Forget The Capitals! 3 Smaller European Cities Named Best Destinations By Experts

It’s solely pure that, when planning a visit in a European nation, vacationers will normally begin with the capital.

After all, it’s normally the most important metropolis, most cosmopolitan hub, and a cultural coronary heart of kinds.

Think London and its bustling streets, double-decker buses, and iconic purple phone containers, Paris with the Eiffel Tower and chic Haussmann boulevards, or Berlin and its edgy city artwork scene and electrifying nightlife.

Occasionally, nonetheless, the capital won’t be the perfect illustration of, a lot much less the best introduction to, a nation.

That’s one thing we at Travel Off Path have picked up on years in the past, and what’s impressed us to chase after lesser-known, underrated options, but it surely’s lastly drawing the eye of different main retailers.

Are Second Cities Better?

Just lately, the favored baggage storage firm Radical Storage printed an inventory of Europe’s top-rated “second” cities. As in, essentially the most populous city areas after a capital.

In that listing, the general vacationer expertise was higher in 10 out of 44 second cities was “better”, making an allowance for elements like lodging, meals, tradition, and native points of interest. 

3 particularly stand out, as except you’re an avid Travel Off Path reader and well-versed in European hidden gems at this level, a few of these names would possibly shock you:

Novi Sad, Belgrade

Instead of Belgrade

Trailing after a million-people-strong Belgrade, with a inhabitants of round 368,000, Novi Sad is commonly handled as Serbia’s second-best provide, however might it’s that it’s simply been overlooked all alongside?

Home to a postcard Old Town, reduce by way of with winding cobbled streets, peppered with conventional eateries, and dominated by a hovering Neo-Gothic cathedral, in a putting yellow, it’s Belgrade’s extra calm, idyllic sister.

Much just like the Serbian capital, it sits on the banks of the Danube, lined with an imposing Petrovaradin and alluring riverside bars, and it simply exudes Old World appeal.

According to Radical Storage, Novi Sad boasts a whopping 102 points of interest rated over 4/5 stars. With a median meal value of $9.80 per particular person and lodges costing roughly $ 39 per evening, it ranks amongst Europe’s most reasonably priced metropolis breaks.

Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Instead of Bucharest

Unless you’re significantly keen about communist constructing blocks and that Twentieth-century modernist blight, chances are high you received’t discover what you search in Bucharest, Romania’s sprawling, overly gray capital.

Now, in case you’re dreaming of pointy church spires, slender winding lanes, and Transylvanian aesthetics, it’s best to head to Cluj-Napoca as an alternative:

Boasting much less city air pollution and extra medieval attract than Bucharest, the attractive Cluj is characterised by its lush gardens, most notably Cetatuita Park, landmark Saint Michael Church, a Gothic marvel relationship again to the Middle Ages, and proximity to nature.

The mystic Hoia-Baciu Forest, well-known for its twisted bushes, is a brief half-hour drive away, and Cluj itself is a gateway to the verdant Apuseni Mountains, a hiker’s paradise in central Romania.

As a cultural hub, it options 155 points of interest with 4 stars and above, and its eating places are equally well-rated.

Speaking of meals, ordering your self a Transylvanian lamb stew with onion and a few beer will set you again by not more than $7.95.

Kutaisi, Georgia

Instead of Tbilisi

Last however not least, Tbilisi has grow to be fairly the trendy off-path destination in recent times since its discovery as a digital nomad hub.

Other than distant staff, short-term guests have been flocking there for the good wine—do you know Georgia is the place wine was invented?—energetic social scene, and historic sights, however only a few have been mentioned about Kutaisi.

Georgia’s second-busiest hub, and a fast-growing metropolis within the wine area of Kakheti, it makes for an awesome Tbilisi dupe on account of its historic significance and pure points of interest.

Perched on a hill overlooking town, the medieval Bagrati Cathedral is among the largest in Georgia, and within the very middle of city, the monumental, gold-clad Colchis Fountain celebrates the nation’s wealthy previous.

Other must-sees embody the Soviet-era State Opera and the Green Bazaar, a farmers market the place you should purchase freshly-baked Georgian dumplings and homegrown wine straight from Georgian arms.

In the neighborhood of town, you’ll discover an UNESCO-listed Gelati Monastery, the aeons-old Prometheus Cave, a fancy system of underground rivers and naturally-illuminated stalactite chambers, and the emerald-green Martvili Canyon.

Additionally, you’ll be spending a median $42.33 per evening in lodges right here, in comparison with Tbilisi’s pricier $63.60.

Vinicius Costa

Vini, our senior lead author at Travel Off Path, has over 60+ international locations below his belt (and at present weaving tales from Paris!), and a knack for turning off-the-beaten-path experiences into informative tales that can have you ever packing your baggage.