The continent of Europe has been given no shortage of love and admiration. But are songs of praise equally sung? London, Paris, Rome – the great cities that are cultural centers can never be overrated. But as the spotlight shines brighter and brighter on the glories of these metropolises, the traffic in their neighborhoods (all with their own unique charm) is diminishing. In fact, certain European cities are highly undervalued. It doesn’t matter if it’s because the place has recently bloomed, or because of its quiet beauty, or because it’s difficult to access, or because there are a lot of people who just flat-out hate it. What is underrated is underrated and it is the duty of the wise traveler to explore the untrodden paths.
To do so, we turned to our network of travel experts and Europe-based writers to find out more about Europe’s most underrated cities. We’ve included everything from medieval spa towns in Germany’s Black Forest to outposts in northern Italy made famous by William his Shakespeare. All are worth seeing. Read below to find out why.
This gallery has been updated since its original publication date. Answers have been edited for length and clarity. All listings featured in this article are independently selected by our editors. However, if you book a product through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
