Travellers share best off the beaten path destinations in Europe

Paris, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca were the top booked destinations globally this year, according to a new report by online travel agency Opodo.

Also in the top 10 were London, Madrid, Rome, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Istanbul and Malaga.

Among UK travellers, Paris, Amsterdam and Barcelona were the most popular cities. But lesser-known destinations also crept into the top 50, including Bilbao, Stuttgart and Jersey, while Bremen is on the rise among international travellers. 

Looking ahead to 2025, Paris remains a top European destination among global travellers, alongside London – with Germans making up the bulk (20 per cent) of travellers to the UK.

But with major cities like these buckling under the weight of overtourism, is it time to venture off the beaten path? On Reddit’s Europe Travel forum, travellers share their favourite lesser-known destinations.

Ferries, beer and hiking: Explore Germany’s Danube Gorge

Germany’s Bavaria is famed for its beer – and there’s no better place to try it than Weltenburg Abbey, a Benedictine monastery on the Danube River that claims to be home to the world’s oldest monastic brewery. 

Sample the traditional, cave-aged Weltenburger Barock Dunkel in the abbey’s chestnut tree-shaded beer garden before taking the ferry back across the river to the nearest town, Kelheim.

Alternatively, take the “super scenic” walking trail along the Danube Gorge among towering limestone cliffs, recommended by one Reddit user.

Kelheim is easily accessible from Regensburg, which has direct train connections with Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich, Prague and Vienna. 

With its colourful buildings and 12th-century Stone Bridge, the UNESCO-designated German city – “one of the biggest to get through WW2 without much damage”, as one Reddit user notes  – is well worth a visit in its own right.

Gorgeous coastline and lively history: Escape London for the South West Peninsula

Escape London for “a world of gorgeous coastline” in the UK’s Devon and Cornwall.

“Hundreds of beaches, cliffs, coves, miles of coastal trails that wrap all around the southwestern English peninsula, historic coastal villages with the narrowest streets you’ll ever see,” await you there, promises one Reddit user.

Hunt for fossils along Devon’s Jurassic Coast, delve into industrial history on west Cornwall’s rugged Tin Coast and walk in the footsteps of 17th-century pirates in Penzance.

The latter is reachable via the Night Riviera sleeper train from London in around eight hours.

Bike ride through meadows and along windswept beaches in Ærøskøbing, Denmark

The fairytale town of Ærøskøbing on the Danish island of Ærø will charm you with its well-preserved 18th-century cobbled streets and chilled out atmosphere.

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Visit over the festive season when the town comes to life with a traditional Christmas market or in summer for the Ærø Jazz Festival.

Take a bike ride through peaceful meadows and along “windswept beaches”, one Reddit user recommends, before refuelling with lemon cake from Ærøskøbing Bageri Aps – “the single best baked good I have ever had in Europe”, they claim.

Ærøskøbing can be reached by ferry from Svendborg – around two hours from both Aarhus and Copenhagen.

Switch Amsterdam’s crowds for tinkling sheep bells in Friesland, Netherlands

For most international travellers, Amsterdam is synonymous with the Netherlands. But there’s plenty to explore beyond the Dutch capital.

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Head north to the province of Friesland, where city crowds dissolve into “small family farms, wild heath and rocky levees”, suggests one Reddit user who took a regional train from Leeuwarden down the coast to Hindeloopen.

“Didn’t meet a soul all afternoon, but plenty of sheep. I can still remember the tinkling of sheep bells carried over the wind,” they recall.

That’s not to say there’s nothing to see here: Friesland is home to the world’s largest ice skating event – a 200 kilometre tour – and visitors can check out the world’s largest collection of skates at the Frisian Ice Skating Museum in Hindeloopen.

Further up the coast, you can also hop on a ferry to the nature reserves and rolling dunes of the Wadden Sea Islands.

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Discover a lesser known Greek island criss-crossed with hiking paths

Greece is no stranger to overtourism: in summer last year, the Acropolis introduced a cap on daily visitors to curb crowding and just last month industry officials highlighted the need for change – including the promotion of off-season travel.

While the likes of Athens and Santorini are firmly on the world map, there are still lesser-known pockets of Greece waiting to be discovered.

The Cyclades island of Amorgos is among them: “Totally off the beaten path as a Greek island and the landmarks are breathtaking,” says one Reddit user. 

“From the shipwreck to the monasteries or windmills on cliffs… but truly the most friendly people there made it 100 per cent the best Greek island ever.”

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Explore its scenic bays and ancient rocky footpaths, sample fresh local goat’s cheese and reflect at the 10th-century cliffside monastery of Panagia Hozoviotissa.

Ferries depart for Amorgos from Athens year-round, with more frequent crossings during the summer months. It can also be reached from neighbouring islands like Paros and Mykonos.