Underrated places in Europe (you've never heard of)

There’s a reason for that. Europe packs a lot of very different countries into a small area, so it’s easy to travel from one to another. Europe has pioneered low-cost airlines, and the borderless Schengen area makes travel even easier. Europe also has an incredible wealth of history, culture, exceptional food, and moderate weather year-round, with few extreme weather events. English is widely spoken, and the infrastructure is extremely well developed.

It all adds up to a fantastic holiday, but not if you spend it in crowds with other tourists, lining up for attractions or waiting in a queue for a bathroom. But even in this perennially popular continent, you can find places away from the tourist crowds.

While you travel off the beaten path, you can still stay connected thanks to ZenSim. Starting at AU$21 for 30 days of data and covering you for 39 European countries, including the UK, it’s the best way to stay online while you adventure somewhere new.

Dinant, Belgium

Belgium’s medieval cities, like Bruges and Ghent, often appear at the top of people’s wishlists for European travel. That’s because, in many ways, they feel like taking a step back in time. Colourful, half-timbered houses and cobbled market squares seem unchanged for the last 500 years. In fact, often, the only reminder you have of the modern world is the tourist crowds piling off of cruise ships to see these places.

Dinant is just as beautiful (see photo above), but far less well-known. Located on the banks of the Meuse River, it has a historic fortified citadel perched on something that’s a rarity in this part of the world - a hill. Its impressive Gothic church is surrounded by cute historic houses, with the river in front and a sheer cliff behind. It’s also the birthplace of Adolphe Sax, so any saxophone players will get a kick out of visiting his former home, which is now a museum dedicated to the instrument that made him famous.

Perast, Montenegro

My first trip to Montenegro was almost a decade ago. Even then, spectacular Kotor, an ancient stone city perched on a hill overlooking a dazzling bay, was getting plenty of international attention. Over the years since, it’s only gotten more famous and more crowded.

But just around the corner on the same bay, Perast offers a much more low-key place to explore. It’s a tiny coastal town and fishing village with elegant stone buildings and stunning mountain scenery, and you can enjoy it all with far smaller crowds than the more famous nearby town. Do some island hopping, enjoy local seafood delicacies, and soak up the culture of this unique town before it, too, gets discovered by the rest of the world.

Alquézar, Spain

Tucked away among the rugged landscapes of Aragon, Alquézar is a fortified town that dates back 1200 years. Built around a Moorish castle, the town occupies a commanding position overlooking the Rio Vero. The town takes its name from the Arabic al-qasr, meaning fortress, and has been beautifully preserved to maintain its unique medieval architecture.

This isn’t a big place, with only around 250 inhabitants, so it doesn’t take long to see everything here. However, the surrounding countryside is full of hiking trails and other historic towns to explore, so if you’re in the area, try to make the time to visit this hidden gem.

Piran, Slovenia

Slovenia is one of my favourite places to track down hidden gems. Sure, everyone knows about Lake Bled, but this tiny country has some of the best outdoor adventures in Europe, and even the capital city, Ljubljana, has a kind of small-town, undiscovered, laid-back vibe.

Piran isn’t a place that often shows up on TikTok reels, but that’s a good thing. This former Venetian settlement is one of the prettiest towns on the Adriatic, but it often gets overshadowed by its Croatian neighbours. That means you’ll see far fewer tourists here, and get a much better sense of local life.

Gjirokastër, Albania

For decades, Albania was shut off from the rest of the world, ruled by a totalitarian dictatorship that made it almost impossible for anyone to enter – or leave. Thankfully, that hasn’t been the case since the early 1990s, but Albania has been slow to open up to mass tourism.

Recently, places like Berat and Sarande have started appearing more on the international tourist circuit. But even visitors to Sarande often miss nearby Gjirokastër, Albania’s City of Stone.

That’s a shame, because this UNESCO-listed destination is really unique. From the spectacular hilltop castle to the well-preserved Ottoman architecture, Gjirokastër is like a glimpse of a different world. And the lack of tourists here only makes it easy to soak up the atmosphere and appreciate what makes it so special.

Sibiu, Romania

Romania is a reliable source of underrated gems. Located in Transylvania, it often gets overshadowed by popular regional attractions like Dracula’s castle. But this picturesque medieval city deserves a visit, if only to see a glimpse of Transylvania’s history without the tourist crowds.

Sibiu dates back to the 12th century, when it was founded by Saxons. By the 14th century, it had become a wealthy trading centre, and was the site of Romania’s first hospital and its oldest museum. What’s remarkable here is the state of preservation of the Germanic architecture. Take a wander through the uncrowded streets, and you’ll be forgiven for thinking that these ancient buildings were only recently finished.

No matter where you go in Europe, it’s always good to stay connected. If you’re hopping from one country to the next, ZenSim’s eSIM keeps you covered across the whole of Europe. You can access local networks in any country you go to and use all your apps just like you would at home. When travelling off the beaten path, your phone is often your best friend, so take advantage of our unlimited plans so you can explore without restrictions.

Europe Without The Crowds

If you’ve ever lined up to climb the Eiffel Tower or tried to navigate the chaos of St. Mark’s Square in Venice, you might find it hard to believe that there are places in Europe that are still unknown to modern tourism. Often, it takes a little bit of extra work to find these towns, but it’s almost always worth the effort. A great way to visit these towns is to combine them with trips to more well-known locations. So, for instance, you can visit Perast at the same time as Kotor and Dubrovnik, or visit Piran while travelling through Ljubljana.

Wherever you choose to go, you’ll get a good sense of what made European travel so popular in the first place. These hidden gems are just waiting to be discovered, so get out there before everyone else does.