What is the most underrated destination you have ever been?

[Rushie1234]

Following on from the very interesting previous thread of most overrated destinations, what do you think is one of the most underrated or unexpectedly good destinations you’ve been to?

I went with low expectations as so many people had said how overrated it was, and was very pleasantly surprised, even though St Mark's was ankle deep in water.

Rotherham near Manchester?

Whitby lovely but just too crowded, went last Xmas though and hardly anyone there, half the shops and cafes open, so ok.summer is hell trying to park or just walk

Rotherham is the other side of the M1 from Sheffield @Bbq1.

Jeremy Clarkson hails from there.

Whitby is lovely. We stayed twice in a holiday cottage there and it was perfect.

Sorry for my poor Geography there! Still seemd a really unusual choice but I've never visited so i can't really judge

Agree with Whitby - I had no idea it was so nice.

The Gower in Wales. Had one of my most enjoyable summer holidays camping there. So many lovely beaches and so many interesting places to visit.

Berlin is wonderful and yet I wasn't keen to go when my DH booked it. Have been back again since as I loved it so much.

Normandy - fantastic area to explore if you love history and huge beaches.

Oh yes I also love Lanzarote. Went there on a sporty holiday expecting to hate the actual island and I thought it was quite beautiful! Had many a lovely run in the volcanic landscape along the coast.

I love Venice too. Went in September time. Was wowed at every turn. It didn’t smell. Not too many tourists. I daren’t take my now DH as he hates ‘touristy Italian towns.’ I also love Florence which people seem to hate. Again I went out of the core summer season which seems to help.

Happy not to have my memories ruined by him moaning though!

Scotland especially the Highlands

Moscow pre war. Incredible place to visit

Rajasthan in India. So much more to see than the golden triangle. Amazing food, scenery and the people are so friendly and welcoming

Canada especially Montreal and parts of the Rockies (not Banff and Jasper)

The place I thought I’d hate, but didn’t was Disney in Florida. Not sure it’s underrated by many, but as someone who doesn’t ‘get’ that sort of appeal, I did enjoy it.

Germany: were there this summer, mainly because my daughter is studying there. We visited the Moselle Valley, Heidelburg, Black Forest, Alps and bit inbetween. Really beautiful landscapes and villages. Perfect weather. Clean and friendly and plenty of space for walking, swimming, cycling and generally exploring. Very overlooked as a holiday destination.

Also, Slovenia is one of our very favourite holiday destinations. However, I would say that Lake Bled is the one place that can't be described as "underrated". It's beautiful, but it is well known and popular and appears on all the tourist literature. It was the one spot where we heard lots of English accents.

Not one for visiting now obviously, but I was really surprised how lovely odessa ukraine was when I went 10 years ago.

Slovenia from the small amount I've seen is beautiful

Really like Croatia too but not really underrated these days I don't think

Northern Ireland, the coastline is stunning

Somerset! Some stunning countryside, much overlooked and therefore quieter and cheaper compared to Dorset and Devon.

@Kucinghitam I love all these. Utrecht is fantastically unusual with all those under arches cafes etc

Verona - beautiful scenery, gorgeous food, friendly people, spitting distance from Lake Garda, easy transport. A smaller, less-dense (people and stuff), more relaxed, cleaner version of Rome.

I haven’t read all the replies yet so someone has probably already mentioned it, but for me the Black Forest area in Germany. It has stunning scenery, a lovely climate, good food and beer and really friendly people. There are picturesque towns to explore, rivers to swim in, loads of vineyards so a great wine scene if you’re into that. The cake shops and cafes are unbelievable, and we’re not just talking Black Forest Gateau (which I’m not a fan of).

I think it’s a great destination for a family summer holiday.

The Azores (Sao Miguel island). Steady temperatures of 21-23 with breeze rather than sweltering hot. Glorious scenery especially the volcanic crater around Sete Cidades. Nice hotels & amenities for tourists but relatively undiscovered by holidaymakers who aren’t Portugese.

Agree with Malaysia, it's really an amazing place to visit and the food was fantastic.

Forest of Dean, stunning scenery, lovely pubs and villages and really welcoming, unassuming feel.

The St Ives that's not in Cornwall, it's lovely but seems to be forgotten about as everyone always thinks of the other one.

Germany, as a whole an amazing place that never seems that popular.

Yh I was baffled by that thread - I've never had such a truly awful holiday I feel the need to log on and whinge. But I'm pretty boring, happy to just be out the house when I'm away.

A friend went to South Korea as her son was marrying a Korean girl. They were very apprehensive as they'd never travelled much outside Europe. They absolutely loved it and were taken aback at younger people bowing to her husband (in his 79s) as they really respect older people.

Northern Spain - the coast from San Sebastian along to Santander is just gorgeous, lovely beaches, forests, mountains, little fishing villages. So many people just get the ferry to Bilbao then drive straight south to the Med.

Budapest. I just loved that city way more than I expected to.

Completely agree with everyone who has said Belgium. Ghent is beautiful and imo more interesting than Bruges. Antwerp and Brussels also some lovely buildings, lots of great museums and the food (waffles, moules fries, chocolate) is fab. Lille which is almost in Belgium is a nice city and easy to get too.

Skane in Southern Sweden is just beautiful and really peaceful. Helsinki is really unique and interesting.

Normandy- so easy to get to and so much to see. The countryside is beautiful and the food is great. Roads easy to drive on and people much nicer than in Paris!

Oh and Madrid! Great art galleries and food markets.