If you consider fairytale castles, cobblestone cities frozen in time, and picturesque plazas lined with cafés, likelihood is you’re imagining Western Europe.
As a lot as safety has taken a flip for the more severe in recent times—particularly in comparison with the Eastern entrance—there’s no denying the West is totally beautiful: from the canal-crisscrossed cities within the coronary heart of Flanders, right down to the rolling inexperienced hills of Alsace, all the way in which to the Swiss Alps.
I’ve already given you 5 hiddem gems in Europe as a entire that you simply should not be sleeping on, and my all-time favorite Greek island out of over 20 I’ve ticked off. Now, it is time I shout out my personal yard.
As the previous saying goes: East Least, West Best. Let’s dive in!
PLUS: I’ve constructed a quiz for you on the finish of the article to search out your excellent match, so stick round!
5 Bucket List Destinations In Western Europe
Thun, Switzerland: The “Anti-Glitz Alpine”
I get it, Switzerland’s not for everyone, particularly budget-conscious vacationers who’re very cautious of paying upwards of $100 on cable automobile rides, and splurging equally-obscene quantities of cash on mountaintop eating places and cogwheel prepare rides.
No, Thun shouldn’t be a uncommon exception to the ‘Switzerland will bleed your pockets dry’ rule, however I will say it’s completely value each hard-earned penny spent.
Lining the crystal-clear shores of Thunersee, an alpine lake flanked by snow-capped mountains, it’s a medieval treasure a majority of the Interlaken-bound vacationers whoosh previous with the prepare with out even casting a look out the window.
Thun is that picture-perfect medieval city you didn’t know you desperately wanted visiting till this level.
I’m speaking car-free, cobble-paved lanes lined with centuries-old buildings, framed by your normal overhanging Swiss and Bernese canton flags, sunlit market squares, and an idyllic riverfront with gelato stops and cafés spilling onto the promenad.
The coolest factor about Thun is that its principal thoroughfare, Obere Hauptgasse, has raised platforms you possibly can stroll on, working adjoining to the road itself, above the arcades on each side. On this “upper path,” there are much more quirky boutiques and eateries with terraces overlooking the vigorous avenue under.
That mentioned, it is the whitewashed, Disney-like Schloss Thun that pulls probably the most eyeballs: sitting excessive on a hill above the 800-year-old sprawl, it provides Thun that basic European skyline.
If you’re visiting in summer season, you need to know Thun Lake turns a beautiful glacier-blue, and ice-cold as it could be, it feels notably refreshing on a scorching day within the Alps.
People normally hang around by the water having fun with ice cream, and a few even take a stab at paddleboarding or swimming, prefer it’s the Swiss Riviera… besides the Montreux golf dads and their accent pearl-clutching madames are blissfully absent.
The Vibe: French Riviera power with out the Montreux glitz and glam
Perfect For: a chill, laid-back alpine escape in summer season
The ‘Don’t Miss’ Experiences:
- Obere Hauptgasse: stroll alongside Thun’s Main Street and its elevated platforms
- Kayak on Thunersee: for views of the Alps and Thun’s castle-dominated skyline from a distance
Colmar, France: The “Fairytale Flex”
I’m a proud Parisian myself, and an absolute sucker for Haussmann structure and our vast, leafy boulevards, but when there’s one French stunner that deserves a function on this record is Colmar.
A small metropolis in japanese Alsace, probably the most German-looking area in France, it is like a life-sized Beauty And The Beast village. Think crooked, half-timbered homes in each possible coloration, winding waterways navigated by flat-bottom wood boats, and charming fountain squares.
La petite Venise, actually ‘Little Venice’, is the canal-traversed middle, filled with cute bridges and beer halls—for pale ale straight from the faucet and a few of that bacon-sprinkled flammekueche, hit up La Stub, the highest pub-restaurant for Alsatian meals on the town.
A brief five-minute stroll alongside cobbled lanes from the Lauch quayside, you’ll come across Maison Pfister, a superbly preserved Sixteenth-century townhouse with frescoes and wood galleries. The home itself is only a few steps from Koïfhus, the Gothic-style Old Customs House.
The home itself is just a few steps away from Koïfhus, the Gothic-style Old Customs House, and the Saint-Martin Collegiate Church, a Thirteenth-century marvel that towers above the city’s gabled roofs and waterways like a storybook belfry.
People normally pull as much as Colmar in December for the Christmas markets—even prettier than the Strasbourg ones, imo—however it’s downright beautiful no matter season.
In actuality, the very best time to go to is springtime, when the flowered balconies are in full bloom, and you’ll go on wine tasting excursions alongside the Alsace Wine Route, ranging from Colmar, and reaching quaint Alsatian villages like Eguisheim and Ribeauvillé.
The Vibe: real-life Beauty And The Beast village (with vigorous beer halls and canals)
Perfect For: experiencing Franco-German tradition and sampling Alsantian delicacies with out the Strasbourg buzz
The ‘Don’t Miss’ Experiences:
- Canal Tour: discover Colmar from the water on a guided flat-bottom boat experience with a educated native, drifting via the dreamy canals of Petite Venise.
- Kut’zig Hop‑on Hop‑off Bus: a bus line ranging from Colmar, with stops in quite a few medieval cities within the neighborhood, costing solely €29 | $34.40 per particular person.
Dinant, Belgium: The “Cliffside Time Capsule”
I’m not gonna lie: I’m not an enormous Belgium fanatic myself. Whether it is the more and more harmful Brussels, the touristy Bruges, or the now Instagram-ruined Ghent, I hardly ever really feel just like the nation has an terrible lot to supply, particularly if you happen to’re coming all the way in which over from America.
That mentioned, if there’s one Belgian metropolis I really feel is well worth the Transatlantic journey, and that also feels surprisingly-quaint and preserved—actual unspoiled Tintin-era Belgium if you understand what I imply—that may be Dinant.
Located within the staunchly French-speaking Wallonie, this postcard fort metropolis lies wedged between steep cliffs and the fast-flowing Meuse River. The colourful homes alongside the water, that majestic church spire, and the fort standing watch over the river might appear to be AI, however I promise you it is the actual deal:
The Collegiate Church of Our Lady, virtually synonymous with Dinant, is nothing wanting a Gothic marvel, with a novel, bulbous bell tower formed nearly like a pear, and a dramatic nave supported by sturdy stone columns and stained-glass home windows.
Atop the city itself stands a powerful medieval citadel, perched over a limestone cliff like a royal crown. With its thick stone ramparts, fortified partitions hugging the sting, and Disney-like towers elevating Belgian flags, you possibly can hardly inform the place artifical ends and rock begins.
The stroll up there’s a little bit of a thigh-burner, with 408 steps counted. If you are not precisely eager on maintaining with leg day on trip, you possibly can all the time take the cable automobile and admire the views of the winding Meuse and the inexperienced hills of Wallonia within the distance.
I’ll wrap this one up by saying Brussels’ overpriced Grand-Place frites cannot maintain a waffle to La Phine Frite’s crispy golden fries—and a small cone will not value you upwards of $8.
The Vibe: sleepy riverside metropolis on the foot of a historic citadel.
Perfect For: absorbing Europe’s medieval attract with out crowds or the hefty value tags.
The ‘Don’t Miss’ Experiences:
- The Citadel: climb as much as the Citadel for breathtaking views of Dinant and the Meuse River. Alternatively, cable automobile tickets common $17 roundtrip.
- La Phine Frite: the very best Belgian fry spot on the town, with cones ranging from solely $2.70.
Schwerin, Germany: The “Unspoiled Aristocrat”
Possibly one of the crucial lovely cities in Europe, full cease, Schwerin is a hidden treasure of Northern Germany most vacationers stay fully oblivious to. Not that I’m complaining, thoughts: it nearly feels such as you get this storybook lakeside metropolis all to your self.
The capital of the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schwerin is greatest identified for its astounding Renaissance palace, constructed on an island on the sting of a lake (one in all seven that ring the city itself). It’s mainly wrapped in water, with bridges and landscaped gardens topping all of it off.
The schloss is well one of many prettiest I’ve seen in Germany: now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s a boldly yellow Nineteenth-century edifice with hovering golden domes and towers. Though it nonetheless features as a seat of presidency, you possibly can discover a lot of the inside.
Spiral staircases, regal courtyards, and chandelier-lit chambers—you understand, good old school Western European opulence, besides there is not any Versailles-level crowds.
In summer season, you’ll spot locals heading out onto Lake Schwerin by boat beneath the palace’s dramatic silhouette, or strolling alongside the numerous flower-lined pathways that hug the shoreline.
Back on the town, the Schweriner Dom is a brick-built Gothic cathedral boasting a gorgeous stained-glass assortment and the tallest spire within the state, and if you happen to love cobbled streets and historic cafés, a wander across the Altstadt is a should.
Less kebab stands and cellphone restore joints, extra timbered buildings and old-school bakeries.
The better part? Most of what you see continues to be unique, in contrast to in Cologne or Dresden, the place lots of the medieval constructions needed to be rebuilt after being decreased to rubble throughout World War II.
The Vibe: genuine German metropolis revolving round a historic Nineteenth-century schloss
Perfect For: getting a style of actual, unspoiled Germany, away from the overtouristed, globalized metropolises
The ‘Don’t Miss’ Experiences:
- Cathedral Tower: climb up the tower of Schweriner Dom for a sweeping panoramic view of Schwerin’s timeless Old Town and chateau.
- Kartoffelhaus Schwerin: German for ‘Potato House’, this conventional eatery makes a speciality of regional Pomeranian potato-based dishes and glowing flavored lemonades.
Salzburg, Austria: The “Cinematic Heavyweight”
The most lovely metropolis within the Alps, at the very least in my guide, Salzburg is that dome-dotted, artifical limestone maze, underneath a mahoosive fortress, that asks nothing of you however to neglect the chaos of the twenty first century for a minute and immerse your self in a Fifteenth-century dream sequence.
For starters, it’s backed by lush-green meadows and majestic snow-covered peaks, the identical ones you’ve got watched 1,000,000 occasions as a child in The Sound of Music—as in, the much-revered Nineteen Sixties basic.
Then there’s the truth that Salzburg’s house to a compact, fully-walkable UNESCO-protected Historic Center, with stone-paved roads, pastel-hue housefronts richly-decorated in Germanic motifs, and a plethora of unassuming church buildings hiding frescoed interiors and gilded altars inside just a few meters of one another.
On the southern financial institution of the Salzach River, which runs via the center of Salzburg like a silvery serpent, Mirabell Palace is a Seventeenth-century Baroque masterpiece full with verdant gardens and floral shows.
At its middle, you may acknowledge Pegasus Fountain, which was, once more, featured within the Julie Andrews-starred flick. Good luck with the ‘Try-Not-To-Sing-Do-Re-Mi Challenge’.
As you delve deeper into the previous metropolis, you will discover Mozart’s Birthplace, a 3-story, bright-yellow constructing proper on Getreidegasse, the principle purchasing avenue, and Residenzplatz, a grand sq. with an ornate fountain, greatest identified for accommodating the previous Prince-Archbishop’s Palace.
Salzburg is greatest seen from above, although, so for the long-lasting views of the church spires, rooftops, and the meandering river, head as much as Fortress Hohensalzburg, both on foot or by taking the brief funicular—however do not simply cease there!
After visiting the fort, maintain strolling for some quarter-hour, at a average elevation, in direction of the subsequent peak at Mönchsberg. The place you need to be is Winkler Terrace, the place you possibly can see all of Salzburg and its mountains unraveling at your ft underneath the gentle golden glow of sundown.
Trust me, it isn’t a view you will neglect anytime quickly.
The Vibe: limestone UNESCO World Heritage metropolis proper within the Austrian Alps
Perfect For: taking in a few of that Old World attract and inhaling contemporary mountain air
The ‘Don’t Miss’ Experiences:
- Mirabell Palace & Gardens: discover across the green-flanked pathways and cease by the ‘Do-Re-Mi’ fountain.
- Winkler Terrace: the very best lookout in all of Salzburg, providing a free, panoramic view of the castle-dominated cityscape.
Western Europe’s Big 5, verify. Next cease: East!
Now the enjoyable half: decide the one which matches your vibe proper now… and begin constructing the record for the subsequent 4.
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