Tom

Jackie, <BR> <BR>Orvietto is in Umbria. For those that are unaware, it is a magnificent little hill town that is very quiet and it provides a great getaway for a day from the chaos that is Rome. <BR> <BR>Here in Western NJ, we eat at a restaurant called Orvietto quite often. The owner, chef is from Orvietto and cooks a magnificent meal. We are going there for dinner on Christmas Eve and will have the traditional feast of the fish. I'll be surprised because I'm not Italian, nor catholic, but Southern Baptist. The food is so good, however I won't need to be either to enjoy it!

Heidi

Clermont-Ferrand, France is a wonderful city that is completly overlooked by many. The city is in a valley, surrounded by volocanic mountains. Because the local stones are volcanic, all of the major buildings are black- very Gothic and unusual. C-F is situated in the Auvergne region, which is one of the nicest regions in France- lots of forests (even some national parks), old villages (especially in the Cantal) and genuine French charm.

Pedro

I would like to add some places that I think firmly they are hidden pearls relatively unknown by tourists but very well-known by local people. These are: <BR> <BR>-The city of Cuenca ( Central Spain )and its surroundings(For those who love Ronda, Cuenca recently included into the listing of World Heritage sites, deserves to be seen. The new Parador is great.) <BR> <BR>-The small town of Albarracín (Central Spain, too ). Its lovely setting and the village is one of the most beloved by the painters and artists. <BR> <BR>-The area ( Southern Spain )that includes Ubeda, Baeza, Cazorla and Cazorla Natural Park. ( The biggest wilderness area in Spain, where Guadalquivir river has its source. ) Beautiful monumental cities. ) Good Paradores in Ubeda and Cazorla. <BR>

euri

Basque Country is more and more known among tourists, but very few yet, apart of Biarritz, Donostia-St.Sebastian, Bilbao and Iruñea/Pamplona. There are lovely towns on the coast Lekeitio for example, the same for Elorrio, Lesaka, Donibane Garazi/ St. Jean-Pie-de-Port and so on.

Maira

Vigo and Leon in Spain. Absolute gems. <BR> <BR>Viana Do Castelo in Portugal. Unspoiled seaside medieval village. <BR> <BR>Trento in Northern Italy. Outstanding restaurants, incredible history, magnificent city.

russ i

Jackie, <BR> <BR>I'm not sure where you stayed in Le Marche, but some of the places there we really enjoyed were: <BR> <BR>Urbino - After Florence the most important Italian city during the Renaissance. <BR> <BR>San Leo - Small hill-top town with great view of San Marino and the surrounding area. <BR> <BR>Sirolo - Medieval coastal town south of Ancona. Stayed at a converted convent on the top of Monte Conero, which is 3 miles above the town in the forest. <BR> <BR>Ascoli Piceno - Almost to the borger of Abruzzo. Beautiful main piazza. Be sure to try the Olive Ascolani, stuffed olives that are breaded and fried. Heavenly. <BR> <BR>In answer to your question, I loved Le Marche as much as the rest of Italy. So much to discover.

Annette

Trondheim, Norway is a gem of a small city that I was lucky enough to stay in for a week quite awhile ago. We stayed with friends attending the college there. The small harbor and cathedral were beautiful. It made a nice touring base for the countryside and some fiords and the only tourist I saw all week was the one looking back in our bathroom mirror.

anne

A couple of places come to mind (no particular order): a- Villars, Switzerland. A delightful intermediate skiing area with the preponderance of foreign visitors from France, Germany and a smattering from the UK. b- Pasteum Italy - about an hour south of Salerno. Marvelous greek temple ruins and, even for a museophobe, one of the finest museum of antiquities. If you aren't physically up to Pompeii, a marvelous alternative. The area is very agricultural. The fresh vegetables, cheeses, fruits are excellent during the summer. c-not hidden but probably not well visited by tourists would be the Tegensee just outside of Munich. You can easily reach Munich with a 1/2 hour ride on the Sbahn and the lakeside setting & friendly people is a spectacular alternative in the warm weather months. How about hidden cities in Asia, South America, Mexico, Africa for another string?

Jackie again

Pasteum sounds wonderful, and so do the German cities. Any advice on when to travel to these places? Southern Italy? Thanks! <BR> <BR>geocities.com/j_goyette/t.html

rob

I would add Lienz in Osttirol, Volterra, and Ravello to the list. Like Hallstatt, Ravello isn't exactly undiscovered, but surely deserves mention as out of the way and extremely beautiful. Lienz and Volterra seem to fit the bill perfectly - beautiful, out of the way, undiscovered.

Thyra

There is a wonderful coastal town on the Cornish Pennisula in Southern England called Mousehole...and another great, out of the way spot called Lamorna..(sp?) I remember thinking that if my ship ever came in I would retire to one of these places and just do art or write novels for the rest of my days. Didn't see another American for two days.

TerryDe

Scena in South Tyrol, Italy is a georgeous village in the foothills of the Alps. Many hotels and pensions to choose from with unbelievable low prices for room and 2 delicious meals, superb mountain scenery. 30 minutes by train from Bolzano. Early Spring is best to visit with thousands of apple trees in bloom.

carol

I think May is the perfect time to visit Southern Italy, April the best for Sicily. June, July, and August are unrelievedly hot.

pam

Orvieto is wonderful, and it is in Umbria, not Tuscany. It's not exactly untouristed--the bus hordes arrive around 10am and leave in the afternoon. So spend the night, or more, and visit the Cappelle Nuova in the Duomo before 10. I went to the little tourist office across the piazza to buy tickets early one morning, and was told (in Italian) that it is gratis before 10am. Orvieto is lovely in the evenings--we had a memorable one during which my son played hide & seek with 4 local children after dinner.

Marcy Weiner

Stein am Rhein (Switzerland)- beautifully preserved medieval city with wonderfully painted buildings, abbey, and bakeries. Although it was a very frosty October day, we had a hard time leaving this little jewel of a town.

Ted D. Bare

For Italy, check out the little beach town of Gaeta. It's about midway between Rome & Naples & most of the tourists seemed to be very friendly Italians. Agree with Stein am Rhine; also Mittenwald in Bavaria is great. <BR>

Don and Linda

Stein-Am-Rhein is such a lovely town that Don painted a picture from one of my photos. It's posted on our site at <BR>http://www.thetravelzine.com/gallery.htm <BR>If you click on Stein-Am-Rhein below the picture, you'll get to the page where we wrote about our visit to the town (down at the bottom). TheTravelzine.com is non-commercial. <BR>Happy New Year, <BR>Linda and Don

alan

Hi That's a tough question the BEST out of the way European city I've visited. Well here goes: <BR>1- Kutna Hora in the Czech Rep. <BR>2- Telc in the Czech Rep. <BR>Both are not too frequented by tourists, especially the latter. It has about the nicest looking Town Center I've seen. The buildings are painted beautifully and it is very pretty. Just about no tourists were there either which is unfortunate for the people living there. <BR>3-Vicenza in Italy. Another very nice city. Many Americans there due to the air base but relativly untouristed. Has a very interesting old theatre that is 18th century. Very good pizza also. <BR>There are some others also but they were touristed but not by many Americans. <BR>4- Graz Austria <BR>5- Merano Italy <BR>6- Pirano Slovenia <BR>I think most countries have hidden places. The fun is too find it. <BR>alan <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Jackie again

Thanks for the feedback on the Marche region--I also enjoyed Ascoli Piceno, Urbino, and Sirolo. Sirolo is SOO beautiful! Has anyone been to Loreto in the Marche region? <BR> <BR>Thanks for feedback thus far. all these places sound wonderful for visiting!

Lia

What a great topic! For the cities I've seen, I agree with most of the opinions and now I have a whole new list of places to check out! My favorites would have to include Vollendam (a small fishing village outside of Amsterdam with picturesque views and great Dutch pancakes), Burano (though with the tourist daytrippers, it couldn't really be called "hidden") and Konya (very religious city with a more traditional Islamic feel than most of Turkey). I'd love to hear responses to this question for best out of the way, hidden city in other parts of the world....