oinchats

I go to Western Europe for about a month each year, rent a car and go. I do not go to large metro areas or cities. I like the feel and culture of small off the beaten path non touristy places. Last year I came upon a village in Austria that just happened to be celebrating the day the cows came down from the mountains that day. Big gathering, and we were the only American's around, it was great. The townspeople had to be wondering who the hell are these two and how did they find this place.

So I know there are may great small towns in Europe hiding a little ways off the well-worn tourism path. I have been to many and I am looking for new suggestions as we leave again in May for probably Switzerland and/or Germany, and/or Austria and Italy. We never know for sure as we know where we land and from where we depart. We kind of fill in the middle as we go.

We prefer to go where there is water (lakes or seas - not drinking) and lots of greenery and no hot weather.

We may try northern Europe in Sept. so if you have any suggestions for N. Germany, Scandanavia, Belgium, The Netherlands those suggestions would also be appreciated.

I highly recommend the wine festival in Boppar Germany at the end of September. Been twice and probably a third time this Sept. if the Euro stays down. I don't drink but I have never seen anything like it in the U.S. (S. California) .

Thanks in advance.

Orrin

elberko

Have you been to Carinthia in Austria? We sent a couple of weeks there last fall and had a wonderful time. Lakes, mountains, castles and castle ruins...

~Liz

bobthenavigator

I love your travel style. I too have sought out small venues with great natural beauty over the years--here are some:
Marvao, Portugal
Kandestag, CH
Orta San Guilio, IT
Portovenere, IT
Bevagna, IT
Noto, Sicily
St. Gilgen, AU
Cesky Krumlov,CR
Avila, ES
Ciudad Rodrigo, ES

oinchats

Been to St. Gilgen. In fact the festival for the cows was a few kilometers from there. Austria is very beautiful. Been to Portovenere too. Have considered Orta. My favorite lake is Garda. I can drive around to different village/towns all day or drive up to Merano or Caslterotto or lake Isedro and many more. Is Orta comparable? I will check out the places you and Liz mentioned. I basically look at pictures of the places on Flickr.

oinchats

By the way of Liz, bob and others have B & B suggsestions with their towns I would appreciate names and or websites. Since we only spend time in our rooms sleeping (rest of the time is driving around, taking photos, sitting with locals) we do not like to spend a bundle on rooms but they must be clean with a comfortable bed. I try and keep it at 100 Euros per night or less (unless I splurge).

Thanks all,
Orrin

bobthenavigator

Here are some shots at Orta---our favorite lake venue in Italy. The Hotel Orta you see pictured is our favorite---4 times now---but it may be under renovation and closed now.

http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=4173

KayF

Check out Valletta in Malta. An amazing, beautiful, tremendously historic fortified small city with lots to see and do. We had about 10 days on Malta, staying in Valletta and a week on Gozo. Loved it, better than Sicily, which we visited on the same trip. Sicily is a 25 min plane ride away, there is also a ferry. Some people dislike Malta but to us, it was a hidden gem in Europe.

Kay

hetismij

Should you be visiting the Netherlands then I suggest Bourtange in Groningen.
The website is only in Dutch or German I'm afraid, but you can see some pictures of it; www.bourtange.nl. You can even stay in the soldiers accommodation there. If you want information on accommodation I suggest you send an e-mail to [email protected].

Any of the Dutch Wadden islands is worth a visit, but the four smaller ones are nicer than Texel imho.

There are lovely old towns in Friesland to visit - like Harlingen, and Franeker with it's wooden planetarium. Lots of delightful villages too, like Hindeloopen.

Urk is a former island which is lovely. Nearby Schokland is a UNESCO site, and worth a visit. You may like Blokzijl and Vollenhove too, plus the Weerribben National Park. A couple of the villages have houses that only be reached by boat.
The Twenste landscape around Hengelo is lovely, with some nice villages to visit.

Tiel has a fruitcorso every second Saturday in September (11th this year). You can see photos of last years here: http://tinyurl.com/y9j96zt

I can come up with lots more too .

sheila

South West France (pretty much everywhere) and the Hebrides.