The most underrated destinations in Europe for 2026 – hidden gems away from the crowds

Even if charming Plovdiv certainly isn’t underrated by Bulgarians, in 2026, it still doesn’t seem to get its flowers in the grand scheme of European adventures. There’s no reason why Bulgaria’s second-largest city shouldn’t be firmly on your radar; the range of historical attractions and curiosities is remarkable, and the city’s food and drink scene is one of the most exciting in this part of the continent. Plovdiv’s old town is the clear main event, an impossibly gorgeous warren of cobblestone streets with stories around every corner, while the impeccably preserved Ancient Roman Theatre of Philippopolis stands proudly above the city. The views are spectacular.

Time Out tip: Plan your trip around PhillGood Festival, a brand-new festival at the city’s Rowing Canal with a great line-up for 2026, including The Cure, the Gorillaz, Moby and more. 

Over the last few years, Montenegro’s spectacular coastline has finally got the attention it deserves, and the streets of Kotor, Budva, and the rest are now packed during the summer. Ulcinj? Not so much, but that won’t always be the case. Located at the southern tip of the country, Ulcinj is the centre of Albanian culture in Montenegro and provides a different vibe to the more celebrated spots up north. Ulcinj’s Old Town is arguably the most dramatically situated in the country, and its beaches provide excitement and serenity in equal measure.

Time Out Tip: For an authentic taste of Ulcinj’s cafe culture, head to the always-busy and always-exciting Kino Cafe.

📍 Discover the best places to visit in Montenegro

If there’s any city that’ll convince you that Belgium is wholly undeserving of its ‘boring’ reputation, it’s Ghent. The world’s most stolen artwork, van Eyck’s Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (the Ghent Altarpiece), now kept nice and secure at St Bavo's Cathedral, is the city’s headline attraction. But this down-to-earth, quietly edgy little university city has heaps of things to see and do besides. Trawl through gorgeous pre-loved garms, take part in the weekly ‘Veggie Thursdays’ initiative, or set your eyes on spectacular contemporary art at SMAK. Oh, and when the sun’s out, Dok Noord is the must-go district – the former industrial site is now a buzzy hub with a microbrewery and food hall at its centre, with a whole host of cultural goings on each summer. 

Time Out tip: Join the dozens of music titans travelling to Ghent in July for the annual Gent Jazz Festival. In 2026, the lineup includes Celeste, Patti Smith, and Alabama Shakes. 

➡️ Discover why we named Ghent Europe’s most wholesome city break

North Macedonia remains wildly underrated overall, but those who do make the journey to this gorgeous corner of southeast Europe tend to (understandably) focus their energies on Lake Ohrid and the statues of Skopje. Being one of the region’s great diplomatic cities, Bitola is far from off the beaten path, but that isn’t reflected in today’s visitor numbers. Those who head here will enjoy a gorgeous range of heritage architecture, head and shoulders above that of any other city in the country, surrounded by dramatic mountains and an undeniable sense of history. Known as the City of Consuls, Bitola is a city where history shimmers on every corner.

Time Out tip: When in Bitola, make sure you head west for a visit to Pelister National Park, a spectacular expanse of biodiversity and glacial lakes that was the first designated national park in the former Yugoslavia.

Derry has long been a highly-rated destination for those interested in Northern Irish history, and in recent years has enjoyed a boom in ‘jetsetting’ tourism thanks to hit Channel 4 comedy Derry Girls. Fans can visit some of The Troubles’ notable locations featured in the show including Derry’s 17th century walls; the Bogside, where Erin’s family home is; and the 19th-century Guildhall, the scene of then-US president Bill Clinton’s famous ‘90s visit. In more recent years the winding, symbolic Peace Bridge was constructed to connect the city centre with Ebrington Square, a former army barracks that now houses the lavish Ebrington Hotel, an outdoor events space and the excellent Walled City Brewery. 

Time Out tip: To really get under Derry’s skin, take a one-hour walking tour of Derry with Martin McCrossan City Tours. 

Western Bosnia and Herzegovina isn’t the easiest part of the country to access, but the many marvels of Livno are well worth the adventure. The town itself is a delightful mix of history and culture that goes a long way toward showcasing the country’s diverse heritage (expect Ottoman quarters snuggled up to 20th-century residential towers and Catholic monasteries), but it is the non-human delights that set pulses racing. Livno is arguably best-known for the herd of wild horses roaming the mountains surrounding the town, and a tour to see them in all their glory is a true must. In Livno itself, the Duman River Spring is as ‘hidden gem’ as BiH gets. 

Time Out tip: Livno is also famous for tangy Livanjski sir, and a trip to nearby Eko-sir Puđa is the best way to sample one of the most famous cheeses in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This salt-of-the-earth city on Italy’s Pontine coast, just south of Rome, is my favourite under-the-radar place for a proper beach holiday – and a great alternative to the overcrowded Amalfi Coast in 2026. A stop on the original Appian Way, Italy’s oldest and most important road, Terracina is one of three historic seaside towns in the region, along with Sperlonga and Gaeta (both well worth a day trip). You’ll have your pick of wide, sandy beaches, flanked by mountains – Spiaggia di Levante is particularly special, overlooked by the ancient Roman temple of Jupiter. Seek out bohemian cafés and al-fresco bars in the old town, which sit next-door to well-preserved ruins and Medieval buildings. 

Time Out tip: Terracina is known for its seafood, and much-loved family restaurant Vicoletto does it best. For a meal to remember, get the Catalan-style langoustine and pair it with a glass of local white.

Piran receives most of the attention, Portorož has most of the glitz, and Koper gets most of the practical stuff, but those in the know will tell you that Izola is where Slovenia’s coast shines brightest. The pace of life is undeniably slower in this gorgeous fishing village, but that’s how a trip to the seaside should be, right? Izola is positively dripping in Venetian elegance, and its narrow, winding streets hide delightful cafes, romantic restaurants, and scenes of everyday life that have long been lost to the coast’s more mainstream destinations. Izola is the Slovenian coast as you want it to be.

Time Out tip: If you’ve got energy in your legs, arrive in Koper and walk the gorgeous four-mile promenade to Izola, undoubtedly the best way to arrive.

Border cities don’t always get the respect they deserve from intrepid explorers across Europe, and that is definitely the case with Villach. This gorgeous spot sits on Austria’s border with Slovenia and offers a sumptuous marriage of the regions it divides. In Villach, you’ll find the classic Alpine scenery, with nearby lakes and mountains offering no shortage of adventure opportunities, but the city itself retains a character and energy enhanced by a significant Balkan population. You won’t find mass crowds of tourists wandering the streets and riverside paths of Villach, but you will discover quiet confidence and endless charm in a truly beautiful setting.

Time Out tip: Be sure to make the journey to nearby Lake Faak, one of the most turquoise-looking lakes you will ever come across, and a popular spot for swimming, sailing, fishing, and more.

The beautiful and almost completely untouched Peneda-Gerês National Park in northern Portugal is part of UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves, an organisation aimed at protecting, enhancing and promoting the natural heritage of regions around the world. The park is home to thousands of animal species, including roe deer, wild Garrano ponies, wolves and birds of prey. With crystal-clear waters that invite visitors to take a dip during the warmer months, remote villages inhabited by warm-hearted locals, and some of the region’s best restaurants, where traditional cuisine is prepared using local produce, this beautiful corner of Portugal is the perfect place to explore, whether for a weekend getaway or a longer visit.

Time Out tip: For a stay with a serious view, book the beautiful Cerca dos Passais – the outdoor pool is worth it alone. 

📍 Discover the best places to visit in Portugal

Denmark’s second city is a bijou university town in Jutland with cobbled streets, world-class coffee and a positive, hygge outlook on life – it’s known to Danes as ‘the city of smiles’, and has been named World’s Happiest City a number of times. Find colourful fashion (compared to monochrome focused Copenhagen at least), a stellar art gallery, ARoS, topped by a rainbow you can walk around. Plunge into its designer swimming pools set on the modern harbour of Aarhus Ø, winter and summer alike, chowing down on street food, cocktails and Champagne at the new Banken Food Hall, riding the rollercoasters in its mini theme park Tivoli Friheden, and staying in the iconic Hotel Royal.

Time Out tip: Take the train from Aarhus to Billund for the world’s best playdate: a visit to Lego House, where the country’s famously playful bricks are just an hour and a half away.

Machynlleth (you can call it Mach, don’t worry) seems like another picturesque Welsh market town with warm smiles and almost obligatory hills. But look closer, and you’ll find something truly special. For a start, the nature isn’t just your bog-standard valley; that’s the UNESCO-protected Dyfi Biosphere we’re talking about, a treasure trove of marshes, woodlands, waters, and wildlife. Mach holds a vital place in Welsh history, as it was here that Owain Glyndŵr set up parliament in 1404 as the last true Prince of Wales. Throw in a celebrated annual comedy festival and a contemporary art museum in a chapel, and you’ve got a treat.

Time Out tip: The Centre for Alternative Technology is a love letter to innovation and has fascinated visitors for decades.

Tucked between Bordeaux to the north and the Basque Country to the south, 65% of Les Landes is covered in maritime pines, the smell of which still catapults me back to childhood holidays, when summer after summer was spent in a campsite in the region. The area also has over 100km of Atlantic coastline and some sizeable lakes, so surfing, kite surfing, stand-up paddle boarding and kayaking are all on the cards if you’re looking for an active holiday (if you prefer to get your exercise on dry land, there are also 300km of cycle paths). Fancy something more relaxing? The small town of Dax is famous for its spas, or you can sip your way around vineyards in the east of the region, too.

Time Out tip: Technically, the Dune du Pilat is just past the region’s northern border, but Europe’s highest sand dune, with views of the Atlantic and sprawling forest, is still an essential visit for people visiting the area. 

📍 Discover the best places to visit in France

The largest city in Transylvania makes a compelling case for being the most fascinating city in Romania, which is no small feat considering the competition. The award-winning Untold Festival gets most of the hype, but there is more to this place than a week of electronic music and unbridled revelry. The city centre is an outdoor museum telling the story of the city and its many peoples (Cluj-Napoca has Romania’s largest Hungarian population) through monuments, memories, and quite magnificent churches. The city’s sizeable student population keeps the bars bouncing; on the other end of the scale, the Botanical Garden is a delight. The nearby Turda Salt Mines is a must-visit. After all, how often do you get to visit one of the most beautiful subterranean spots on the planet?

Time Out tip: The Zoological Museum in Cluj-Napoca is one of the most unusual museum experiences in Europe and an absolute must for anyone with even a passing interest in taxidermy.

Stockholm gets all the lovin’ in Sweden, but don’t sleep on its second city. Gothenburg, a port city off the Göta älv river in the west coast of Sweden, has all the Nordic vibes with a bit less ABBA – and about half the Capital’s population, making it a very walkable, chilled-out city break. It’s got fresh fish markets, craft beer and plenty of spots to embrace Swedish café culture, fika – these are especially concentrated in Haga, Gothenburg’s coolest neighbourhood, but a wander around the port and a bar crawl around Linnéstaden is well worth it too. 

Time Out tip: Did you know Gothenburg is actually home to one of Europe’s coolest festivals? Way Out West Festival will take place August 13-15, 2026, with the Cure and Gorillaz already confirmed on the bill.

If you’re ready to discover Vilnius’s fascinating and often tumultuous history, start on Gediminas Hill, named for the city’s founder, and take in views across the Old Town. Next, head down towards the dazzling Gate of Dawn, a mark of the time Lithuania was Catholicised on its unification with Poland (together, they formed one of Europe’s biggest states). The Station District, meanwhile, bears the influence of the Russian Empire. And all over the city, but especially further south, Soviet buildings make for an eerie reminder of the region’s dark recent past. It also celebrated its 700th anniversary last year. Here’s to 700 more (but with less war, please).

Time Out tip: Don’t sleep on Vilnius’s nightlife scene. From clubs Kablys and Loftas to prison-turned-cultural space Lukiškės 2.0, it’s the best offering this side of Berlin. 

Over four days in April, the microscope of the heavy alternative music world focuses on this small city in North Brabant as Roadburn Festival comes to town. For the rest of the year, Tilburg seems bizarrely quiet, but the juxtaposition sits just fine with its citizens. Tilburg ticks many of the boxes that travellers expect from the Netherlands, marrying delectable architecture and almost relentless creativity with a curious history and a keen respect for what brought it to the dance. That’ll be textiles, for the most part, and the city’s Textile Museum is one of the most fascinating in the country.

Time Out tip: That small statue of a man holding a jug? You might want to get the full story on that. Trust us.

Reykjavik is great n’ all, but how about this? A three-hour drive to Landeyjahöfn and a 45-minute ferry ride (with some pretty remarkable cliff views) later, you’ll be in Vestmannaeyjar, an archipelago with a population of just 4000 – and probably Iceland’s best kept secret. Here you can jump on a speed boat through the island’s caves (and see the famous Elephant Rock up close), rent a mountain bike to explore its volcanoes and learn about the Eldfell eruption at the Eldheimar museum. But it’s also got some of the best food in the country - make sure to book a table at Slippurin, a mindblowingly-good fine dining restaurant with a focus on local ingredients and sustainability. 

Time Out tip: The short ferry route runs between June and September, which also happens to be align with peak puffin season, where they waddle freely at your feet – you can even help locals save babies from getting lost.

📍 Discover the best hotels in Iceland

One of the three European Capitals of Culture of 2024, Tartu is the creative, intellectual centre of the Baltics, where city life revolves around its prestigious seventeenth-century university. Wander the streets on the lookout for lively cafés and experimental architecture: the National Archives blends Nordic and Baltic influences with a postmodern exterior, while Snail Tower’s Neolithic-inspired spiral top and irregular windows will catch your eye. In the summer, outdoor festivals take over the city, including Tartuff, a festival dedicated to romantic films, and the IDeeJazz festival.

Time Out tip: Make it a winter trip and visit in December, when a whole ‘Christmas City’ comes to town, brightening up dark nights with twinkling glass huts and ice rinks.

For the purest snow and the freshest air in the inhabited parts of the world – as measured by its local meteorological lab – you’ve got to go to Levi. This small arctic town in Finnish Lapland is packed with characterful wood cabins and presided over by Finland’s most popular ski slopes. Two hours to the north of Rovaniemi, the regional capital and home of Santa Claus, Levi has reindeer farms, snow shoe hikes and husky dog sled tours on its doorstep, along with the unique HaliPuu, where you can swing in a hammock in the trees before drinking a dirty chai latte around the fire, flavoured with herbs from the forest. It’s off the radar in the very best possible way.

Time Out tip: Aurora Borealis viewing is possible in Levi in the summer: from August onwards, when nights are darker, they are visible this far north. 

📍 Read our feature on how the Finns stay happy in winter

For a small island, Malta has got an awful lot of history (from all the way back to the Neolithic period), culture (the nation launched a huge arts festival earlier this year), and cuisine (the wine is knockout) crammed in. But did you know Malta is actually an archipelago which includes two smaller islands? Well, they’re well worth visiting: the second-largest island of Gozo was the highlight of my trip. Head to the town of Victoria to visit the immaculately restored Citadella, before stopping for lunch at Peppina, an outstanding vegetarian small plates restaurant with a sun-trap terrace and crisp local wine – it’s worth the blustery ferry ride.

Time Out tip: Go back in time at Gozo’s Ggantija, a mesmerising megalithic temple complex and UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

📍 Discover more of the best places to visit in Malta

One summer, when I was living in a cramped flat with no air conditioning on a noisy street in Madrid, with a heatwave pushing the already oppressive summer temperatures up to a truly horrendous 42 degrees, I made a break for Norway. Specifically, I headed to the small, airy, clean and, crucially, cool city of Bergen. Perched on the country’s southwest coast, its close proximity to spectacular nature makes it perfect if you’re looking for a holiday that combines a city break with the great outdoors. The city is surrounded by seven mountains, which are easily accessible and have plenty of walking trails of various lengths, and you can also use Bergen as a base to explore fjords and glaciers. 

Time Out tip: Hop on the six-minute Floibanen funicular which drops you off at Mount Fløyen. From here, you can admire the views across the city or continue your exploration by following one of the many walking trails.

Across most of the Dalmatian hinterland that separates Croatia from Bosnia and Herzegovina, you’ll only find goats and old locals wandering the barren terrain. Interrupting this moon-like landscape, two bright lakes are each named after their water colour, fringing the solitary yet thriving town of Imotski. Visitors arrive by car or bus to swim in the Blue Lake (Modro Jezero), a deep sinkhole whose azure waters reach 90 metres in spring, but only a few feet in summer. Nearby, the Red Lake (Crveno Jezero) is admired from above, the rusty-reddish hues reflecting the iron oxides discolouring the sheer cliff faces. Tourist rentals and modest restaurants attest to Imotski’s growing popularity.

Time Out tip: While you’re there, check out the Church of Our Lady of Angels at the entrance of the ancient Topana Fortress, built in the 18th century. 

In a country known for its beaches, it's difficult for an inland destination to stand out – especially one without any major cities. That’s why you probably haven’t heard of, much less visited, the western region of Extremadura, on the Portuguese border. Spot Iberian pigs roaming around sprawling dehesa woodlands; explore three biosphere nature reserves and a Unesco-recognised geo-park; and discover the region’s heritage sites, including the ancient Roman amphitheatre of Mérida and the enchanting historic district of Cáceres. And then there’s the food: hearty migas, local cheeses, the humble patatera sausage and local cava from Almendralejo. Extremadura truly has it all… except for hordes of tourists.

Time Out tip: Fancy a beach day? You might be miles from the sea here, but Extremadura actually boasts the longest freshwater coastline of any Spanish region – you can even hit the beach at Isla del Zújar. 

📍 Find more underrated places to visit in Spain