Quieter places

I’m in Romania right now, Frank. I’ve stayed in Timisoara, Sibiu, and Brasov so far. All of them would meet your requirements, with Brasov being the busiest.

Any major towns/small cities in Sweden that are not Stockholm, Malmo, or Gothenburg. Seriously it's so quiet on the main squares but it's full of locals at the same time, the people here are just very quiet, it's amazing.

In Portugal, I really liked Ponte de Lima, Viana do Castolo, Villa do Conde, and Barcelos.
For Spain, Burgos is great as is Logrono. Leon is nice, but too many partiers.

Both Burgos and Zaragoza seem to me cities that are undercrowded for tourism, yet pleasant to visit.

There are so many options available for people that want to see more than overcrowded hot spots. As Carlos said, there are so many places in Sweden that have not been overrun. There are a few in examples in a previous thread: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/sweden/and-the-most-beutiful-town-in-sweden-is

And Tartu in Estonia is a charming university town that deserves more tourists. And even in bigger countries there are quieter places. There are many charming smaller towns in Germany e.g., so the next time you're there you could spend a night or two in e.g. Bautzen, Görlitz, Torgau or Zittau.

Get away from large cities and do the countryside and towns and smaller cities.
We did three tours in Europe, one in Tuscany and Umbria; one in Ireland; and one in Devon and Cornwall, Britain.

We did visit Dublin in Ireland and Siena in Italy, but mostly we did towns and small cities. There were still many tourists, but nothing as bad a when we visited London after our Devon and Cornwall tour. In London we felt like part of a huge herd of cattle.

Earlier this year we visited Het Loo palace (former home of William III and Mary) in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, and we almost had the entire place to ourselves. It's a beautiful palace and great to visit for those interested in British or Dutch history. They've done some conservation work very recently and it's all looking great- nice gardens as well tho as it was January when we visited it was a bit too cold for us to spend much time outdoors. This was also the first place we've been in the Netherlands where people actually spoke to us in Dutch, as I think we were the only foreign visitors there- I find in places like Amsterdam people always (correctly) assume English.

It's not a small city but when we were in Bordeaux in early October last Fall it was busy, but I didn't get the sense many of the people were tourists. When we were at the Aquitine Museum we may have encountered 5 or 6 other people.

I'm glad you asked about this. Since I started traveling more often, it's been in fall, winter or early spring. This year, I'd love to get away somewhere for 2 weeks or so in the summer as well, but I don't want to deal with extreme heat or extreme crowding, both of which seem likely in June or July. I've been thinking maybe Albania or the Baltic area, but maybe I'll get another idea from following along here. Thanks!

have any of you found a place that was surprisingly quieter than you expected.

Almost EVERY place we visit in the off and shoulder season.

We're blessed to have flexible schedules, so can pick and choose when to visit places, and while we've recently gone to Norway in the height of summer, and Paris for my wife's July birthday, we are much more likely to visit in the spring or fall and most crowds - driven by family schedules - will be at home.

Sure, Paris or London or Rome or Madrid are "always" crowded, but it is RELATIVELY quiet in most major cities, and more so in most smaller regions, during the off and shoulder seasons. Some places require summer travel for optimum "weather" - thinking the Alps/Dolomites/Pyrenees, northern Europe, and other cooler weather places - but even those are already opening/closing in the shoulder season and can have spectacular weather for outdoor stuff, and are fine for museums and the like anytime of year.

Off season really helps with this as does getting far from cities.

Next week we head to Greenland and then Iceland. In Greenland, I know it will be pretty quiet, and in Iceland, since we have been so many times this time we are headed straight for the north just to be in a quieter area.

Numerous cities in France and Germany fit the bill of getting visitors , although 99% locals (if that counts) and are off the international tourist radar.

One such place I found super impressive and an absolute delight well worth spending more time and money based on my initial overview visit as a day trip this time from Hamburg (much better than from Berlin) is the city of Schwerin in the former Mecklenburg-Schwerin in eastern Germany.

It is in eastern Germany en route to Rostock and has a different "feel" to it, no doubt. Still, so what ? Schwerin is an absolutely lovely place.

Not only is the famous Schloß (chateau) but numerous other cultural sites are fascinating. In terms of history the tall and imposing military memorial, the Victory Column , from the War of 1870 is blatantly situated in front of the Schloß.

Bottom line: if a city or town is of paramount interest to me, I'm going , assuming I can find a decent train dep. not sold out, no matter if that city swamped by overcrowding, that's irrelevant.

Great question, I asked something similar after coming back from Heidelberg just after Easter holidays, it was delightful, inexpensive hotel right by the old bridge, and few tourists. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/looking-for-other-sweet-spots-that-avoid-the-worst-of-the-crowds-in-cities.

If you're in Sweden, come spend a few days in Uppsala, yes there will be a few tourists wandering around, but not that many. It's only 45 minutes from ARN airport.

The first rule of Fight Club is: You do NOT talk about Fight Club.

We found Pesaro on the Adriatic coast to be super quiet in late Sept-early Oct yet the weather was divine. Used it as a base and visited Urbino and Ravenna. 5-star hotel with a room overlooking the beach, at 1/2 the high season rate.

Bra in the Piemonte Region is delightful; visited in the autumn. Cuneo, visited on a day trip from Bra was locals-only as fair as I could tell. Had a nice lifestyle feel.

Hoping to find Ferrara in October to be largely uncrowded. At least that is what my research suggests.

Kandersteg in the autumn has never felt overrun to us. Although the buses can sometimes be crowded the city doesn’t feel “full” with crowded sidewalks and out-and-about in the trails we seldom saw anyone.

It's only 45 minutes from ARN airport.

Or 18 minutes if you take the train...

I'm not sure that I can say that the places I'm going to name were "quieter than expected" in a positive way, but instead, they met our sweet spot of having a location with things we enjoyed doing in the area, and a relatively lively town life, with good people-watching, but not swamped with tourists. We realized that for us, however, we prefer locations that have some number of tourists. Their presence supports more restaurants and cafes, which we like.

We've really enjoyed Ghent, Belgium; Espelette, France; Bayonne, France; Arezzo, Italy (and were luckily there on the opening day of the monthly antiques faire, which I loved); Modena, Italy. We visited one palazzo near Modena that was interesting to us, but so little visited that a museum guard followed us from room to room, rather than having a guard in each room. By the end, we felt like he was another family member! I like Canterbury, UK, as well.

Evora and Tomar, Portugal were lovely and we were glad we visited, but a little too quiet for us (we spent three nights in each place).

Narbonne, France, which i researched and chose as a destination, was a little too quiet. We did enjoy sitting at their cafes on nice days, along with the locals. Also, Pamplona, Spain (not during running of the bulls); it just didn't click with us.

For me Orkney and Shetland are quieter except on days when cruise ships are in. The cruise ship stops are posted so it's easy on one of those days not to go to the popular spots like Skara Brae (Orkney) or Jarlshof (Shetland).

Hoping to find Ferrara in October to be largely uncrowded. At least that is what my research suggests.

I was there for 3 nights last October. It was really pleasant and not many tourists! On a Friday night, there were lots of students out enjoying the town.

And yes, I would also say Urbino and Ravenna fit the bill!

Death Valley at night in the winter.

It's only 45 minutes from ARN airport.

Or 18 minutes if you take the train...

By the time you walk to the adjoining train station and wait for the next train, I would budget 45 minutes.

For Germany, will add the delightful towns of Büdingen, Gelnhausen, (with Burg Ronneburg) Limburg, Idstein, Marburg, Bad Homburg, Michelstadt, and Seligenstadt. They have some stunning churches and great architecture. Büdingen especially can easily rival Rothenburg as the walls and towers here are impressive.

In Germany you can explore a small beautiful town just by mistake: if you travel to Rotenburg (Wümme) in state Lower Saxony instead of Rotheburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria - free from any overcrowding.

Another tip is to take a break between Hamburg and Berlin. Just interrupt your ICE train travel at Ludwigslust station and spend some time at one of the most unknown and unvisited palaces: Schloss Ludwigslust with beautiful cascades in front of it.

Finally any park bank in Berlin*s Tiergarten will help to escape from sometimes overcrowded capital of Germany. Or use the Room of Silence directly at Brandenburg Gate.

Thanks for the replies.

I have decided that I am going to change up my way of travel from "Slow Travel" to "Ultra Slow Travel."

I no longer run, run, run to see the sites. I want a mixture of some sightseeing, some relaxing, but lots of quiet and less crowds. While I will still visit some more popular places in which I have never been, but now will include some peaceful places as well. My stays in each location will be longer.

And that's why I asked the question.....to hear about some places many of you have stumbled upon that beat the massive throngs of tourism.

Frank, next time you are going to visit in this area, let me know. We can go visit some of the more unique small towns.

I no longer run, run, run to see the sites. I want a mixture of some sightseeing, some relaxing, but lots of quiet and less crowds. While I will still visit some more popular places in which I have never been, but now will include some peaceful places as well. My stays in each location will be longer.

Amen! We are trying 2 weeks each in 3 new-to-us locations with this in mind. Usually we spend 2 to 4 weeks each in Ortisei and Lauterbrunnen but they’ve become so intense we are skipping this year. Looking forward to exploring, day trips, living in local neighborhoods of less-touristed places.

You can find quieter places even in the most over-touristed places in the world. Get up early, or walk a little ways away from the main tourist area, and you'd be amazed at how quiet it can be. In Venice, for example, I got up early, around 8 AM, and there was almost no one in St Marks Square. One afternoon, the Rialto Bridge was jam-packed, but just a little ways away, it was very quiet, almost no tourists.

I know the original question was more along the lines of looking for cities and towns that are quieter than the over-touristed places, but I just wanted to say, even the over-touristed places can be very quiet if you get up early or just walk a few blocks away from the crowds.

You can find quieter places even in the most over-touristed places in the world. Get up early, or walk a little ways away from the main tourist area, and you'd be amazed at how quiet it can be.

I agree with Marty.

Surprisingly, Salisbury, England, is one place we've gone on several trips to England that has not been overrun with tourists. If you go out to Stonehenge, my gosh, yes; overcrowded to the max.
However, of the huge throngs that come to the area to see Stonehenge, apparently few of them have a desire to see the Cathedral or spend any time whatsoever in town.
We stay at the Rose and Crown, slightly out of town and by the water meadows. Peaceful and serene there.
Yet walking distance into town to restaurants.
One important thing for me as a senior, Salisbury has an excellent hospital. I hope to not need it, but you never know.

Stratford-Upon-Avon is peaceful in the off season. Late fall and winter are the time to go. Even in high tourist season, the crowds are confined to Henley street (tourist central!) and the RST area.
The rest of the town is quiet. Walk in any direction AWAY from the Shakespeare sights and it's a nice town. My husband and I walked the canal path. He helped some people on a narrowboat with a lock gate, had a nice chat with them, and we were invited to ride down to the next lock with them.

If you're looking for peace and quiet, travel through the English countryside on a narrowboat.

For quiet places in England, the Lake District, Yorkshire countryside, or Northumberland coast would be good places to look for a small town that suits you. Bamburgh or Seahouses would be ideal. Perhaps Alnwick or Alnmouth would fit what you're looking for.

I think if you avoid the famous sites in the big cities you can certainly find quieter neighbourhoods.
In London, take the train or bus out to the outer suburbs…same in Paris, Rome, Florence etc.
If you are a new traveler you will of course want to see the “big” attractions, but the next time you visit…..

Marty above makes an excellent point. I am reminded of my visit to Mont Saint Michel, when we stayed overnight and had the island basically to ourselves in the evening. Then the next morning we were up early to walk around at low tide with almost no one around (and this was in August, so high season). I had a similar experience staying overnight in Carcassonne last year.

You can find quieter places even in the most over-touristed places in the world

I also agree with Marty. And sometimes you don't even have to wait for the right time. Last summer we were in Cagliari. Of course we went to see the cathedral. Just so happens that the shore excursion of the cruise ship in the port was also visiting. It was hot, crowded, and loud. Beautiful cathedral, but not a very enjoyable visit.

In the same square is the Palazzo Regis, the Viceroyal Palace. We visited the palace and there was no crossover from the cathedral. We were the only ones visiting. While it may not have been as showy as the cathedral, having the place to ourselves made for a much more enjoyable visit.

I prefer to travel to places that are not heavily touristed, which means I go for second cities or cities that are not on the beaten path. I am a languages person and usually find much of interest in second cities because I not only visit for the sights but the culture (written, spoken, theatre, music, etc, which many people cannot or do not, because language seems to be a barrier). In Germany you will find almost the whole of north Germany falls into your quieter than expected. Anywhere but Berlin, the middle Rhine gorge, the Romantic Road, Rothenburg odT and Bavaria is either untouristed, or touristed only by locals. Over the last 30 years I've been to those heavily touristed places but feel little need to return, while I have visited the north repeatedly and could keep going back. There is nothing wrong with those untouristed locations, they just didn't make it into a guidebook for whatever reason; there are many towns which are absolutely splendid or have a history that locals know but which is less interesting for non-Europeans. An example would be Weimar in the new Federal states (i.e. the former east) in Germany. There are many German tourists because of the following: The Duchess Anna Amalia Library; the Weimar Republic; the Bauhaus movement; the presence of Goethe and Schiller, Liszt and Bach; the painter, Lukas Cranach the Elder; the concentration camp Buchenwald. The town is geared towards tourism, and yet it does not feel overrun. Other places interesting for tourism but not busy would include Celle or Bremen; even Hamburg. We once drove the Brick Gothic Route across the north of Germany from Hamburg to Parchim, stopping at many small towns, then from Parchim to Hildesheim and then slowly across Germany to Düsseldorf and Aachen, stopping at Christmas markets the whole way. It was a great way to see the gradual changes in market food and culture (yes, there are differences if you compare Schwerin and Düsseldorf, they are really different). Such an interesting trip; I'd love to do something similar but in another part of Germany. And yes, few tourists; we travelled in the off months but had all those fabulous Christmas markets.

Lavandula

"In Germany you will find almost the whole of north Germany falls into your quieter than expected . Anywhere but Berlin...." How very true.

My first trip to Germany as large part of the first trip to Europe in 1971 began with the main focus on North Germany. Now that is augmented by going to salient cities and towns in eastern Germany.

The "right or wrong" aspect on untouristed places in the north or east is totally immaterial to me, couldn't care less if foreign tourists choose to visit a place in eastern Germany, such as Magdeburg or Greifswald, or even the lovely and enchanting Schwerin.

By the time you walk to the adjoining train station and wait for the
next train, I would budget 45 minutes.

That's still very pessimistic. My personal record when travelling to the airport is 25 minutes from Uppsala C to my gate at the airport, but that was with a bit of luck.

Still, better to be pessimistic than optimistic about time when travelling.

Weimar...one of my top favourite small towns in Germany next to Potsdam and Lüneburg. That famous statue of Goethe and Schiller am Theaterplatz in Weimar is also here in SF.

Re: comparing Schwerin and Düsseldorf....totally and absolutely different.

When you are in Schwerin , you know and feel that you are NOT in Cologne, the middle Rhine or Bavaria, the Frankfurt area or Nürnberg.

We're staying right now in the heart of Geneva, but in a house that is set within a tranquil spot next to a city park. We see foxes frolicking in our garden, and opening all the windows at 6 am offers a cool, quiet respite from the touristy things we're doing in the heat of the day. This is the sort of experience that AirBnB lodgings often offer that few hotels can match.

Here are a few I enjoyed. These towns/cities were not overrun with tourists, we mostly encountered locals.
Italy: Brescia, Trento, Trieste, Vittorio Veneto, Ravenna, Martina Franca, Mazara del Vallo
Spain: Trujillo, Guadalupe, Cáceres, Baeza, Jaén
England: Bury St. Edmonds, Ely, Norwich, Canterbury
France: Dinan, Saint Malo, Veules-les-Roses
Belgium: Dinant

I always say this, but Pembrokeshire, Wales is a dream. We go in August. It’s not busy then and friends who went in May described it as ‘desolate’.

Germany, France and other countries are dotted with smallish cities and towns that are charming and that also often have interesting historical sites and other points of interest. I have found some on lists of designated places of interest. I believe Germany and France both have such designations. You can then look at the town’s website to see if it’s really appealing. There are many towns that have 90% or more of what heavily trafficked towns like Rothenburg ab der Tauber have but only 10% of the tourists. As mentioned Upper Franconia and Thuringia are two regions with many possibilities.