Yes, we know. ‘Hidden gem’ is one of those travel phrases that’s been stretched so thin it barely means anything anymore. Every destination with a cobbled street and a decent sunset has been called one at some point.
But the underlying impulse – wanting to travel somewhere that hasn’t been entirely swallowed by overtourism, somewhere you can actually sit down for lunch without a 45-minute wait – that still holds up.
From Paris to Prague and Barcelona to Berlin, Europe’s most famous cities are magnificent, but they’re also heaving. These six offer culture, beauty and character in equal measure, minus the crowds and the queuing. So while we’ll spare you the breathless ‘best kept secret’ routine, and instead present these; our six European destinations that remain, for now at least, genuinely less crowded alternatives to the continent’s big hitters.
Corvara, Italy
Ideal for Dolomite drama without the Val Gardena traffic jams…
Most British travellers heading to the Italian Alps default to the bigger, better-known resorts in Val Gardena or Cortina d’Ampezzo. Corvara, a village of barely 1,400 people at the head of the Val Badia in South Tyrol, tends to slip under the radar entirely. That’s a mistake. Sitting at 1,568 metres, surrounded by UNESCO-listed Dolomite peaks, Corvara is the main hub of the Alta Badia region and one of the most spectacular settings in the entire Alpine arc.
In summer, the hiking is extraordinary. The Sassongher summit (2,665m) rises directly above the village, trails wind through the Puez-Odle Nature Park, and the cable car up to Piz Boè – the only 3,000-metre peak in the Sella Group – opens up a landscape that looks more like the surface of the moon than anything you’d expect in northern Italy. For cyclists, the Sella Ronda Bike Day closes the four Dolomite passes to traffic entirely, handing the roads over to two wheels.
Back in the village, there’s a hotel facility in Corvara at the Col Alto that makes a comfortable base, and the food scene across Alta Badia is remarkable for a valley of just 6,000 people; three Michelin-starred restaurants sit within a short drive, alongside traditional Ladin mountain huts serving up hearty local cooking.
Piran, Slovenia
Ideal for Venice vibes at a fraction of the price (and none of the crowds)…
Slovenia’s entire coastline stretches just 47 kilometres. Blink and you’ll miss it. But tucked at the tip of a narrow peninsula on the Adriatic sits Piran, a town of around 4,000 people that looks and feels uncannily like a miniature Venice. That’s no coincidence: Piran spent over 500 years under Venetian rule, from 1283 to 1797, and the architecture tells the whole story. Narrow alleys thread between stone buildings, a bell tower modelled on St Mark’s Campanile rises above terracotta rooftops, and the car-free old town has a pace of life that feels decades removed from the resorts next door.
The heart of the town is Tartini Square, an elegant oval piazza named after the violinist and composer Giuseppe Tartini, who was born here. The 14th-century Church of St. Francis of Assisi sits within the Minorite Convent, where monks still chant in summer. Climb the medieval town walls for panoramic views across the Gulf of Trieste, or walk out to the lighthouse at the peninsula’s tip for one of the better sunsets on the Adriatic.
The food is Istrian: strong Italian influence, superb seafood, local Malvazija white wine and Refošk red from vineyards just inland. Prices run roughly half what you’d pay in Venice for a comparable meal. Trieste airport in Italy is just 40 minutes’ drive away, or it’s a 90-minute trip from Ljubljana, making Piran an easy add-on to a wider Slovenian trip that takes in Lake Bled and the Julian Alps.
Pietrapertosa, Italy
Ideal for breathtaking, cascading hilltop scenery…
Found on the slopes of Monte Impiso is the small village of Pietrapertosa, built into the rock face of the Lucanian Dolomites. Although the village is small, there is plenty to do when visiting. The zip line between Pietrapertosa and neighbouring Castelmezzano, the Volo dell’Angelo, or Flight of the Angel, sends riders across the valley at speeds of up to 120 km/h, and is one of the most thrilling experiences in southern Italy. From there, make your way up to the Saracen Fortress for the best views of the surrounding rock formations and the cascading countryside below.
There are several religious sites scattered across this stunning village, including the Chapel of Our Lady of the Cave and the hermitage of Our Lady of Olive Trees. A great alternative to Rome or Naples, Pietrapertosa still offers all the historical and natural beauty you could want, with a fraction of the visitors.
Read: The top 10 foodie destinations in Italy
Mechelen, Belgium
Ideal for medieval architecture and sipping Belgian beer in the sun…
Located between Brussels and Antwerp, Mechelen is an easy hop from either city but attracts a sliver of the tourists that descend on Bruges or Ghent. That’s what makes it worth the trip. The town is home to the Burgundian Hof Van Busleyden, a beautifully restored 16th-century palace, the towering St. Rumbold’s Cathedral and its 97-metre bell tower, and the Margaret of Austria statue commemorating the regent who made Mechelen the administrative capital of the Low Countries in the early 1500s.
It’s a strong choice for families too. The Planckendael Zoo and Toy Museum will keep children occupied, and the town’s compact centre is easy to navigate on foot. While the little ones explore, you can settle in with a glass of Mechelen’s acclaimed beer, Gouden Carolus, brewed at the Het Anker brewery in the town centre since the 15th century.
The Faroe Islands, Denmark
Ideal for magnificent hiking routes, raw unspoilt nature and an isolated getaway in the best possible way…
The Faroe Islands are a Danish archipelago of 18 rocky, windswept islands situated between Norway and Iceland. With a population of around 55,000, outnumbered significantly by the sheep that graze across the islands’ treeless hills, this is about as far from a tourist trap as Europe gets. The Faroes consistently rank among the safest places to visit in the world, and the landscapes are extraordinary: think sheer sea cliffs, grass-roofed villages clinging to hillsides, and waterfalls that tumble directly into the ocean.
The Múlafossur Waterfall on Vágar Island, which drops from a cliff edge straight into the sea, is one of the most photographed sights in the North Atlantic, and the cliff lake of Sørvágsvatn, which appears to hover above the ocean from certain angles, is well worth the hike. For those who love exploring raw, rocky terrain, the Faroes deliver in a way few places in Europe can match.
Direct flights from Copenhagen take just two hours.
Perast, Montenegro
Ideal for laid back coastal living complete with heritage and history…
One of Montenegro’s smallest coastal villages, Perast is home to fewer than 300 people and has just a single main road running along the waterfront. This idyllic settlement sits on the Bay of Kotor, a fjord-like inlet that cuts deep into the Montenegrin coast, and was originally a port trading between the Ottoman Empire and the Venetian Republic. Despite its size, the village has 16 churches and 17 palazzos, a remarkable concentration of Baroque architecture for a place you can walk from end to end in ten minutes.
A visit here isn’t complete without a boat trip to Our Lady of the Rocks, an artificial island built from sunken ships and stones over centuries by local sailors, topped with a small church filled with votive paintings. The neighbouring natural islet of St. George, home to a Benedictine monastery, completes the picture. Perast is one of those rare places where the beauty feels effortless and entirely unmanufactured, one of Europe’s most compelling corners, and still largely overlooked.
The Bottom Line
Tourist traps be damned; Europe isn’t only about the big hitters. The continent is full of places that reward the curious traveller willing to look beyond the obvious, and in 2026, with overtourism dominating the conversation from Amsterdam to Zagreb, there’s never been a better reason to seek them out.
