Your favorite small town in Europe
 

Do you have a favorite small town or city in Europe? If so, tell us about your experience there.

I'm planning my first trip to Europe. Of course I'm including some of the must see cities, like London, Paris, and Rome. I'm also interested in spending a few days in an off-the-beaten-path small town or even a less popular city for a more unique experience.

Oxford is one of the world's most beautiful cities and is an easy trip from London.

Bruges is lovely as well. Well worth the visit.

I LOVED Ascona, Switzerland.. great little village, beautiful sceneary, very friendly people. About 1 hour north of Milan.

We are partial to Kirkcudbright Scotland. Pronounced kur coo bree. It's an artist and fishing community on the SW coast. It's lovely, there is plenty to see and do and the Masonic Arms pub will provide some lovely chat at the end of the day. Go stand by the bar! Have a pint for me!

Lucca. It may lack the sheer magnificance of Florence or Siena, but I have always found it a charming town, and while there, a little voice keeps whispering "if you had the money, you could live here and feel comfortable"

I second Ascona!

I love small off-the-beaten path towns. Some of my favorites are Maria Gern and Ramsau in Germany, Spello, Bevagna, Montefalco, Trevi and San Quirico in Italy, and St. Gilgen, Spitz and Freistadt, Austria. I'm sure there are plenty of others, as I love small towns, but these are the ones that I distinctly recall right now.

Tracy

i think it's the whisky rather than the acid. its known to drain a man of any subtle humour, insight, and charm that he might normally have.

but correcting peoples' english is a new low...must be a particularly rough evening. pretty sad.

Dieulefit, in the Drôme Provençale of France.

Iphofen, Dettelbach and Bad Wimpfen in Germany. Bad Wimpfen is larger than the other two but all three have some portions of their medievel walls and towers still intact as well as cobbled stone streets and half timbered buildings. Iphofen and Dettelbach are very near Wurzburg and Bad Wimpfen is near Heidelberg.

I understand exactly, kkt. The kind of discovery you mention happens pretty serendipitously on fodor's.

One of my favorite places, a rather large-ish city, is Nice. It's a great place for people without cars, as there are trains and busses to smaller places--St. Paul de Vence, Antibes, etc. I'm guessing there are cooking schools nearby.

P.S. Nowhere beats the South of France for flea market shopping.

I'd throw in Bamberg, Germany and San Sebastian, Spain. If I were to live in Europe, it would be San Sebastian.

Although it is not necessarily "off-the-beaten path," one of my favorite French towns is Bayeux, Normandy. I could see myself living there. I also could see myself living near Thirsk, in Yorkshire. Both of these small towns are "real people" places.

Again, it may not be "off the beaten path" because it is a resort town, but my favorite small town is Santa Margherita Ligure on the Italian Riviera. I just love the place, and I hope I can get back soon.

Art and history aren't the attractions in SML. Friendly seaside promenades, good food, fun shops, pretty scenery, great boat rides, and the occasional small flea market make this the place for me. I would buy a place in SML if I could. Lovely weather, too.

In Spain:
Medinaceli, Valls, Bugarra, Villena, San Roque, Alburquerque, Rincón de la Victoria.

Italy:
San Gimignano, Volterra, Verona

and..
I loved Aigues Mortes in the south of France. Little shops inside the castle walls. Very inviting.

Lavenham in Suffolk.
Morgana, you and I must stop pushing Suffolk.
It's nice if discerning tourists make their way there, but it would be tragic if some of those lovely villages became blocked with busloads of look-n-lickers like the Cotswolds.

Bad Wimpfen, Germany was lovely during Christmas. Bath, England too.

Come to think of it nearly every town or small city I have visited has been lovely.

Here are some favourite small towns in England
In Kent Faversham, Broadstairs, Dover and Sandwich
In Sussex Lewes
In Surrey Guildford
In Essex Thaxted and Bishops Stortford
In Suffolk Ipswich
In Norfolk Norwich Cromer and Sheringham
In Lincolnshire Stamford
In Shropshire Shrewsbury
In Yorkshire Hebden Bridge, Holmfirth, Halifax, Whitby

Ben Haines, London
bnhaines:@yahoo.co.uk

A lot of lovely places listed in previous replies, but one that isn't listed is Valkenburg aan de Geul, in Limburg, in the southern Netherlands - (not to be confused with Valkenburg aan Zee, a Dutch Navy base); Valkenburg has the only hilltop castle in the Netherlands, some fascinating caves, and the old town is a joy to stroll through.

Ipswich, Ben?
I was born there, but I think that it has become a bit of a dump.
It's improving especially around the Docks, but much of the picturesque centre was destroyed in the 60s.
Bury St. Edmunds is much nicer.

doonhamer, I believe today's Tour de France leg finishes at Valkenburg...you might want to catch that on Eurosports.

Ceske Krumlov, Czech Rep.

BTilke, it was Tuesday's stage, which I did manage to catch, and very nice the old place looked, too!

How about Brienz, Switzerland?
I keep going back...to apartments on the hillside with balcony overlooking pristine Lake Brienz, the surrounding snow-capped mountains, the waterfall opposite, the old dark, wooden-timbered chalets, the outdoor museum Ballenberg, the local incline steam train(Rothornbahn),the small swimming beach, the quaint restaurants and cafes with outdoor terraces overlooking the lake, the freshly caught fish, baked morning rolls and sweets, the easy accessibility to Interlaken and the jumping off points to the "high mountains"--ie: Jungfrau, etc. the small wood-carving school, the immaculate small cemetary....need I say more?

A second vote for Bayeux. It's very lovely and big enough not to be claustrophobic.

Wherever you decide to visit, have fun!

Lucca or Siena are my two favorites. Siena seems to have more tourists than Lucca but both afford a balance of small town with plenty to do including good restaurants and ease of travel to surrounding area.

I heartily agree with those who said Bath and Oxford for England. I would recommend Portmeirion, Carmarthen and Llandudno in Wales, too. If you're coming to Ireland, don't miss Kinsale, Galway or Kilkenny. Cork isn't large, though it's the second biggest city here, but it's got a fantastic small town feel to it and some lovely little nooks and crannies.

Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber in Germany is brilliant. Aalesund, Norway is spectacular for many reasons, particular the Jugendstil Art Nouveau architecture. Also trundle through Roskilde if you're in Denmark.