European Holiday: Suggestions for Offbeat Places?
January 23, 2019 10:42 AM Subscribe
Mr Bookish & I are looking to spend 1-2 weeks holidaying in Europe this year. We're trying to decide where to go and the possibilities are overwhelming us. Some criteria inside the fold - would love suggestions for offbeat places!
Budget is roughly £2000 ($2500) for us both. We like art, history, archaeology, architecture, good food, and street art. We are not looking for physical activities like hiking or snorkling. Beaches bore us.
Some places we've considered:
+ Barcelona
+ Seville/Granada
+ Lisbon
+ Yerevan (but 15 hr flights, ugh)
+ Sofia
+ Pompeii (but friends have warned us against Naples)
+ Istanbul
+ Berlin
I'm kinda itching to go off the beaten path (Barcelona & Berlin) and try something a bit more quirky (hence Yerevan). We're in the UK and I'm Scandinavian, so we want to head south and/or east. Any ideas? Any magical places you've been that others should visit too.
Budget is roughly £2000 ($2500) for us both. We like art, history, archaeology, architecture, good food, and street art. We are not looking for physical activities like hiking or snorkling. Beaches bore us.
Some places we've considered:
+ Barcelona
+ Seville/Granada
+ Lisbon
+ Yerevan (but 15 hr flights, ugh)
+ Sofia
+ Pompeii (but friends have warned us against Naples)
+ Istanbul
+ Berlin
I'm kinda itching to go off the beaten path (Barcelona & Berlin) and try something a bit more quirky (hence Yerevan). We're in the UK and I'm Scandinavian, so we want to head south and/or east. Any ideas? Any magical places you've been that others should visit too.
Budapest! Great city, super affordable, plenty of stuff to do. Two weeks might be a long time to spend there, but Vienna isn't too far away if you wanted to add another city to the trip.
posted by Grither at 11:01 AM on January 23, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by Grither at 11:01 AM on January 23, 2019 [4 favorites]
Two places in Italy, both designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites:
posted by ubiquity at 11:12 AM on January 23, 2019
- Assisi, in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region. Birthplace of the Latin poet Propertius, St. Francis, who founded the Franciscan religious order in the town in 1208, St. Clare (Chiara d'Offreducci), the founder of the Order of Poor Clares after her death and Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows. There are lots of other things of interest too.
- Cinque Terre ("Five Lands") comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore on the Italian Riviera. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park.
posted by ubiquity at 11:12 AM on January 23, 2019
Berlin is rad.
I freaking love Berlin.
posted by nikaspark at 12:20 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
I freaking love Berlin.
posted by nikaspark at 12:20 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
2nding Ljubljana although I might be biased, living here. ;) If you have 2 weeks, why not Budapest+Vienna+Ljubljana?
posted by gakiko at 12:50 PM on January 23, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by gakiko at 12:50 PM on January 23, 2019 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Flights to Tbilisi are much shorter than Yerevan for some reason. You could explore both countries in two weeks.
Outside of Albania, parts of Romania & Bulgaria, and the Caucusus to Turkey, there isn't much in Europe that is worth seeing as a tourist that isn't touristy. Which isn't to say there aren't places with fundamentally nothing to do that would be lovely if you wanted to do nothing...
posted by JPD at 1:09 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Outside of Albania, parts of Romania & Bulgaria, and the Caucusus to Turkey, there isn't much in Europe that is worth seeing as a tourist that isn't touristy. Which isn't to say there aren't places with fundamentally nothing to do that would be lovely if you wanted to do nothing...
posted by JPD at 1:09 PM on January 23, 2019 [1 favorite]
Seconding Budapest + Vienna. It's an interesting contrast because you can tell that the two cities were very similar but diverged post-Cold-War. Also Prague?
posted by madcaptenor at 1:21 PM on January 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by madcaptenor at 1:21 PM on January 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
Yes, Budapest! We went for a week in December and absolutely loved it. There was a fantastic "ruin" bar that served only Hungarian beer and wine that was delightful. We bought transit passes that allowed us unlimited rides on all form of transit for seven days and were able to explore all over the city.
posted by source.decay at 2:03 PM on January 23, 2019
posted by source.decay at 2:03 PM on January 23, 2019
Best answer: If you are willing to rent a car and have a high tolerance for unnamed roads/getting lost, try Romania. It's really beautiful and largely untouristy outside the really obvious parts like "Dracula's castle" (Bran Castle). There are painted monasteries in the northern part of the country near the Moldovan border that are gorgeous. London to Bucharest is about 3h15m on British Airways. I don't know if there's 2 weeks worth of stuff to do there, but you could combine it with another nearby country (Serbia, Bulgaria, the aforementioned Hungary).
Greece is also a good choice. If you skip the islands you avoid most of the beach crowd, and there is certainly plenty of art and history! Meteora is like a fairy tale world.
A good friend recently went to Croatia and Slovenia, and loved it although I think his vacation was more beachy than artsy.
posted by basalganglia at 2:10 PM on January 23, 2019
Greece is also a good choice. If you skip the islands you avoid most of the beach crowd, and there is certainly plenty of art and history! Meteora is like a fairy tale world.
A good friend recently went to Croatia and Slovenia, and loved it although I think his vacation was more beachy than artsy.
posted by basalganglia at 2:10 PM on January 23, 2019
Sicily was amazing. What about Syracusa with a trip to Selinunte afterwards? Or one of the islands.
Alternatively, I made a great trip to Meteora In Greece once. History, crazy monestaries, good food.
posted by frumiousb at 2:15 PM on January 23, 2019
Alternatively, I made a great trip to Meteora In Greece once. History, crazy monestaries, good food.
posted by frumiousb at 2:15 PM on January 23, 2019
Best answer: GO TO GEORGIA
Ever since we got back (in July) we've been joking that we work for the tourism ministry but oh man go to Georgia.
Off-beat for sure -- we're American and did not encounter a single North American outside of Tbilisi (and there weren't many there either). Not a lot of Europeans (other than Russians), either.
The food is incredible. It's the only place I've visited for more than a few days where I never got sick of the local cuisine. (Especially good for vegetarians!) The wine's even better, and in almost every guesthouse we stayed at the host offered us homemade wine. There are eight million beautiful old buildings, gorgeous ancient monasteries and churches all over the country, and if you're up for wacky architecture you'd be hard-pressed to beat Batumi, over on the Black Sea. Tbilisi has loads of highly photographable street art -- we spent an entire day walking around a neighborhood that's known for it. In two weeks you could see a good chunk of the country, but you'd also never run out of stuff to see.
Plus, it's crazy cheap. In Tbilisi we paid $30 a night for a big, updated airbnb right in the Old Town. In smaller towns it was more like $15-$20 for a hotel with air conditioning and hot water.
In conclusion go to Georgia
posted by goodbyewaffles at 3:10 PM on January 23, 2019 [5 favorites]
Ever since we got back (in July) we've been joking that we work for the tourism ministry but oh man go to Georgia.
Off-beat for sure -- we're American and did not encounter a single North American outside of Tbilisi (and there weren't many there either). Not a lot of Europeans (other than Russians), either.
The food is incredible. It's the only place I've visited for more than a few days where I never got sick of the local cuisine. (Especially good for vegetarians!) The wine's even better, and in almost every guesthouse we stayed at the host offered us homemade wine. There are eight million beautiful old buildings, gorgeous ancient monasteries and churches all over the country, and if you're up for wacky architecture you'd be hard-pressed to beat Batumi, over on the Black Sea. Tbilisi has loads of highly photographable street art -- we spent an entire day walking around a neighborhood that's known for it. In two weeks you could see a good chunk of the country, but you'd also never run out of stuff to see.
Plus, it's crazy cheap. In Tbilisi we paid $30 a night for a big, updated airbnb right in the Old Town. In smaller towns it was more like $15-$20 for a hotel with air conditioning and hot water.
In conclusion go to Georgia
posted by goodbyewaffles at 3:10 PM on January 23, 2019 [5 favorites]
Malta (we went on our honeymoon a million years ago). It is jam packed with cool archaeology - prehistoric, early Christian, Medieval, WWII, and contemporary.
posted by Ashwagandha at 3:54 PM on January 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Ashwagandha at 3:54 PM on January 23, 2019 [2 favorites]
I was there 14 years ago (you can even see my ask question!) But I'll second Georgia as an amazing place.
posted by JPD at 4:43 PM on January 23, 2019
posted by JPD at 4:43 PM on January 23, 2019
Another vote for Georgia. Lisbon is also delightful.
posted by the duck by the oboe at 6:59 PM on January 23, 2019
posted by the duck by the oboe at 6:59 PM on January 23, 2019
Best answer: I loved Yerevan!
Ukraine was some of the most culture shock I’ve felt in Europe. Odessa and Lviv were great (but still get a fair number of tourists.) I did some long train trips there and was generally the only obvious foreigner on the train and in smaller cities we stopped at along the way.
You might enjoy Sarajevo too
posted by horizons at 8:28 PM on January 23, 2019
Ukraine was some of the most culture shock I’ve felt in Europe. Odessa and Lviv were great (but still get a fair number of tourists.) I did some long train trips there and was generally the only obvious foreigner on the train and in smaller cities we stopped at along the way.
You might enjoy Sarajevo too
posted by horizons at 8:28 PM on January 23, 2019
What fun! I lived in Berlin for several years and although I liked Berlin, Budapest and Prague, I LOVED my time in Belgrade and Sofia... although knew locals in both places which probably helped. I also love Warsaw, just wandering around and going to the old Milk Bars and the Jewish museum and learning about Copernicus and going see weird plays at night. You might also really like Krakow which is actually nice on the eyes (unlike Warsaw).
If you really like art, architecture, and eating, though..... ROME.
posted by athirstforsalt at 9:16 PM on January 23, 2019
If you really like art, architecture, and eating, though..... ROME.
posted by athirstforsalt at 9:16 PM on January 23, 2019
Seconding Sicily -- I was there last winter and it was beautiful. Palermo is overflowing with amazing architecture and art, representing so many layers of kingdoms and conquerers over the centuries. There are fascinating Greek and Roman ruins scattered across the island, beautiful hill towns like Erice, lots of fantastic food, and the place didn't feel overrun by tourists like much of Italy can sometimes seem.
I've also spoken highly of Istanbul here before and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it now.
posted by theory at 9:23 PM on January 23, 2019
I've also spoken highly of Istanbul here before and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it now.
posted by theory at 9:23 PM on January 23, 2019
Berlin is the best city in the world. I love Berlin so, so much.
I loved Istanbul too, although I might look a little more into the current political situation -- I missed the Taksim Square uprising by three weeks, and unfortunately haven't been back since. I bow to those with more current knowledge, though. It's a magical place, though, and I hope I can get back someday.
I'm starting to plan to visit Romania this autumn - Bucharest definitely, but I've had friends go to Sibiu and it's lovely in their photos.
I haven't spent much time in Kiev - literally overnight, once -- but it's a fascinating place. Again, might want to keep an eye on the political situation before making hard plans for there.
(Also now everyone's convinced me to add Georgia to my autumn trip.)
posted by kalimac at 10:08 PM on January 23, 2019
I loved Istanbul too, although I might look a little more into the current political situation -- I missed the Taksim Square uprising by three weeks, and unfortunately haven't been back since. I bow to those with more current knowledge, though. It's a magical place, though, and I hope I can get back someday.
I'm starting to plan to visit Romania this autumn - Bucharest definitely, but I've had friends go to Sibiu and it's lovely in their photos.
I haven't spent much time in Kiev - literally overnight, once -- but it's a fascinating place. Again, might want to keep an eye on the political situation before making hard plans for there.
(Also now everyone's convinced me to add Georgia to my autumn trip.)
posted by kalimac at 10:08 PM on January 23, 2019
Thirding Sicily! I love the late night dinners, how everyone throngs in the public squares in Palermo between 7pm to 10pm drinking and chatting. The Greek and Roman ruins were wonderful. My best memory was a long lunch in an agriturismo. Food is amazing and so cheap. Lots of limoncello. Not at all touristy.
You could hire a car in Rome/ Naples, visit Pompeii, then take the overnight car ferry or train to Sicily. That's what we did.
posted by moiraine at 1:23 AM on January 24, 2019
You could hire a car in Rome/ Naples, visit Pompeii, then take the overnight car ferry or train to Sicily. That's what we did.
posted by moiraine at 1:23 AM on January 24, 2019
My dad (who has pretty similar holiday interests to your list, as do I) spent a week in Naples last year around a trip to Pompeii, and he really loved the city. He'd heard the same negative reports, but he found great food and coffee, and said it was super interesting and friendly. Pompeii, which he's been dreaming about for years, was incredible but also so intensely touristy as an experience that one day was enough. I'm not sure it would be a two-week venue unless you are looking for a very low key schedule, and I think he did plenty of relaxed reading/strolling/pretending-to-be-a-local-on-a-day-off even within that week.
posted by carbide at 6:51 AM on January 24, 2019
posted by carbide at 6:51 AM on January 24, 2019
(Having just done some preliminary flights/logistics/photos browsing on Yerevan, that looks unbeatable, though.)
posted by carbide at 7:00 AM on January 24, 2019
posted by carbide at 7:00 AM on January 24, 2019
Response by poster: Thanks everybody! Some good suggestions in there. Mr Bookish and I are actively trying to avoid places with very right-wing governments, so we are swerving Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic etc. Trying to find somewhere interesting, affordable and politically sound is quite a task! We might just go to Orkney at this rate ..
posted by kariebookish at 4:26 AM on January 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by kariebookish at 4:26 AM on January 25, 2019 [2 favorites]
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posted by DarlingBri at 10:54 AM on January 23, 2019