologna, Italy
Italy’s food capital with grand arcades and few tourists.
Tallinn, Estonia
A perfectly preserved medieval old town on the Baltic.
Lviv, Ukraine
(When travel allows) a café-rich, UNESCO-listed old town.
Bergen, Norway
The colorful gateway to the fjords.
Sibiu, Romania
Saxon squares and the gateway to Transylvania.
How to choose
Pair nearby gems: Ljubljana with Kotor, Porto with northern Portugal, Ghent with Bruges and Brussels. Spring and autumn give the best weather and the fewest crowds.
Related travel guides
People also ask
You Might Also Love
Written by
John Morrison is the founder and lead travel writer at Packzup. Over the past decade he has explored destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — always self-funded, never on a press trip.