Planning a trip can be equal parts exhausting and exhilarating. It can feel like there are so many possibilities and options to choose from that it feels hard to pick. Do you go with the time-honored classics? Or do you branch out and head off the beaten path and discover something new?
Someone asked “What are some underrated places that really surprised you?” and travelers shared their best stories. From truly hidden gems to locations that have really improved lately, get comfortable as you read through, perhaps take some notes, upvote your favorite examples and be sure to share your own thoughts in the comments below.
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Plovdiv, Bulgaria, the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe at 8000 years old, it's got so many Roman ruins that half of them aren't even marked on the tourist map.
My answer always is Vilnius, Lithuania. A storybook of a place. The city and its inhabitants were beautifully presented and people were so nice to me.
The baltics in general are underrated but 100% worth visiting.
Trier in Germany! It’s the oldest town in Germany and has several UNESCO sites. It’s got a bridge that dates to the 2nd century AD, a LOT of Roman ruins and the Karl Marx museum in the house he was born in. It’s also incredibly safe and easy to walk around with an attractive town centre, and gorgeous scenery around the River Mosel. There’s also great, cheap local wines.
It’s very popular with German tourists I think, but less so international ones. I don’t see people talk about it much. If you like history or wine or both, go.
Turin. I went there bc I needed to travel due to a painful breakup. I lived near Italy and was craving Italian food but I did not like Milan so I gave it a try.
I instantly loved that city. Food was amazing, I had loootssss of focaccia di recco, wine and gianduja. The city center is beautiful and so are the men there lol and so nice people too. Exactly what I needed. I truly have a space for Turin in my heart and much gratitude.
The one in the photo is not a church as someone may expect. It's the Mole Antonelliana, initially conceived as a synagogue and converted to a public building when the Jewish community retracted funding during the construction. Currently it's housing the Museum of Cinematography, that holds the record for the tallest museum in the world.
Underrated for me because I never planned on going there but Scotland and the towns surrounding Edinburgh. It was so incredibly storybook beautiful and the mix of castles and pastures and legit mountain ranges were so much to take in.
If you can, I highly recommend a visit to the some of the Outer and Inner Hebrides. If you’re traveling to Norway I highly recommend visiting Orkney and Shetland along the way.
Lucca Italy.
Old renaissance town center surrounded by original fort walls, which are a public walkway now. Met incredibly nice local restaurant owners who’s food was amazing. Surrounding country is Tuscany. Old City in the modern age.
Slovenia. Currently here and half way through my 2 week trip. I’m at 30 countries and this is hands down the most picturesque place I’ve ever been.
Oh my soul I've been wanting to go to slovenia for agessssss!!!!
Pretty much all of Portugal. I went because I got cheap tickets and enjoyed it more than anywhere else in Europe that I have been.
Kenai penninsula Alaska. Seward and Homer are both fantastic sea towns with stunning scenery and wildlife. I have been other places in Alaska, but flying into Anchorage in doing those two towns makes a fabulous trip.
Malta is off the beaten track for most. small islands, beautiful landscape. fascinating history.
Helsinki was beautiful but I will say make sure you pack sunscreen if you go there in the summer time. I got sunburned at 9 o'clock at night!
Finland is amazing. You are walking through a forest, you notice a house from time to time and after 20 minutes of walking you realize that the forest is a city :D Also, pretty much everybody has an amazing accent (like a Sith lord, just not saying "my young padawan") and will gladly help you find where you need to go (maybe because they want you to leave ASAP :D). BTW, if you want to travel there by bike, go for it, Earth is round, but Finland is flat.
Dalyan in Turkey - up there in my top 3 destinations I’ve visited. Scenic, good restaurants, close to the beach, close to hiking, friendly solo place where you don’t need to worry about walking home alone in the dark as a female. I had the best 8 days there.
I love Turkiye. Favorite place to visit but haven't been to Dalyan yet.
Zagreb, Croatia!
Foggy, humid and cold in December, but so fun to walk around — lovely ppl, amazing food, interesting shops and little museums and things to duck into 😊.
Easy to do a daytrip to Plitvice National Park from Zagreb. Hiking trails all over, and it's a UNESCO World Heritage Place. I left a piece of my heart at Plitvice. At times you are hiking over waterfalls, and seeing the 16 (!) waterfalls at once was just amazing. You can drink from the rivers; it's been protected since 1954. Super clean water.
Ireland blew me away. Not exactly under-rated, except I found the smaller towns rather than the tourist spots so much more charming. Lovely people, scenery, history everywhere I went. I was just enchanted.
Albuquerque, NM. Only place I've ever visited that immediately felt like home, even more than my hometown.
Thank you for this! Albuquerque, and New Mexico in general, are hidden gems yet somehow manage to get a lot of bad press. ABQ has a long, storied history (founded in 1706), a multicultural vibe (Native/Hispanic/Anglo), lots of opportunities for outdoor activity (hiking, bike trails, the Balloon Fiesta as pictured here), wonderfully curated museums, amazing food, and so much more to be proud of. Glad to see my beautiful city on this list!
Trieste, Italy. I fell in love with the city instantly. I loved the history, the food, and the weather!
Peloponnese peninsula in Greece.
Fantastic coastline, rugged mountains and loads of history. A great spot for a road trip!
Turin, Italy. Gorgeous town in the foothills of the Alps with amazing food and a regional coffee specialty - bicerin- which involves chocolate & hazelnut cream. I don’t think it gets enough attention, maybe because Italy has so many great places.
Saving this thread for future travel ideas!
Not sure if underrated, but mine is Sarajevo. Interesting mix of architecture, fascinating history from ancient times to the tragedies of the war, beautiful nature walking distance from the city and the thing I liked most of: friendly and welcoming people. Had many interesting conversations, my airbrb neighbor chatted with me like I was an old friend and store personel telling jokes like I was a regural. Also felt really safe as solo travelling woman, much safer than western cities like Rome or Amsterdam.
The Hague, Netherlands. Another boring European city? Perhaps. But the architecture, both old and new, museums, the food, and the cleanliness of the city blew me away.
Coba, in quintana roo, Mexico. Just over an hour away from tulum, but a whole other world. Gorgeous Mayan ruins with almost no tourists, all the community extremely friendly and polite, all of them speaking yucatec Mayan. In the middle of the jungle, really. Good traditional food like tacos and cochinita pibil. I really wish I'd stayed longer, though there's not so much to do there besides the ruins. Would go back in a heartbeat, really felt like community.
Taipei is grossly under-rated. It's a fascinating city, with lots to see and do. The National Palace Museum, for instance, is one of the world's great museums but is fairly obscure. The food is excellent, and there's a great local arts and creative scene. Taipei also has excellent public transport, so it's easy to get around.
lots of Museums because the ROC government when they lost the civil war, saw how Mao's forces were destroying museums and archeological sites (after the cultural revolution in the 60s did the PRC change that, and start saving their heritage), so the ROC emptied as many museums as they could and brought the stuff to Taiwan with them
Southern Colombia (Nariño, Putumayo, Cauca, Huila, etc.). Everyone goes to Medellin and the Caribbean, but there are a lot of beautiful places to go and interesting things to do in the less touristy parts of the country. You're also less likely to be harassed or scammed for being a foreigner; in my experience people tend to be a little more genuine. In particular I recommend San Agustín, Pasto, Popayán, Tierradentro, the Sibundoy Valley, and Mocoa.
Genoa, was just a place I added due to the location and had an extra couple days. I really enjoyed it, There was so much history and character in that city.
Great museums also. The Museum of the Sea host a lot of interactive stuff for kids, including a visit to a Cold war era submarine (of a type that is still in service, that is quite unusual!), the reconstruction of a XVII century war galley, and several interesting collections related to transatlantic travels and ancient shipbuilding. The Aquarium is among the largest in Europe. At the Docks there is the tall ship used for filming a bunch of pirate movies (don't pay for the visit, not worth it). And many more...
Cadiz, Spain was such a pleasant surprise for me. It’s so pretty with fascinating history - a Roman amphitheatre that had been buried under buildings for centuries. Plus a beautiful beach in the old town!
Havana is a clone of Cadiz. It is said that the Spanish city of Cadiz has a twin on the other side of the Atlantic, Havana. This is because they share architectural styles, so their streets and squares have a strong resemblance to each other. Even in a James Bond movie, Cadiz played Havana.
Xi'an, China. It's on most tourists itinerary for the terracotta warriors as a 1-night stop, but Xi'an has so much more! Unlike most other Chinese cities, the center is completely walkable, lots of temples and many hidden gems. My absolute favorite place in China, Xi'an people are also super chill.
Mine is Budapest. It’s such a stag do place but it’s actually super duper sophisticated. Going back again in sept. Perfect time
To go.
Budapest has everything, IMO. Great hot springs. Beautiful architecture. Great museums. Friendly people.
Killarney, Ireland. May not be underrated but I hadn’t heard of it until I started looking into traveling around Ireland. It’s a small town right on the border of a stunning national park with mountains and lakes. You can walk into the park from town.
Nikko, Japan. I felt so at peace in a way I didn’t expect, but maybe all the shrines will do that.
Never though I was going to see my city Curitiba mentioned here. I would not change it to move to any other city in Brazil. I have no idea how aware foreigners are of Curitiba as a city that exists and as a foreign tourist destination. I'm glad you liked it!
Have probably been mentioned here, both sounds similar. Torino, Italy and Toruń Poland.
That's three mentions for Torino, quite an endorsement but crowds other possible places out
Note: this post originally had 60 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Bored Panda, are you sure you have the title right? Are India, Scotland and Portugal examples of obscure places tourists don't visit?
Luxembourg is very nice. Lots of beautiful architecture. Aarhus in Denmark is also worth a visit. If you're in England, get out of London and visit some of our other towns and cities that also have much to offer such as Liverpool, Bath, York etc. We have lots of beautiful scenery and beaches here as well.
Bored Panda, are you sure you have the title right? Are India, Scotland and Portugal examples of obscure places tourists don't visit?
Luxembourg is very nice. Lots of beautiful architecture. Aarhus in Denmark is also worth a visit. If you're in England, get out of London and visit some of our other towns and cities that also have much to offer such as Liverpool, Bath, York etc. We have lots of beautiful scenery and beaches here as well.
