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4 Underrated European Destinations
These cities are easy to get to from their more famous and more popular neighbors. If you visit, you’ll find a slower pace, fewer tourists, and greater orientation to locals than to tourists.
Friendships with locals have driven my return visits
As I look at these somewhat off-the-radar places that I have enjoyed visiting multiple times, I see that they have one characteristic in common: delightful friendships with people who live there.
Yes, it’s very definitely my relationships with local folks that have kept me coming back over the years. But even if you don’t know anyone who lives in these places, you can still savor the delights that the locals enjoy, and do it in an environment that has a much smaller ratio of tourists to locals.
Arras, France [10 times]
Population: 40,000, less than an hour by TGV from Paris
I have been to France twelve times. During those visits, I have been to Arras ten times.
My first visit took place in 1990, my second time in France. I stayed with local Servas* hosts that I have since come to call my French family.
