If you’re flying across the pond this summertime, and you’re currently surprised by videos of crowds and price contrasts flooding your TikTok feed, bear with us a minute:
As much as travel blog writers would have you believe, the Old Continent isn’t minimized to Paris, London, Barcelona, and the like. There is a whole world yet to be discovered by the masses, and you do not even require to go all the way east, to locations like Bulgaria or Georgia, to find the ‘unspoiled’ side.
< img width ="1200" height="800"src
=”% 23e3e3e3’/ % 3E % 3C/svg % 3E”alt= “The Main Square In Tomar, Portugal”data-src=” https://www.traveloffpath.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Top-5-Hidden-Gems-In-Europe-Revealed-In-New-Report.jpg.webp “/ > Oftentimes, it’s lying just below the surface, or a short drive away from the usual tourist hotspots. Thanks to this new study by HomeToGo, now we understand the leading 5 Hidden Gems In Europe based upon aspects like weather, peacefulness, environments, food and beverage, and lodging costs:
Bremm, Germany
Under the Radar Rating: 9.98 Scenic Setting Score: 7.23 Gastronomy Rating: 6.45 Lodging Expense Score: 9.16 We’re starting off with Bremm, a little yet charming town in Western Germany, lining the
banks of the picturesque Moselle River, and best known for its thriving white wine culture. This is the Moselle Valley, after all, where white wine has actually been cultivated for centuries on end. For example, it’s home to Calmont Klettersteig, the steepest vineyard in Europe, running along a scenic treking trail. You’ll be ascending ladders, vertiginous actions, and hauling your method up with encouraging ropes for the most impressive views of the German countryside.
< img width="1200" height ="1200 "src="https://www.traveloffpath.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Wine-Served-In-The-Moselle-Valley-Germany.jpg.webp" alt="White wine Served In The Moselle Valley, Germany"/ > If you’re not feeling exactly daring, you can always swing by a local winery to sample among Bremm’s award-winning Rieslings– there are several tasting tours around the Moselle Valley that drop in Bremm, beginning with as cheap as$41 on GetYourGuide.
As silky as it might be, we ‘d encourage you to go easy on the white wine, as you still need to pay the regional St. Laurentius Church a go to: going back to the Middle Ages, with a soaring tower built in around 1180– 1200, it is the town’s most prominent landmark, and a Moselle Valley icon.
Puy-l’Évêque, France
< blockquote class= "wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"> Under the Radar Rating: 9.85 Scenic Setting Score: 7.17 Gastronomy Score: 7.45 Lodging Cost Rating: 9.26 Hidden in the Occitanie area of France, hundreds of miles far from Paris, Puy-l’Évêque is a quaint stone-built middle ages settlement.
Set down on a rock promontory ignoring the Lot River, it’s as Disney-like as European towns come. Doing a deeper dive, it has a population of only 1,870, and it is among those places you will not find easily in a travel guide, or widely commented on the web, which’s precisely why it’s so appealing: the beret-clad Instagrammers haven’t ruined it!
Image patched streets that have yet to catch the weight of overtourism, standard bistrots that still mostly accommodate locals, and going to French families from surrounding towns, and family-owned wineries offering the area’s robust Malbec.
The Old Town as an entire appear like something right out of a fairy tale, and there’s no better method to experience it than checking out around at random, but if you’re searching for a place to start, try the 13th century Bishop’s Tower, or the riverside quay, with its distinct flat-bottomed boats.
Nafplio, Greece
Under the Radar Rating: 6.50 Beautiful Setting Rating: 9.68 Gastronomy Rating: 9.82 Accommodation Expense Score: 9.40 Forget the bustling Athens and the equally-busy Aegean Islands: if you’re keen on going to Greece this summer season, the up-and-coming Nafplio is where you should be headed. A previous capital of Greece, before the Athenians snatched that title, Nafplio has a large historical center(Acronauplia)dotted with Byzantine, Ottoman, and even Venetian-inspired edifices.
The heart of the Old Town, Syntagma Square, is bordered by the Old Parliament Structure and colorful coffeehouse, while the Church of Agyos Spyridon is (in)well-known for being the site of the assassination of Ioannis Kapodistrias, Greece’s very first Governor, back in 1831.
Acronafplia Fortress, the earliest of the city’s complicated system of fortifications, is yet another must-see, due to its views over both the Old Town and the sea, though it does not stop there. There are numerous more Nafplio landmarks worth taking a look at:
The 15th-century Bourtzi Castle, located on an islet at the entrance of the harbor, is most likely Nafplio’s many quickly identifiable sight, and let’s not forget Palamidi, one of Greece’s a lot of huge fortresses, with a tremendous 999 steps to climb for a sweeping panorama of the Argolic Gulf.
Brisighella, Italy
Under the Radar Score: 10.00 Picturesque Setting Rating: 6.62 Gastronomy Score: 7.85 Accommodation Cost Score: 9.20 Set down on a hillside in Northern Italy, Brisighella is formally among the’most stunning villages in Italy ‘, as awarded by
the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, and an unspoiled middle ages gem most travelers have not found out about. Only an hour away from Bologna, this is where you’ll find Via degli Asini, or Donkey’s Roadway, a tunnel-like path with arched windows keeping an eye out into town, and a myriad of Baroque churches with richly-decorated interiors.
Brisighella’s magnum opus, the Church of the
Osservanza, was set up in 1520, and it’s best known for its Madonna with Child and Saints, painted by Marco Palmezzano. The Rocca (or Brisighella Castle), integrated in 1228, towers above the stone-paved maze, and it’s distinguished by its research study cylindrical tower.
Brisighella is also commemorated for its rich gastronomy, and there’s no place better to sample Emilia-Romagna food than Trattoria La Casetta, where you can eat tagliatelle al ragù, strozzapreti, and other seasonal meals for around $12– 18.
Tomar, Portugal
Under the Radar Score: 9.43 Picturesque Setting Score: 9.05 Gastronomy Score: 8.77 Lodging Expense Score: 9.13 Appearing at number one, Tomar is a laid-back town in Portugal characterized by its tile-roofed, whitewashed homes and interesting history.
For starters, the municipality was born inside the walls of a convent, Convento de Cristo, built under the auspices of the fourth Grand Master of the Knights Templar, all the method back in the 12th century– a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it includes an intricately-carved Manueline chapel.
Not far from the complex, the Church of Santa Maria do Olival worked as a tomb for the Grand Masters, and modest-looking as it may be on the outdoors, once you action in, you’ll be met with a wondrous increased window, and obviously, the Historic Center is a destination of its own right.
Revolving around a Main Square, paved with patterned cobblestones, in traditional Portuguese style, it is consisted of labyrinthine narrow streets, an Old Jewish Quarter, formerly an epicenter of Sephardic Jewish life, and riverside promenades along a scenic Nabão River.
To our fellow foodies out there, do not leave without tasting fatias de Tomar, a regional sweet made with stirred egg yolks. You know, like the traditional pastel de nata, other than it remains in slice form. Over in Pastelaria Estrelas de Tomar, right on the main pedestrian street, you’ll find them for around EUR2.
< img alt=""src ="https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/670a9f78091c16bd874672b1cb939f4e22e64fe6c391eb68b0f897b10dbfd49e?s=96&d=mm&r=g"height ="96" width="96"/ > Vinicius Costa Vini, our senior lead writer at Travel Off Course, has more than 60+ countries under his belt (and presently weaving tales from Paris!), and a flair for turning off-the-beaten-path experiences into informative stories that will have you packing your bags.
The Travel Off Course Advantage: Your Travel Toolkit
