I have had the chance to travel to most European countries, and most regions and major cities within big countries. Based on my experience and on the data of the most visited cities in Europe, I have complied a list of places that I consider to be overrated or underrated. An overrated city is a city that gets far too many tourists compared to the sightseeing attractiveness of the place. I have spent the last 20 years rating European travel destinations based on the touristic appeal on my Europe Travel Guide. Therefore cities that get a lot of visitors by are very highly rated (5 stars or 4.5 stars) in my guide deserve their popularity. That's the case for example of London, Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome.
Most overrated European cities
The following cities are listed among the 100 most visited cities in Europe.
I noticed that some very beautiful cities don't get the attention they deserved.
Most overrated European cities
The following cities are listed among the 100 most visited cities in Europe.
- Athens : The most polluted and least green city in Europe. The city itself is an ugly amalgamation of apartment blocks from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Its main attraction is mostly the Acropolis and a few museums.
- Cannes : Along with nearby Antibes and Saint-Tropez, this section of the Côte d'Azur is far too crowded and expensive for what it is. These towns are quite ordinary and shouldn't even be on a must-see list of France. It's most the celebrity effect that brings the crowds.
- Cologne : One of Europe's ugliest cities. Like Athens it has one star attraction (the cathedral) and a few museums.
- Düsseldorf : razed during WWII. Hardly any historical buildings.
- Hamburg : same as Düsseldorf, except for a few rebuilt monuments (e.g. city hall).
- Hanover : Famous for its huge city hall, but otherwise it has only a few reconstructed historical buildings.
- Lausanne : Much less nice than other Swiss cities.
- Thessaloniki : Ugly city of post-WWII apartment blocks like Athens, interspersed with a few Byzantine churches and Roman ruins.
- Dublin : Not bad, but not exceptional either.
- Helsinki : Only a few nice buildings on its seafront.
- Porto : Nice and colourful old town with a few impressive buildings, but too many buildings are derelict or abandoned, which spoils the atmosphere. Once you venture a few minutes walk outside the old town, most buildings are extremely ugly.
I noticed that some very beautiful cities don't get the attention they deserved.
- Annecy : One of the nicest small cities in France. It is dubbed the Venice of the Alps.
- Caceres : A well-preserved medieval city, but in a region (Extremadura) that doesn't get enough attention from tourists.
- Celle : One of Germany's nicest historical towns, but located in the middle of Lower Saxony, far from the main tourist routes.
- Colmar : Often overlooked by tourists who prefer its much bigger neighbour Strasbourg, Colmar is nevertheless more colourful, better preserved and more authentic, making it one of France's finest small cities.
- Dresden : Although destroyed by WWII bombings, it was meticulously rebuild to its former glory using the same stones as the original buildings. It is in my opinions one of the most beautiful German cities.
- Gdansk : My favourite city in Poland. It has much fewer visitors than Krakow or Warsaw even though it is at least as good.
- Salamanca : Like Oxford and Cambridge, it is a very beautiful city of sandstones home to one of Europe's oldest universities.
- Schwerin : Home to one of the most beautiful castles in Germany, the capital of Mecklenburg is too isolated to attract the attention it deserves.
- Tallinn : Few people think of visiting Estonia. It's true that there isn't much to see in the country, except for its capital, which is well worth the trip.
- Trani : All the region of Apulia in southern Italy is underrated in my opinion. Trani is my favourite city in Apulia and despite its beauty gets even less visitors than other places like Polignano, Alberobello or Lecce.
- Würzburg : A Bavarian city combining medieval charm and Baroque splendour. One of Germany's most pleasant cities.
- Central Germany (Harz region)
- Central and Northern Spain (apart from Madrid)
- Czechia (apart from Prague)
- Romania, especially Transylvania.
- Southern Italy, especially Apulia.
- Denmark : It is the country with the least places to visit in my Europe Travel Guide and only Copenhagen got a rating of at least 4 stars.
- Greece : Greece is the 10th most visited country in the world, even though it does not have a single beautiful city. The country has some very beautiful islands, but many of them, like Santorini and Mykonos, are overcrowded. Heraklion and Knossos in Crete also get far too many visitors for what it's worth.
- Ireland : British and American people make up nearly 60% of the foreign visitors. Many Americans are of Irish descent and just want to reconnect with their roots. Ireland has some beautiful green landscapes, but not much to see apart from Dublin and a few (often ruined castles. Yet Ireland gets more tourists than Australia, Brazil, Sweden or Belgium, which are all more interesting.
- Netherlands : The country gets as many annual visitors as Belgium and Switzerland combined, even though it has less to offer than either of them. Most of the country is uninteresting apart from Amsterdam and a few nearby cities or towns (Den Haag, Haarlem, Gouda, Leiden, Utrecht). Not much nature and hardly any castles.
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