Hidden Regions Worth Visiting Now
Whole regions still flying under the radar
Epirus (northwestern Greece)
Most travellers fly past Epirus to get to the islands. The Zagori region, with 46 stone villages connected by old footpaths and arched bridges, is one of the most beautiful corners of Greece. The Vikos gorge is the deepest in the country. Ioannina, on its lake with an island monastery, is the regional capital.
Alentejo (south-central Portugal)
The Alentejo is huge, flat-to-rolling, and depopulated. Cork oaks, olive groves, white hill towns. Évora is the cultural anchor. Monsaraz looks out across the largest artificial lake in Europe at sunset. Mértola is a Moorish town on a river bend. Drive slowly, eat the black pork.
Transylvania
Transylvania has the Saxon villages of Sibiu and Sighișoara, the painted monasteries further north in Bukovina, the Carpathian forests, and a folk culture that has stayed intact in the smaller villages. Hire a car. Stay in fortified Saxon villages like Viscri.
The Polish Baltic coast
Pomerania, the Polish coast east of Gdańsk, has long sand beaches, pine forests, and small spa towns like Sopot and Ustka that travellers fly past on their way to Tallinn. Summer here is short but excellent.
Picos de Europa
The Picos de Europa straddle Asturias, Cantabria, and León in northern Spain. Limestone peaks rising directly from the Cantabrian coast 20 km away. Cable cars, cheese caves, the Naranjo de Bulnes for climbers, and small villages like Bulnes itself, reachable only by funicular.
Suggested itinerary
- Epirus loop: Fly to Ioannina, drive the Zagori, return via the Vikos gorge.
- Alentejo loop: Lisbon to Évora to Monsaraz to Mértola, ten days.
Local highlights
- Zagori stone villages in Epirus
- Alentejo cork forests and wine estates
- Hunedoara castle and the Transylvanian Carpathians
- Pomerania's Polish coast east of Gdansk
- Asturias's Picos de Europa
Nearby destinations
Other places worth combining with this trip: Ioannina, Monsaraz, Sibiu, Sopot.
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