Europe is a beautiful continent worth exploring, and we love hunting for the unique places in Europe. The continent has everything from medieval-era cities, to turquoise-blue beaches and snow-clad mountains, to lush landscapes beautifully intertwined with diverse cultures.
The best part about visiting these hidden gems is the easy transportation. Extensive rails and roads connect even the smaller destinations in Europe. So, if you also love off-the-beaten path places, say no more! We collaborated with Meandersquest and thepeppygirl to curate a list of ten unique places in Europe to inspire your bucket list.
So here goes our top 10 list of unique places in Europe
Regensburg, Germany
Ideal for history and architecture lovers, a taste of traditional food and beer.
Our first pick on the list of unique places in Europe is from Germany. Supriya and Sameer of MeandersQuest love this country. (It gets an extra brownie point because they live there.)
The most unique and amazing aspect about Regensburg is its preserved medieval heritage mixed with modernity.
The winding streets of Regensburg’s old city reminds us of ¨Alice in Wonderland.¨ Its medieval-era richness will amaze you. And, to all the hat lovers out there, let us tell you a secret about the old city. The first hat used in the movie “Alice in Wonderland” was from Regensburg! (Did you know that?)
Regensburg is also home to Europe’s longest river, the Danube. We recommend a walk by the river during sunrise or sunset to soothe your soul. Apart from magnificent nature and architecture, Regensburg boasts some of the oldest cafes and breweries in Europe. How lovely would it be to take a sip of hot coffee while reminiscing about past Kings and Queens?
You can also indulge more in the lives of Kings and Queens at THURN & TAXIS Castle. Learn more about this UNESCO heritage city in MeaderQuest’s guide to Regensburg.
Sighisoara, Romania
Ideal for history and architecture lovers.
We couldn’t put together a list of 10 unique places in Europe to visit in Summer 2020 without including Sighisoara, Romania. This colorful citadel has been inhabited for 900 years, making it one of Europe’s last inhabited medieval citadels! We could honestly stop there, but there’s more.
You’ll find this hidden gem deep in Transylvania, nestled among its lush green forests and jagged Carpathian Mountains. Sighisoara gives you a perfect look into the past because it’s so well preserved. You’ll find remnants of medieval architecture like fortress walls, guard towers, and stone-paved lanes, but you’ll fall in love with Sighisoara for all of its unique features.
Right before entering the citadel through the main entrance, you’ll see it’s sky scraping clock tower topped with a dragon-scale roof. Take a closer look to see it’s wooden and metal details from medieval times. If you stick around long enough, two wooden drummers pop out to tell you 15 minutes passed.
When you’re ready to enter, get ready for the vibrant, candy-colored architecture you’ll find inside. Every street is instagrammable. Roam the lanes leading up to the staircase to School Hill, the 176-step staircase. Local children use them everyday since medieval times for school, and adults every Sunday for Saxon mass.
Learn more about this colorful town on our Sighisoara blog post.
St. Gilgen, Austria
Ideal for hiking, picnics, kayaking and nature lovers.
There are endless opportunities to see and experience something new in Europe. St. Gilgen is one of Austria’s hidden gems. It is home to fresh summers with occasional rain, abundant grasslands, turquoise-blue lakes, and cultural heritage.
The picturesque landscape of Salzkammergut begins just a few kilometres away from Salzburg. St. Gilgen is one of the beautiful towns in the region. It is a paradise for hiking and nature lovers. Its charming untouched mountain peaks and post-glacial lakes will leave you enchanted.
Strolling around this lake town will make you forget about the famous Disney village Hallstatt. In recent years, Hallstatt has experienced the toll of over-tourism. St. Gilgen has much fewer crowds, and that is its biggest advantage. Along with smaller crowds, you will find stunning wooden buildings decorated with elaborate flower arrangements.
You can wander around the beautiful town and across the lakes without bumping into anyone, just stunning views. Alternatively, you can curl up with your favorite book on the pier and enjoy the lake’s whispering waves. Now you know why St. Gilgen is one of the unique places in Europe.
Bilbao in Basque Country, Spain
Ideal for culture and language enthusiasts and sea-food lovers.
What do you picture when you think of Spain? Maybe tapas, flamenco, and bullfighters. You won’t find any of those things in Bilbao. Instead you’ll find Basque culture. A culture so unique, it’s language, Basque, isn’t related to any other language in the world. How is this possible? You ask.
The Basque people are one of the oldest Indo-European ethnic groups. Because the region is cut off from the rest of southwestern Europe by mountains, it survived invasions from the Ancient Romans, Visigoths, Moors, French, and even the Spanish up until the medieval ages! If its unique culture isn’t enough to pique your interest, get ready to eat because Bilbao is a foodie-paradise. Basque Country even sits ahead of Paris in Michelin-star restaurants!
The most well-known Basque food is pintxos, small pieces of fresh bakery bread topped with succulent vegetable, meat, and fish combinations. The best part? They lay them all out on the bar for you to pick out with your eyes. If you’d like a step up, indulge in some decadent seafood dishes like squid in its own ink or cod fish with garlic and paprika.
When you’re done filling up on delicious bites, stroll past the mix of contemporary and to the museum quarter where you’ll find the world-famous Guggenheim Museum.
Wengen, Switzerland
Ideal for ski and golf lovers, landscape photographers, hikers and nature lovers.
Yash Chopra introduced scenic Switzerland to Indians through his movies, but that is just a tiny part of Switzerland’s landscape. You will be in awe of its jagged mountains blanketed in snow, shimmering lakes, quaint fairytale villages, and a melting fragrance of gooey chocolate and cheese.
Wengen is one such fairytale land sitting on the sunny shelf of Lauterbrunnen valley. The best part about this tiny village is that it’s a car-free zone. So, you can walk from one corner to another without dealing with traffic. The timber-clad chalets, hair-pin bend by-lanes, green rolling hills, and morning mist rising from the snow-peaked Jungfraujoch will leave you intoxicated.
You will fall in love with its soothing atmosphere. Every lane will make you stop to capture its hidden beauty. If you just want to relax and sip hot chocolate while admiring its beauty, don’t worry! The cafes in Wengen will satisfy your craving.
End your beautiful day with a mango orange sunset over the eastern mountains. Don’t forget to grab a bottle of wine along with local cheese and take a sip while you admire the beauty of the mountains. Isn’t it such a lovely way to end the day?
Colmar, France
Ideal for photographers and food and wine lovers.
Now let’s hop over to its neighbor. Colmar is a beautiful city that sits near the France-Germany border in the Alsace region. This region has a long history of switching between the bordering nations. It’s what makes the city so unique! Where you expect to see typical French styles, you’ll find half-timber houses common in Germany. The influence doesn’t stop with the architecture. You can also enjoy delicious food like yummy sausages with a cold brew.
Another memorable part of this town is known as “Little Venice”. From the name you can imagine its canals weaving through colorful streets. The canal railings are covered with beautiful potted flowers of various colors. These match the vibrant facades of the timber-framed houses surrounding the canals. Many even believe this town inspired the village in ‘Beauty and the Beast’.
Oh and if this wasn’t enough, let’s talk about the Alsace wine region. They produce mostly white wines. You can feel the German influence here as well. Grapes from this region include Germanic grape varieties like Riesling and Gewurztraminer.
Luxembourg
Ideal for nature and excursion lovers, UNESCO world heritage and history enthusiasts.
Luxembourg is a delightful piece of Europe, and one of its smallest countries. The “Grand Duchy of Luxembourg” is famous for its wealth and wine consumption, but it doesn’t end there.
Once you step on the mesmerising rolling hills and see the charming villages with medieval castles, there is no going back. The wizard-crafted bridges will instantly transport you to Harry Potter’s world. To reach the medieval castles, you’ll hike through enchanting trails in the mysterious, dense woods with twittering birds and a dancing river.
Because it’s landlocked between Belgium, France, and Germany, Luxembourg’s cuisine has the best of all three countries. So, get ready to satisfy your cravings with everything from Parisian-style bakeries to Michelin-star restaurants. Now, you can imagine a quick stroll across the city will leave you stuffed and happy.
Photographers will really enjoy visiting the castle of Clervaux. It houses Edward Steichen’s famous photographs. His photo collection, “The family of Man”, is registered with UNESCO and showcases “the unity of the people”. Doesn’t this make Luxembourg one among the unique places in Europe?
Sintra, Portugal
Ideal for landscape photographers, history lovers, and slow travel.
Imagine getting on a train, leaving behind the city views of Lisbon and riding right into a magical forest. You get off at the station to realize you’ve just traveled right into the pages of a real-life fairy tale. Lush landscapes, endless gardens and a picturesque historic center–you’ve just arrived in Sintra. The first sight you will see in the center is a stunning white-walled palace with beautifully matched yellow details and orange-tiled roofs. You can’t miss the seamless mix of architectural styles: Gothic, Manueline and Mudéjar.
Now look off to the top of a nearby hill. You will notice the outline of a 10th century castle that offers views of both the town center and over the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park that hugs this town. Then, climb over stone steps and walk across the length of the fortifications. You will also spot the Pena Palace, another magical place.
A perfect example of 19th century Romanticism, Pena Palace will likely be a palace unlike any you’ve seen before. It sits right on a hill, and is surrounded by its precious gardens. While standing in the back of the palace, look over the green landscape to catch glimpses of yet another stunning palace, Quinta da Regaleira.
Yes I know. It’s kind of ridiculous. Everywhere you look there is a palace or a place worth visiting. As if these wasn’t enough to earn this town a spot in this list of unique cities, there’s many other places to discover in this fairy tale get away.
Check out our blog post to plan your perfect visit to Sintra.
Normandy, France
Ideal for history lovers, landscape photography inspiration, fresh sea food and wines.
Normandy is the best kept hidden gem in Europe. The region has always held a special place in the heart of European history. From King William attacking the English throne to allied troops storming the beaches, Normandy has always been a shining star in geo-politics. If you’re not a big history fan, don’t worry. Normandy has beautiful landscapes that will take your breath away.
Take a detour through the charming VEULES-LES-ROSES, one of the most beautiful villages in France. You will quickly understand why it’s a source of inspiration for many French painters and writers. The half-timbered houses lined up along the scenic canals will leave you mesmerised.
Much like the rest of France, food culture is unique in Normandy. Expect fresh plates of seafood and organically grown vegetables in the restaurants. The local speciality boasts of creamy Camembert cheese and traditional Calvados, an apple based liqueur that serves as a delicious digestive.
Unlike more famous French cities, people in Normandy are friendlier. It would surprise you how easily you will build a friendship with these people. Every time we think of Normandy, Mathis and Pierrick faces just flash before our eyes. We have learned so much about Normandy from them. So, without further ado, add Normandy to your list of unique places in Europe.
Zadar, Croatia
Ideal for slow travel, nature activities, and sunsets.
If you picture the perfect summer destination, what do you see? One of our favorites is Zadar, a unique coastal town filled with culture and history. As soon as you enter the historic center, you travel to a time long gone.
There are ruins everywhere you look seamlessly woven into the more modern city that sprawled around them. Some newer constructions even incorporate the historic ruins.
Time moves slower in this town. The links to the past are still thriving. It also gives you a sense that you are visiting a living museum. Usually these ruins are housed in buildings behind glass or railings, but not here. Here, they are simply part of everyday life.
Now to a much newer design. The sea organ is one of Zadar’s more unique spots to visit. And yes, it is precisely what the name implies. When the waves lap against the shore, the sea organ makes a beautiful sound. It faces the western side of town, so it’s the perfect spot to catch the sunset while the sea plays a soft lullaby. Nearby, you’ll find the Greeting to the Sun. It is a huge circle on the ground that lights up with dancing colors as the sun disappears behind the horizon.
And I have yet to mention the beaches. There is one right by the town, but you also have a ton of options just a short drive away, like Nin’s Lagoon. Right across the water there are also a couple of islands like Pag. Another great option nearby is the Paklenica National Park.
Pingback: itemprop="name">Why you have to travel to Basque Country in Spain - Travel Culture