I’m from Jaén, and I’ve been lucky enough to visit some of Europe’s iconic cities, like Paris in France, Florence in Italy, and Berlin in Germany. Each of these left a lasting impression, but since I’m traveling on a budget, I’ve mostly stuck to more famous spots. Now, I’m curious if any of you have explored less popular cities or countries that ended up being hidden gems. Also, if anyone has budget-friendly travel tips for Europe, I’d love to hear them!
Stay away from Slovenia and Slovakia. They are soooo boring and soooo expensive (and I want them for myself, people are really nice, good prices and incredibly beautiful)
It’s not necessarily less popular or considered a hidden gem I don’t think, but I absolutely adored Crete, which is the biggest island in Greece. Specifically stayed in Chania. There is SO much to do there, it’s beautiful, the people are so friendly and welcome, the food is literally to die for! It’s not overly crowded or overfilled with tourists. Everything about it is pretty perfect in my opinion.
@Zen
I haven’t been to Crete but the island of Hydra broke my heart with its beauty. Such a small peaceful place, there aren’t cars even. Stunning bay.
France. I like these cities: Rouen, Caen, the Normandie D Day beaches and museums, Rennes and Brest in Brittany, Nantes, Tours and the Loire Valley Castles, Angers, Orléans, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Carcassonne, Aix-en-Provence, St Tropez, Nice, Orange, Lyons, Mont Blanc, Chambéry, Dijon, Troyes, Reims, Épernay. Each has lots of history and the countryside is beautiful. Hotels and meals are reasonable.
@Kiran
Omg Rouen.
I think my travel experience in Aarhus might interest you. You can stroll through the old Latin Quarter with its cobblestone streets and colorful buildings. There are tons of independent bookstores, antique shops, and boutiques, and the cafés lining the streets are always full of people, making it super easy to spend an entire afternoon there. Even in a place packed with history, you’ll stumble across graffiti and modern art installations every now and then.
Aarhus is also home to the famous ARoS Art Museum, where the rooftop rainbow panorama is the main attraction. Walking along the rainbow walkway, you get an incredible, colorful view of the entire city beneath you. It’s the kind of experience that’s hard to forget!
The local food scene also left a big impression on me. You can find everything from traditional Danish eateries to trendy modern restaurants. The food culture in Aarhus is super diverse, with everything from fresh seafood to delicate pastries. You can try authentic Danish open-faced sandwiches or pop in.
@Jules
Adding to this, the Botanical Garden in Århus is really nice, and most of all, free!
@Jules
He said on a budget. Aarhus is preeeeeetty expensive man haha.
Portugal. Specifically the Azores, which are not continental Europe but are absolutely worth your time.
I’ve been to over 25 European countries. My other favorites for “less popular” would be:
- Montenegro
- Albania
- Baltics (esp. Estonia)
- Croatia, although way more touristy lately
- Poland (esp. Krakow)
I’d also do Prague and Budapest if I were you. IMO two of the most impressive and beautiful cities in Europe, and at a fraction of the cost of the main “tourist” cities like Paris, Rome, etc. These are definitely still tourist cities, but seem more authentic and are definitely better bang for your buck overall.
All that said, Berlin is my favorite major city in Europe - but I’m a WWII history buff and love electronic music so I am biased.
@Tan
Are you me? I have basically the exact same list.
Y’all haven’t lived until you’ve travelled through Albania. What a funny/weird/fun/interesting/CHEAP country.
@Tan
Upvoted because I absolutely LOVED Berlin for the EXACT same two reasons. Just left a couple days ago.
Portugal (Lisbon/Algarve)
Denmark (Copenhagen/Aarhus)
Bosnia (Sarajevo/Mostar)
Montenegro (Kotor)
Barcelona
Sardinia
Tenerife (once you leave the tourist area)
Serbia (Belgrade)
Greece (Thessaloniki/Chios)
Croatia
Poland (Krakow)
Bulgaria (Sofia)
@West
Copenhagen is soooooooooo expensive!
I enjoyed Cambridge. I stayed at Christ College on campus. You can find more here. It was ridiculously affordable and included breakfast. It was right outside of the lovely Darwin Garden and other places that someone more familiar than me with the Harry Potter films might recognize.
The city is walkable and charming. I took a punting tour, had the famed Fitzbillies Chelsea Buns, and saw the famed Watson and Crick pub, named the Eagle.
The weather was mild despite it being mid December.
I took a walking tour, I was literally the only person on it, and took lovely photos at the golden hour.
I had nice lunches and dinners that I recall as being quite affordable. I went to a seasonal pantomime, Dick Whittington and his Cat, which was the absolute oddest travel experience of my life. Everyone was eating ice cream indoors, though it was the dead of winter, and the entire plot was a running gag about a Dick and his pussy, despite the show being designed for families. They even had the most ribald character bring kids on stage, ask them what they wanted Father Christmas to give them and say their favorite part of the show. I loved it.
The city has a wonderful market, tons of bookstores, and cute boutiques.
so as a german who has been lightly seasoned with salsa valentina (i have some indigenous genes from the rio santiago in jalisco, méxico), i would go to turkey. i had a friend that invited me to their house and had this egg pastry dish. it was super mf good but i say turkey as well cos i believe you can a whole lot for a bargain in the markets. id also say go to turkey cos the ppl there are fine asf imo lol 
Buddy you already live in Andalusia, the best part of Europe. But if you are still curious to see different come to Bosnia (Sarajevo, Mostar, Tuzla). All budget friendly. Rafting at Tara river is a life changing experience IMHO. River Una also unbelievable.
I live in Europe (Netherlands) so take this as you will:
The popular ones:
- Rome is a must at least once in your life
- Amsterdam is good for a day or two
- Copenhagen you can skip, there’s nothing there
- Stockholm is worth a day trip for the Vasa and Skansen if that’s your thing
- Brussels you can skip unless you really want a Belgian waffle, specifically.
Lesser known (or not) places:
- Cologne for the Christmas markets
- Lots of smaller Dutch towns like Leiden, Delft, Alkmaar, Maastricht.
We go to Europe a couple of times a year, and hands down my favorite trip was a meandering drive across Switzerland. We flew into Zurich and drove through Bern, Thun, Lauterbrunnen, etc, just taking our time. We ended the road trip in Geneva then took a train to Paris for a few days and flew home. It was not the cheapest trip, but it was worth it.
Switzerland is gorgeous. We visited the town of Wengen. It was stunning. Then we took the scenic train ride up to Jungfraujoch aka the “Top of Europe.” It’s something we’ll never forget.