Seven Lesser-Known European Towns We Loved
These small cities have big personalities!
Brent and I love Europe, and in our eight years of continuous travel, we’ve visited towns and cities all over Western and Eastern Europe.
But it’s often been the smaller, lesser-known destinations that have been the most interesting and memorable.
Here are seven of our favorites:
1. Gouda, Netherlands
Yes, Gouda is named after — and is the source of! — the famous cheese, which the locals began making way back in 1184. But in Dutch, both the town and the cheese are pronounced “khow dah.”
Why You Should Visit✅
✔️ Stunning Old Town — The Gouda Stadhuis, or Town Hall, is a fairy-tale Gothic masterpiece, surrounded by cobblestone streets and picturesque canals.
✔️ Church of St. John — This surprisingly long church is home to the Gouda Windows, 72 stained-glass ones — considered some of Europe's best.
✔️ Cheese Lover’s Paradise — Every Thursday in summer, the city holds its world-famous cheese market, where you can try every variety of Gouda imaginable — and dozens of other cheeses too. But regardless of the season, you will always be surrounded by delicious cheese in Gouda.
✔️ Laid-Back Alternative to Amsterdam — We came here directly from a five-day stay in Amsterdam, and frankly, we liked it better. It had most of Amsterdam’s charm but none of the chaos. And did we mention the cheese?
✔️ Windmills and Canals — It looks exactly like the Netherlands should!
What’s Not So Great❌
❌ High Prices — Gouda is more affordable than insanely expensive Amsterdam, but this is still the Netherlands.
How to get there ✈️🚂🚗⛴️
Gouda is easy to reach — about an hour from Amsterdam on a highly efficient train system. Rotterdam is even closer, only twenty minutes by train.
2. Ohrid, North Macedonia
North Macedonia is a small, landlocked country in Southeast Europe right above Greece. It was part of the former Yugoslavia but is not currently part of the European Union.
It’s also home to beautiful Lake Ohrid, which it shares with neighboring Albania. On the North Macedonian side of the lake, most of the action takes place in the charming town of Ohrid.
Both the lake and the town are very deservedly UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Why You Should Visit✅
✔️ Breathtaking Scenery — Green hills surround the clear, blue waters of Lake Ohrid. The sunsets from the walkway that stretches along the lake are remarkable.
✔️ Rich History — Ohrid supposedly has 365 churches, one for every day of the year. The most famous is the Church of St. John at Kaneo, one of the most iconic photo spots in all the Balkans.
✔️ Affordable — The city has a well-established tourist infrastructure, with lots of great waterfront restaurants, but compared to Western Europe, prices are ridiculously low. Fine dining was $10-15 USD a person, an all-day cruise on the lake was $15, and our Airbnb was $35 a night, even in the high season.
✔️ Not Overtouristed — Ohrid is well-known by everyone in the surrounding countries, but it still hasn’t been “discovered.” So if you go, shhh! Don’t tell anyone!
What’s Not So Great ❌
❌ Environmental Degradation — Disputes between North Macedonia and Albania — both poor countries — have left Lake Ohrid so overfished and exploited that UNESCO has threatened to remove its listing as a World Heritage Site. You won’t notice it as a tourist, and things are slowly improving, but it’s something to be aware of.
How to get there ✈️🚂🚗⛴️
Ohrid is too small for direct flights, and there is no train service. That means you must fly into Skopje — North Macedonia’s capital — or Tirana, Albania, which are themselves both fairly remote. From each city, it’s about a two-and-a-half-hour drive via bus, car, or hired driver (which is what we did — very affordable).
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