Most Underrated European Cities?

Verona comes to mind. It's fairly well known, I guess, but you rarely see it mentioned among the top destination cities in Italy.

It's the first European city I ever stayed in, and still one of my favorites. A great place to wander around and soak in.

Last trip I fell for Lviv in Ukraine (I almost hate to mention it, because it's not really on the tourist trail yet).

In addition, I liked

Auxerre, Fr
Kientzheim, Fr
Naples, It
Praiano, It
Haarlem, ND
Roskilde, DK
Odense, DK
Frederiksborg Castle, Hillerød, DK
Helsinki, Finland

I like Olomouc in the Czech Republic.

Olmützer Quargel, yummy!

Strasbourg and Colmar in France

Trier and Tubingen, Germany

Dinan and Loches, France

Naples

Yaroslavl, Russia

Tricarico, Italy (for sentimental reasons)

Jerez de la Frontera, Spain

Namur, Be., Maastricht, Neth., Oostende, Be., Cesky Krumlov, Cz., Dubrovnik, Cr. I think you can throw the whole country of Portugal in there...

I would add:
Antrim Coast, N Ireland

and repeat:
Bratislava, Slovakia.

Outside Europe:
Christchurch, NZ

I would include York amongst several others already listed.

Cuenca, San Sebastian-Spain

Evora-Portugal

Not a city but the Perigord region-France

Western side of Sicily

I would say Tallinn (Estonia), Bucharest (Romania), and the Metz-Nancy-Strasbourg (France) triangle.

I don't see much talk here about Budapest though I know many go there. I really enjoyed my trip there---same with Vienna. Again, a very major city but not one that I hear people get particularly worked up about (unlike Paris, Rome, etc.)...

Katie, I think Budapest gets plenty of good press here (from me, among many). Some of the other places nominated surprise me because I think they are generally highly rated.

I'll nominate Rennes and Saumur, revealing my preference for France as a destination country.

I've been to Budapest twice and enjoyed it, but I can't imagine telling anybody that it is a must. Nor overrated Prague, for that matter.

I would say that Marseille is extremely underrated, especially since so many people claim that it is horrible because of "immigrants"!

but still Vienna and Budapest are places non-veteran tourists don't all that often seem going to - Prague and Munich get many more foreign tourists i believe and though they are great places so are Vienna and Budapest.

As for thinking some of the places mentioned get a lot of ink - only relatively to the mega tourist cities it's lost in the shuffle for say folks planning first or second trips to Europe.

Basically any city besides London, Paris, Barcelona, Florence, Rome, Venice, Munich and Amsterdam and a very few others are the focal points. And though they are all great places in season it's generally from one tourist mob scene to another - whilst other cities may be more relaxed and just as interesting.

I'm not sure why "just list... no comments" - - aren't comments worth something to explain?

And likewise, to dissent?

Anyhow, others are offering some comments, so I will too...

Agreeing with candidates proposed earlier:

Gent - - loved it; hope the Hotel Erasmus will never change (but I fear it will - - some perfect things can only get less perfect)

Dissenting:

Lyon - - wasn't there long enough... not as long as one might like to visit, but I found it very difficult to negotiate by car, even hard to get out of town (a Friday afternoon, driving towards Chambery - - maybe that was the problem). Remember: this is a BIG city.

Luxembourg City - - once again, maybe too much of a spot impression, as I only stopped ther for supper one night, nearly a decade ago, but it seemed to match notions that others had planted in my head: high-priced, relatively charmless.

Odense - - went seriously looking for the charm, but I feel like I never found it

My candidates (some of these are fairly small, but hopefully they qualify as cities)...

Thaxted, UK - - pleasant to look at, and a fantastic Indian restaurant whose name I have since forgotten

Stirling (Scotland), UK

Etretat, France

Paimpol, France

Biarritz, France

Dijon, France - - all the reasons that I thought I would like Lyon seemed to be there in spades for Dijon, and I didn't even give it a proper visit

Turin, Italy - - shhh... don't tell anybody; this deserves to be number one behind the "big three" in Italy destinations (though everyplace in Italy deserves to be number one behind the big three, doesn't it?)

Trento, Italy - - one of the best day trip destinations I ever had

Graz, Austria - - if Vienna seems too "cold" or formal for you, and Salzburg seems too touristy, then come discover Austria here.

Seu d'Urgell, Spain

Luebeck, Germany

Weimar, Germany

Ulm, Germany - - sorry to learn that this is now a hotbed of jihadism, but maybe you wouldn't encounter it if you don't go looking for it.

Jelenia Gora, Poland - - maybe this was just a really good day (day trip), but I wasn't pleasantly surprised at ease of getting around, nice to look at it, even without specific tourist attractions, and quite manageable without any meaningful Polish on my part (beyond usual tourist, please, thank you), and not because we encountered many English speakers either; German was slightly useful.

Best wishes,

Rex

Where to begin:

Stockholm
Bergen
Trondheim
Oslo
Jyvaskaala (Fin)
Tashkent/Bukhara/Samarkand (Uzbekistan)
Suzdal (Russ)
Konstanz (Ger)
Triberg (")
Potsdam (")
Brasov, Sighishoara and Iasi (Yash), (Romania)
Varna and Sofia(Bulg)
Antalya, Pammukale (Turk)
Krakow
The Tatra region of Slovakia
Ronda (Sp)
Gibraltar
Pau and Biarritz area (Fr)
Another vote for Strasbourg, Colmar
Caen and Bayeux
Chamonix
Spa (Belg)
Lake District (Eng)
Belfast
Galway

Out of Europe:

Several others, but this is restricted to Europe.

Stu T.

Rex: you are certainly right - i guess i was just thinking like a poll but you are right and it was a stupid thing to say.

and as your comments prove it adds a lot

I forgot or i would have put Weimar, Germany on my list as well - Dijon i've only looked at quickly years ago - can't wait to go there this winter and Dijon is truly a city that gets relatively little interest from Americans at least.

Ghent,
not a city but the Azores
San Marino at night (OK, so it's a country)
Segovia
Toledo
Viandem
Echternach
Strasbourg

Aberdeen

Bevano (most of the tourists end up in Stresa, which IMO is a bit of a tourist trap!)

BC

Polignano di Mare, Italy
Matera, Italy
Lecce, Italy
Ischia, Italy
Salamanca, Spain
Porto, Portugal
La Maddalena, Sardinia
Lipari, Sicily
Ajaccio, Corsica
Lake Bled, Slovenia
Gdansk, Poland
Alesund, Norway
Trondheim, Norway
Tampere, Finland
Ivalo, Finland
Gothenberg, Sweden
Valetta, Malta
Poschiavo, Switzerland
Chinon, France
San Sebastian, Spain
St. Jean de Luz, France

Tower & NeoP - good to see the references to Norway we are going for New Year - Tower is The Lake Disrict a city!mmmm not sure but yes I agree it should be in any list.

I have only one - the one and only Seville - the most beautiful women in the world bar none. The most atmosphere, passion and culture without having being raped by world culture - can't even remember a Starbucks.

NeoP - La Maddalena when viewed from the back of a 42 foot sailng boat, force 4 and a bottle of Cloudy Bay.

Re: Katies post, I've not been to Budapest but I would think it is a good addition. That being said, I've been to Vienna 3X & will not likely be back anytime soon. Once would have probably been sufficient, in fact. Same w/Rome, I'll take my kids there someday, but not my favorite city.

Chesy Krumlov
Galway
Budapest
Pula
Toledo
Dresden
Naplion Greece
Bamberg
Lake Bled

Burghausen, Germany
(especially during one of their all-night jazz festivals)
Stay across the river in Ach, Austria and walk across the bridge into town.

Madeira.

This is not a city, it's a Portugese island about 500 miles off the Portugese coast, and north of the Azores.

I am ashamed to say I had never heard of Madeira until 2 years ago when I was invited to a wedding there. It was the most unique and beautiful place I've ever seen, yet so few Americans have ever heard of it.

I combined my week in Madeira with time in London, but I wish I had another week to explore Madeira. I WILL go back someday!!

My vote would be for:

Ljubljana, Slovenia
Zagreb, Croatia
Verazdin, Croatia
Appenzell, Switzerland (although technically not a city)

elnap29, I too enjoyed Burghausen.

Tracy

Ravenna
Ferrara
Naples
Palermo

and almost every city in Italy other than Rome, Florence and Venice.

I have always said here that Ghent is one of the most underrated cities in Europe, a true jewel, and getting better-there's a new Marriott right on the Korenlei, that consists of ancient guildhouses made into the hotel. Check out this website:

http://www.marriottghent.com/

Lovely, lively city, good restaurants, incredible castle with a moat, and some of the best deals on hand-made lace to be found anywhere in Europe-love Ghent!

Not exactly cities, but...

Aberfeldy, Scotland, UK
Pitlochry, Scotland, UK
Stirling, Scotland, UK
Odense, Denmark
Roskilde, Denmark
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Cortina D'Abrazzo, Italy
Ronda, Spain

Not sure all of these qualify as cities either but here goes:

Oia, Santorini, Greece
Bath, England
Ravello, Italy
Siena, Italy
Sevilla, Spain
Broadway, the Cotswolds, England

Łódź, Polska. A city 160 years before Columbus made it to America. Evidence of Soviet and German occupation still is evident. Local cemeteries abound with names now ubiquitous in the USA. The Posnański complex includes 1860 history and a 21st century mall..the Manufactura. If you haven't visited you haven't 'done' Europe.

Lasting impressions from a while back -

Annecy, Chambery & Grenoble - France
Bergen, Andalsnes & Narvik - Norway
Uppsala & Stockholm - Sweden
Aarhus - Denmark
Bari - Italy

Budapest, admittedly pre regime change; ditto Prague

Tubingen, Lindau, Celle (young woman at the tourist office... whoops),& Berlin before the Wall came down - Germany

Appenzell region - Switzerland

San Sebastian - Spain

Penzance & nearby, England

On the list, next stop -

Ghent, Auxerre, Metz, Nancy, La Rochelle, Lubeck, Goslar, Bamberg, Passau, Weimar/ Erfurt, Wroclaw, Trieste

Oslo and its surroundings, Norway is an absolutely beautiful country, although you do not see much about it on this board.

Nijmegen (sp) and Utrecht in the Netherlands, Nijmegen is one of the oldest towns in the Netherlands and i loved it. Utrecht is a lively and fun city. Great shopping and nightlife.

Newcastle in the UK, i'm biased as its my home town, but it has so much history and culture, and is a great base for the North East of England

I am also a little confused about what is considered off the beaten track but here are some we have really enjoyed

Agree with
Ghent
Strasbourg
Auxerre
Roskilde
Bergen
Oslo
Lubeck
Regensburg
Bamberg
Burghausen
Salamanca


Some I don't think others have mentioned
Brussels
In Germany
Erfurt
Augsburg
Passau
In Italy
Ravenna
Bologna
Padova
Trieste
In UK
Durham
In Spain
Girona
Tarragona
In France
Arles
Angers

Markrosy:

>>>Tower is The Lake Disrict a city!mmmm not sure but yes I agree it should be in any list.<<<<

I refer to the entire district, but to single out any of the towns I would choose Grasmere.
Stu T.

tcreath and vttraveler - I'm so pleased there are others who have experienced the charm of Burghausen. Few seem to have heard of it.

Perhaps too small to be a city but the town of Damme in Belgium (not far from Bruges) is a beautiful place with wonderful 15th Century (and older, I think)architecture, pretty little houses, friendly cafes, lovely surroundings and a peaceful ambience.
To me it has the historical interest and prettiness of Bruges without the frenzy (and pricetag) of a major tourist destination.
There are a lot of other lovely little places in Flanders - to me it's the forgotten corner of Belgium.
Others on my list of Hidden European Treasures would be Bath and York in England, Tallin in Estonia, and (another one that's probably only a town) Visby in Sweden.

VTraveler-BRUSSELS is an underrated European city? Surely you jest!

I must say, PADOVA in Italy is DEFINITELY underrated in Europe, my god, Padova is one of the greatest art cities in the entire world, and it's got everything else you'd want in an Italian city as well, a great historic coffeehouse, a fascinating university, where Galileo taught, one of the most incredible cathedrals I've ever seen, (il Santo), a world famous herbarium, and, is an imminently walkable, primarily pedestrian city! It is shadowed of course, by the fame of its former sovereign Venice, but in this day and age, I say there is no excuse not to make the half hour train ride from Venice to Padova, to wonder at the marvels of Giotto and his school of painters, the wondrous medieval frescoes to be found here.

We nominate Annecy, in the mountains of France, with its turquoise-green lake, rushing stream, lovely setting, comfortable hotels, quiet evenings.

Seconding PM's vote for the beautiful Portugese island of Madeira and Neo Patrick's choice of Malta (and Gozo) in the Mediterranean - neither of which are over touristed by Americans.

Would also include Bergen, Budapest, Lisbon, Reykjavik, Trieste and Zagreb.

Great question!!

bookmark

elnap29, we stopped in Burghausen on the way to Berchtesgaden from Regensburg, mostly to see the "longest castle in "Europe" but found ourselves quite charmed by the town as well. We spent a lovely afternoon there and had a nice lunch. You are right; it doesn't get much recognition here. I would love to go back!

Tracy

No particular order:

Porto, Portugal
Annecy, France
Aix Les Baines, France
Bruge, Belgium
Lucerne, Switzerland
Collioure, France
Etretat, France
Le Treport, France

So many places..........so little time.

Larry J

Travemunde, Germany, a seaside resort;
Chester, England, Roman walls and Elizabethan architecture;
Bangor, Wales, great spot for castle hoppping

Further to the lovely art city of Padova: Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew" largely took place in the city, and to quote the Bard himself:

For the great desire I had to see
fair Padua, nursery of arts, I am arrived…
and am to Padua come, as he that leaves
a shallow plash to plunge in the deep, and
with satiety seeks to quench his thirst.

—William Shakespeare

Damme,Belgium
Bibury,ENG
Wurzburg,Germany
Hall in Tirol,Austria
Oxford,ENG
Pompeii Town,IT
Colmar,FR
Bacharach,Germany
Sorrento,IT
Bern,Switz
Toledo,Spain
Vernazza,IT

All way famous(except for Damme) ..all underrated...there are countless great unknown places I havent begun to hit yet

I agree, Brugge Belgium absolutely charming and rarely mentioned - under-rated.

Not worth a stop: the Azores

But for me nothing matches the wonders of Paris.

Warsaw (not that it's small, but overlooked on the tourist trail).

elnap29--I agree Burghausen is seldom mentioned on this forum but well worth a visit (Michelin gives it 2 stars--worth a detour) We only went there on a day trip when we were renting an apartment in a small village father south along the Inn (neubeuern). Wasserburg am Inn is another beautifully sited somewhat smaller town nearby.

girlspytravel
No, I am serious that Brussels is underrated.

I agree with you about Padova (which is why I listed it). The Giotto frescoes at the Cappella Degli Scrovegni are truly amazing.

Galway
Sibiu
Granada (the city, not just the Alhambra).

Agree completely that Padova is very underrated. I also think that Portugal, in general, gets less attention that it deserves. Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, Evora are all very special places just to mention a few.

Wernigerode, Germany - much more beautiful than Rothenburg ob der Tauber and less touristy.

I was quite impressed with Valencia, Spain last summer. Beautiful downtown area, cheap restaurants, great public transportation and the train ride from Barcelona was right along the water.

Mahya -just curious- why do you think the Azores is "not worth a stop?" Which of the islands have you been to. I've been there 14 times but only to the central island group- Terceiera, Sao Jorge,Faial, and Pico. Obviously I think they are great for their outstanding natural beauty, hospitable people, and good simple food.

>>>Mahya -just curious- why do you think the Azores is "not worth a stop?"<<<

I had similar thought when I read that. I suppose it depends on a person´s preferences. I did a little island-hopping tour in The Azores a couple of years ago: Terceiera, Sao Jorge, Faial, and Pico, plus Flores on top of those (by plane). And I really enjoyed it. BUT we were there in June (or was it July) when all the hydrangeas and other flowers were in full bloom, and did a lot of hikes and nature tours, and visited all kinds of local events, including bull-fight Terceira style, religious fiesta, local auction, and so on.

And basingstoke2, next time you make it to The Azores, include Flores. It was my favourite. Like time had stopped somewhere decades ago.

Hopefully not too many dbl postings:

Gouda, Delft - NL
Lagos/Sagres - PT
Luzern (not exactly off the beaten path) - CH
Las Palmas, Palma (the cities, not necessarily the entire islands) - ES

Aachen (Aix-La-Chapelle) is another underrated but interesting city.

Turin in Italy.

Oxford is so astoundingly beautiful, and so chock full of amazing architecture and gardens that it boggles the mind.

Uzes in the Gard region of France is more charming and beautiful, in my opinion, than the better-known, nearby Avignon.

And while it is only a small town, Vezelay was way more than I expected. I'm sure I'll be back.

Kilkenny and Ennis, Ireland

Bath, Salisbury, York and Whitby, England

Perth, Scotland (I plan on adding more to this list by next summer)

PalenQ, I agree with a lot of your choices but I wanted to make a special mention of Bern, Switzerland. It seems to be the best-kept travel secret...what a charming town.

This list is starting to get just a tad useless, isn't it?

Trieste

Have not been yet but have heard many rave about Krakow...

Bookmarking

Bratislava and Tallinn

A little late, perhaps, but:

North Berwick, Anstruther, Pittenweem, Oban, Scotland

Wiesbaden, Baden-Baden, Mittenwald, Trier, Aachen, Koblenz, Dresden, Germany

Honfleur, Beaune, Nancy, Annecy, Uzes, St-Tropez, France

Murten, Thun, Brienz, Avenches, Adelboden, Locarno, Switzerland

Hallstatt, Hall, Reutte, Durnstein, Austria

Aosta, Porto Santo Stefano, Chiavari, Argegno, Volterra, Italy

Cheers,

Jinx

Oh this is fun, because I get to think about everywhere we've been and what we were enchanted by. So here goes:
Segovia, Spain
Antalya, Turkey
Ljubljiana, Slovenia
Trieste, Italy
Verona, Italy
Corfu, Greece
Hallstatt, Austria
Budapest, Hungary
Aix de Provence, France
Motovun, Croatia
Cadiz, Spain
Kas, Turkey

This is always a tricky question. I see a lot of wonderful cities listed that I can't imagine would be called "underrated". Sure, many of them are overshadowed by more major ones, but I never see much negative press or comments about many of those small gems. Mostly negative comments like "you should avoid this city" would make them underrated in my opinion -- different from just being "overlooked".

On the other hand full surprises to us because we had read so much negative were:

Porto, Portugal
Naples, Italy
Marseilles, France
Helsinki, Finland
Hamburg, Germany

Has no one yet mentioned Lütenblag, the delightful capital of Molvania?

Hi All; I think one city that lives up to 'most underrated cities' is Vilinus, a city where my grandmother came from. Incredible as it might seem, we walked right by the President of Lithuania, with only a man in a white suit standing in the vicinity. We said 'good evening' and he responded. Didn't know who he was until a few minutes later. Iris

I have to put in a plug for my city, Basel. Very good museums (two excellent exhibitions on now, one at the Kunstmuseum another at Beyeler), interesting festivals (Museum Night, Fasnacht), pretty old town (although most visitors never make it to the St. Alban's Tor area, our neighbourhood), good shopping, great public transportation, pretty walks in the suburbs--and using just one tram line, you can wander around Switzerland, Germany and France in a single morning.

Gstaad and Grindelwald in Switzerland.
Mageve and Cabourg in France.

Trieste, Italy
Aberdeen, Scotland

Dingle, Ireland
Riomaggiore, Italy
Cadiz, Spain

Torino. Many things to love there.

Ahhhhh Lutenblag - I hope that it never gets discovered by the masses.

bookmarking

Bergamo, IT - walled old town above city center (northern IT)

Masstricht, NL - nestled between GR and BLG. Europe as you would expect it - ancient, hip and interesting.

Cordoba, Spain - of course lotsa tourists, but who wouldn't come here!? A real city also. Read Washington Irving's 'Tales from the Alhambra' which I recommend.

La Rochelle, France(west coast above Bordeux) - you can easily imagine the 3 Musketeers ledgend is from here.

Bath, England: Expensive but getting cheaper for Americans. Lots of great history and architecture.

Anywhere in Crete: Chania, Rethymnon, Heraklion

Rota, and Jerez de la Frontera, & Sevilla, Spain (Oh, I've been to 4 different Starbucks shops in Sevilla, sorry to burst earlier poster's bubble)

Intrigued by Corfu and the "sole & heel" of Italy's boot.

I recently re-visited Bath for about the 4th time and came away thinking that this is my favorite city outside of London in England - edging out York

Marseille
Dijon
Arles (loved it)
Strasbourg
Beara Peninsula, Ireland
Glengariff, Ireland

Santander. Northern Spain

A lovely , classy place with beautiful beaches. Often ignored in favor of San Sebastian.

Krakow, Poland. One of the most beautiful town centers in Europe, with a compact, easily walked historic district. The food is very good, try a Mleczny - milk bar and don't worry about not being able to read Polish - it's a great experience! It's near Auschwitz and the Wieliczka Salt Mines.

OK, a couple I've already seen listed:

Salisbury, England
York, England

Don't know how well those conform to the "not on many foreign tourists' itineraries" requirement, though.

Here's one I haven't seen but enjoyed very much:

Leuven, Belgium

Who dug up this thread from 2 years ago?

Is this question rhetorical, Wayne? or literal? - - the answer is mikej48, at 5:16 pm today.

Well if you read the blurbs that Fodor's Editor Katie posted about the new look of the forums this post was used as an example - so folks reading that may simply have clicked on it without knowing how old it was.

But what difference does it make - have cities become any more or less underrated in the last two years?

"But what difference does it make - have cities become any more or less underrated in the last two years?"

Good question. The answer is "probably yes". I do know that Buenos Aires somehow has taken off as a very popular destination in the past couple of years. Suddenly it's a trip prize on Wheel of Fortune, for example -- as opposed to Rio which used to be the more typical South American destination. And just a couple days ago I read that Santiago, Chile is destined to become a hot new destination -- that it is highly underrated.

Trondheim, Norway

St Jean de Luz, France and the entire Basque region of France & Spain.

Santillana del Mar, Spain
Salamanca, Spain

St. Paul de Vence, Fr
Les Baux de Provence, Fr
Gordes, Fr

Sintra



Thin

Dublin
Copenhagen
Winchester
Canterbury

Agree with

Galway
Ravenna
Padova
Vienna
Stockholm
Lucerne
Pitlochry
Bath
Oxford

I haven't been too far off the tourist track on most of my trips, but here goes:

1. York, England. It was one of the most beautiful walled cities I've ever seen. Also, the food was good, the stores were reasonable, the pubs were lovely and the people were very kind to a lone tourist.

2. Sligo, Ireland. A Small Town/City with a cosmopolitan air. Plenty of places to eat (Indian food, Irish food and everything in between.) Lots of great pubs with a good trad music scene. Fantastic scenery if you went even a couple miles out of town! (The town itself was quite pretty, too.) I went there in late October, during the Sligo Live festival, and people I met there were just plain nice...but so was just about everyone in Ireland.

3. Portstewart, Northern Ireland. Absolutely breathtaking coastal scenery, and a very nice, very cosy town to boot. I only had two nights here, but I wish I'd had a week. The hostel I stayed in (Rick's) was very home-like, and Rick himself was friendly and welcoming in an easygoing, understated way. Most of the people I met in Portstewart were the same-- incredibly friendly and helpful if you started talking to them, and perfectly willing to let you explore in peace if you just wanted to be left alone. There were plenty of places to eat; one really good pub (the Anchor!) and lots of options for day trips by bus or train.

Top 10 Underrated European Cities (soon in my blogspot: http://subillagak.blogspot.com/)
1. Bruges, Belgium
2. Bratislava, Slovakia
3. Krakow, Poland
4. Bucharest, Romania
5. Bergen, Norway
6. Riga, Latvia
7. San Sebastian, Spain
8. Lyon, France
9. Einhoven, Netherlands
10. Heidelberg, Germany

Porto,Portugal
Leiden, The Netherlands
Vicenza, Italy

Just visited Provins - a day trip from Paris - and this is a dreamy Italian hill town on the doorstep of Paris. Loved it. One hour train ride or so.

Let me add my most rectent discovery to the list: Essen, Germany

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Metz!

http://tinyurl.com/38z9det

And hey, Amiens, too!

http://tinyurl.com/33alc67

Troyes

I am astounded to see Bruges/Brugge listed (more than once) as an underrated city! Packed with tourists most of the time, on practically every Fodorites must see list, and incredibly twee, it is to my mind one of the most over-rated towns in Europe.

Not to mention some of the towns listed that are not rated at all and therefore not underrated!

Cadiz, Spain.

Glasgow, Scotland

Probably not a city, but my vote is for Uzes, France

I didn't notice that anyone mentioned Palermo, Italy. We loved it!

We just returned last night from a trip to Sarajevo and Croatia and I would definitely add Sarajevo to the list. It is a fascinating place. We also enjoyed seeing Dubrovnik but it is NOT underrated--full of tourists from cruise ships even in early October.

I spent a week in Trieste last Summer and I loved it. I'd even planned to day trip to Pirano and Rovigno, but, in the end, I decided to stay the whole time.

That was "another" face of Italy I didn't know and I really loved it.

Trieste to me was also a very very pleasant surprise.

And in England Lincoln I think should be right up there with the likes of Bath, York, Salisbury and Oxbridge.

Verona
Siena
Antwerp
Haarlem
Utrecht

Berlin, Germany
Rapallo, Italy
Bologna, Italy
Bad Ischl, Austria
Würzburg, Germany

It's terrible how underrated Berlin is, isn't it?

>underrated Berlin
The Hoff was "singing" at the Brandenburg Gate on New Years Eve.
Berlin is not underrated.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMYnQW3XK1U

What about Kiev? I haven't been yet, but in planning a trip to Russia (and now Ukraine as well) I have found a number of reports that make it sound almost magical -- yet it' hard to find a lot of info about it. I've booked my flights now, so I guess I will find out.

"Berlin is not underrated."

Whenever we tell people how much we love Berlin, we are met with surprise. When I told my husband I wanted to take him there two years ago, he was surprised and not particularly interested. He enjoyed it so much we made a return trip this year and plan another with a longer stay. I think there are quite a few people who have the same reaction to Berlin.

IME Berlin is not the list of must see cities for many people and IMO is one of the most interesting cities in Europe and one of our favorite destinations.

It is more popular with European travelers IMO and not so sought out by Americans.

I think it is indeed underrated.