Interesting, non obvious, places in Europe

[KronkeyCroc]

So my family always pay for parents to go away on trip for important anniversaries and this year is their 50th. Previous trips for 40th was Iceland.

We might plan to all go as a family socan’t be anywhere too exotic as would be too expensive, hence looking at Europe.

Any ideas of not the usual tourist traps with interesting places to visit/ adventures to be had in Europe?

Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic.

I have always wanted to go to Verona.

If you want less city, more holiday, one of the lakes in Austria would be great - they are often lovely little towns, beautiful areas etc.

Not sure if this counts as "non obvious" but I love Madrid.

Utrect is lovely - i was not expecting it to be so. In my mind, it was industrial but definitely worth a visit.

Copenhagen - Malmo both beautiful and you travel between the two via train. Not cheap though!

Yes to Peleponnese - I have done greek islands too and our next greek holiday we'd choose the Peloponnese over an island every time. Magical.

I plan to visit Galicia once Covid restrictions are less onerous.

Sark in the Channel Islands.

Venice but out of season.

I'd say Montenegro but the flights are quite expensive. We did a road trip around Europe about 10 years ago and Montenegro and Austrian Alps were my fav by far.
Slovenia is incredible too. Lublijana looks like a literal Hans Andersen story book.

Verona and Padua are both lovely and very easy access to Venice, Trieste, other parts of Italy and even Slovenia. Padua is less touristy than Verona.

Budapest and Hungary in general are well worth a visit.

Dresden in Germany is very underrated. Could be combined with Prague for a two-city break.

I love Helsinki.

Riga is fascinating, though Vilnius and Tallinn are more picturesque overall, but it has a lovely old town and easy access to the Baltic coast.

Nancy and Strasbourg in France are well worth a city break, or you could hire a car and see some of the little towns in Alsace as well. Food and wine is wonderful in Alsace.

I really liked Vilnius.

Narrow it down a bit! What do your family like - beach / city? Museums / water parks? Countryside / seaside? Hot / not hot weather? Time of year? Where have you all been already?

I am reading with interest, Covid has made me long to travel and I haven’t been to many places at all.
I do love Sweden though, Stockholm is beautiful and the South of Sweden, by the sea, is also lovely. Sweden is expensive though, to eat out etc.

@PartyPlan

We enjoyed Rotterdam. A more chilled vibe than Amsterdam and less tourists.

Used to live there and I'm forever recommending it as a weekend city break.

The central area of Portugal - Tomar, Coimbra, Batalha, Obidos, Alcobaca plus the beaches of Peniche and Nazare are all close enough for day trips and it's only really touristy in August.

(Somewhat biased as I live near Tomar!).

Krakow in Poland is fabulous, loads of history and pretty cheap.

Following

Northern Spain & the Basque Country. Bilbao is a fantastic city with the Guggenheim Museum and Donostia/San Sebastian is an amazing coastal city with a lovely beach and one of the world’s great food cultures.

Another vote for Stockholm, loads of culture and great day trips on boats. We went for our honeymoon a million years ago and loved it.

Not unusual but Pollensa is lovely.

Malaga - food market, cathedral, Roman theatre, beach, shopping, marina.

Ghent - absolutely stunning and can do a day in Bruges as short train ride.

Seville - beautiful architecture, food, walks and a laid back pace.

Lucca is simply beautiful and so quiet compared to other Italian Cities.

Zaragoza, Spain! We absolutely adored it there. It does get super hot in the summer though (40c) so be careful of your timings.

I had a lovely holiday in Andorra one year. We stayed in Soldeu near the French border. The scenery is stunning and there's loads to do: walks, spa, cycling, caves, history, lots of outdoor activities for the more adventurous (via ferrata, mountain biking, zip wiring, white water rafting and canyoning just over the border in Spain etc.).

South Tirol in Italy. Very lovely area with some beautiful architecture and scenery. Very popular with hikers. Bozen is the main city in the area. Meran is also nice for a day trip.

Lake Balaton in Hungary is good fun

How about Albania? It's meant to be stunning and on my bucket list although DH is not keen.

Albania is beautiful, seconded! Romania also amazing, particularly north around Cluj and Bucovina. Or if you want even more undiscovered, our best holiday ever was Georgia and the mountains and wine country.