#2! And Best Relatively Unknown Cities

Steph and Craig's #2 European Tourist Site is ...

The Louvre in Paris. Yes, it makes both our "Best Museums" list and our "Best Sights" list. It's that good. What makes it so special? Well, the art collection is amazing. Most of what you studied in Art History 101 is here, and even if you've never never cracked an art book in your life, you'll still probably recognize the Mona Lisa. But, in addition to the art collection, you will be touring one of the French Royal palaces, which is worth the price of admission alone! Add to that an important piece of modern architecture (I.M. Pei's glass pyramid), and we're talking major bang for your buck. It was not overly busy when we went in November.

List o' the day: Best Relatively Unknown Towns in Europe

These are the places we enjoyed a lot that are not yet on the major tourist track.

1. Le Puy, France
   Le Puy feels like the French answer to the Tuscan hilltown, with winding alleys that work their way towards the Romanesque cathedral, which is the starting point of one of the most important pilgrimages in Europe and houses the famous Black Virgin. It is very picturesque, and hard to believe it didn't make it into all of our guidebooks.


2. Kotor, Montenegro
   Kotor is a fortified town spectacularly located on the Fjord of Kotor on the Adriatic. It is full of narrow streets, small plazas, homes and shops. You can climb the ramparts behind the town for a great view of the fjord over the city.


3. Nimes, France
   Nimes is a regional destination, but not yet one of the big names. It is a Roman town, well worth a visit for its amazingly preserved roman stadium (which still is used to stage gladiator demonstrations and bullfights), and its large pedestrian center.


4. Ohrid, Macedonia
   We rolled into Ohrid on a Friday night, when the lakeshore was hopping, and enjoyed strolling the marble-paved pedestrian streets with the locals who were out in force. Ohrid has the energy of a place on the verge of becoming very chic, but is still cheap!


5. Bamberg, Germany
   Bamberg is one of the stops on central Germany's "Romantic Road", but we had never heard of it! It is full of old half-timber buildings, including the town hall, which is built on an island in the river, and is home to a special smoked beer.


6. Split, Croatia
   Yes, this one probably makes the guidebooks on Croatia, but still isn't as big-name as Dubrovnik. We thought Split was more interesting because of its history; it was originally a roman palace that over the years was occupied by the town's residence and transformed into a city.


7. Bolzano, Italy
   A little bit of Austria in the Italian Alps, Bolzano is a lively place with a very outdoorsy culture where German is the first language of most residents, though all speak Italian as well.


8. Chania, Crete (Greece)
   OK, so the tourists have already discovered this one, unfortunately making it nearly impossible to navigate on a Friday night... but how can a city on Crete NOT be touristy? Chania is interesting because it has been inhabited so long that you can see modern buildings on top of Byzantine buildings on top of Hellenistic buildings on top of Minoan buildings!


9. Pecs, Hungary
   It's hard to say exactly what makes Pecs such a nice place to hang out... It has some old Turkish buildings, an impressive cathedral, and lots of those lovely Hungarian tiled roofs, but mostly, its residents just seem to really enjoy living there!


10. Ljubljana, Slovenia
    In a way, it's a travesty that this one makes the list. After all, it is a European capital city, so we all should have heard of it! But most of us haven't, and we highly recommend a visit to watch as Ljubljana transforms itself into a cosmopolitan regional center.

And, you can see photos of these places on our web site here!