With Europe opening up soon, we thought we would focus on travel across The Pond in this week’s wrap up. It looks like Spain is following the lead of Greece and planning to open to fully vaccinated visitors by June 1. They will start requiring a “digital certificate” confirming vaccinations at all Spanish airports in May. Note that they are not calling it a vaccine passport.
We still think there will be a surge of tourists across the Continent this summer. The major cities and attractions may be super-crowded in July and especially in August. Here’s a listing of some of the primary destinations, from A to Z, along with a wonderful alternative that won’t be nearly as crowded:
Photo by Jonne Mäkikyrö on Unsplash
Amsterdam/Utrecht Where else can you go and stay at The Mother Goose Hotel?
Barcelona/Cadiz There is no place like Barcelona, but if you’re looking for a great food/drink/party spot, Cadiz can hold its own.
Crete/Kefalonia Beautiful and diverse, Kefalonia boasts terrific beaches, just off Greece’s Adriatic coast.
Photo by Dimitry Anikin on Unsplash
Dubrovnik/Cavtat, Croatia The same charm, without the Game of Thrones-hungry crowds. And close enough that you can take a day trip to Dubrovnik.
Edinburgh/Bath About 100 miles west of London, the vibe in Bath is more like it’s Scottish cousin to the north. Named for its well-preserved Roman baths.
Florence/Siena Siena is truly in the heart of Tuscany, with a beautiful cathedral that rivals The Duomo. And if you go during one of the Palio races (July 2 and August 16 this year, hopefully), you’ll see the craziest horse race in the world.
We couldn’t find an over-touristed destination in Europe beginning with G, so here are two great smaller towns:
Alster, Hamburg, Germany. Photo by Julia Solonina on Unsplash
Ditto for the letter H (this is beginning to feel like Sesame Street):
Istanbul Straddling two continents, two religions and Old and New Worlds, there really is nowhere else like Istanbul.
J is not a very common letter for tourist destinations!
Jersey, England A lovely English town with a French accent on England’s southwest coast.
Kiev/Warsaw With its old world charm and WWII history, Warsaw is one of Europe’s overlooked gems.
London/Bristol The Bristol Cathedral will remind you of Notre Dame, and you can’t visit that now.
Madrid/Porto, Portugal Portugal’s second largest city is the home of Port wine and boasts several great wineries.
Photo courtesy of French Riviera Travel
Nice/ Roquebrune-Cap-Martin Less expensive, no crowds, great views, all the way to Monaco.
Oslo/Aarhus, Denmark Denmark’s second biggest city, founded by the Vikings in the 8th century.
Paris/Lisbon Lisbon is a delight; easy to get to and navigate and full of great food and sights.
As you can imagine, there aren’t too many places starting with a Q, or just including a Q:
Rome/ Barga, Portugal Yes, we like Portugal a lot! Barga has been called a miniature Rome with a foreign tongue.
Photo by Billy Berg on Unsplash
Stockholm/Malmo Sweden’s 3rd largest city, with a legit beach. . .take that, Stockholm!
Couldn’t find any overcrowded places beginning with a T. Here are a couple of wonderful less travelled locations:
Uppsala, Sweden A beautiful college town that is easily walkable, and a haven for the Virgin Mary. And about the only place in Europe that starts with a U!
Venice/Piran, Slovenia It’s no coincidence; Piran was founded by the Venetians as part of their empire.
It’s amazing how many cities in Poland start with a W. Here’s a terrific one to visit: Wroclaw, Poland
Photo by Marc Marchal on Unsplash
LuXembourg We know, it’s a stretch, but it’s the best we can do. And you get a whole country; the European home of Miami University.
Yalta, Ukraine/Russia/Sibiu, Romania This Romanian town is spectacular, and sits in the middle of Transylvania. Dracula slept here.
Photo by Anastasiya Yilmaz on Unsplash
Zurich/Bern Switzerland’s capital, this is a true Renaissance city that was once home to Albert Einstein.
There you have it, ET’s. . .alternative destinations where you can visit and stay far from the maddening crowds. Of course, the better known first cities are fabulous places to visit with world renowned attractions and sights. But we suggest you save those for the fall if you’re going this year. Think about a visit to their lesser known siblings for a summer holiday in Europe. Let us know if you have other suggestions by leaving a comment in the section below. Thanks for reading this post on The Exceptional Traveler!