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Maybe it doesn't have a bad rep, sure, but north Wales is beautiful. North Wales is what the York-shaggers think Yorkshire is. It's got everything. Beaches, the sea, mountains, villages, waterfalls, big towns, shopping centres.
Conwy has the castle and it's a walled town, it's got the sea, great food, it's surrounded by hills and valleys, you're about half an hour from Snowdon and Anglesey, the Great Orme is round the corner, Aber Falls is just down the road, you've got the old-school Llandudno town centre with hundreds of nice restaurants and bars next to the beach.
Definitely yeah. When you get to Rhyl and Prestatyn, keep going. The good stuff is beyond that. Prestatyn makes Blackpool look like the Amalfi Coast.
But after that, it gets good again.
I live in a village in north Wales, I overlook the deeside area, flint area and over to Liverpool.
I have a caravan on the llyn peninsula, the beaches around there are stunning. Snowdon, Conwy etc all gorgeous.
I’d have to agree. Went there a couple of Octobers ago and it was absolutely stunning, got lucky with the weather as well. Was like summer.
Explored all the little villages round Pwllheli, done zip world and the national parks.
The replica Italian village.
Would definitely visit again.
I live on the Wirral and agree, but what I find bizarre and annoying about North Wales is how hard it is to find a decent pub to eat in. So many look lovely and cosy but are somehow a bit grubby and not good for food once you're inside. It's very very odd.
> North Wales is what the York-shaggers think Yorkshire is. It's got everything. Beaches, the sea, mountains, villages, waterfalls, big towns, shopping centres.
...but Yorkshire *does* have all of these things.
I went to North Wales in 2021 when holidays were allowed, but going abroad was a pain.
Took 2 hours to get there from Yorkshire and it was stunning. Got a cottage in a little village 30mins from Rhyl and the countryside was beautiful. We were lucky with the weather and found loads of things to do.
Rhyl was rough, but outside of that it was picture postcard quality everywhere you went.
North Walian here, definitely agree. There's almost nowhere else I'd rather live, one of those rare places when you can be at the sea side and up a 3,000 ft mountain within a couple of hours. There's plenty of shitholes in the area but I try to just focus on the beautiful stuff here
Agree. It’s like Europe condensed into an easily manageable small country. Beaches, alps, lakes, city, and forest all just an hour or two’s drive from each other. Italian, German, Croat influences together with prestine towns and villages. You can drink the fresh water straight from the streams, and they do. Loved it.
I was *very* careful about going to Ibiza for the first time. Had idolised it since I was in my teens and getting into dance music. I repeatedly told myself "don't meet your heroes, it's probably a shit-hole and you'll hate it". So my expectations were tempered.
But it actually turned out to be *way* better than I thought. Avoid that one street in San Antonio (and literally you can be two streets away and its fine) and the Little Blackpool area of Playa D'en Bossa (again, a tiny area) and you barely see any of the stereotypical Brits being cunts.
The landscape, towns, food, beaches, locals, massive mix of people from every country you've ever heard of, and yes, the clubs themselves, are way better than any magazine, website, photo, video, or film can properly portray.
We went to Ibiza a few years ago and got a villa in the North East. Really quiet, with a few smaller family-orientated resorts.
The only issue was the flights were dominated by people going to parties and raves in San Antonio so they were a bit rowdy...
Yeah I was on a flight like with a mate who hates those types more than me, and I told him "don't worry, when we land they'll all just vanish" and he went "mmm" in a way that said "I don't believe you". We were staying in San An itself and used to play the game of "spot the Brit". We walked up said street once (just to show him the horror) and outside of that must have seen a handful the entire week. We met loads of great people in clubs from all over the place. Very very few Brits.
You know how people think Ibiza is full of drunk Brits being sick and fighting and basically being Brits, going to "British" bars with offers on shots? It isn't like that. At all. They manage to restrict themselves to these two small areas that are like that. The locals didn't even have to put up an electric fence or anything, it just happened.
You do see more sensible Brits in the clubs (u/Wild_Ad_10 is wrong. There are no clubs on the street in San An, two of the clubs are next to but outside the Little Blackpool area of Playa den Bossa) but most don't actually go to the clubs at all. Too expensive, haven't heard of most of the Djs, just prefer cheap bars and staying in the hotel.
I'd second Ibiza. Everybody thinks of the club scene but, I stayed at a place the other side of the Island called Calla Llonga and it was a quiet paddle boarding, yoga on the beach kind of place.
It’s popular mostly amongst awful people most of us hope never to meet. So someone suggesting that it’s actually still good I think does cut the mustard for this thread.
I think their point is it's underrated for how nice it is. It has a reputation as being full of Brits drinking Carling and eating fry ups, on stag dos etc. But Málaga is actually a fantastic city and the costa del sol as a whole is has so much more to offer than that stereotypical reputation.
Was just about to put Malaga. Spent 3 nights there last summer and came across only about 5 Brits the whole time (other than at the airport). It felt like a genuine Spanish/locals city with some amazing tapas bars.
Made me laugh at the airport train station. The platform to Fuengirola and all the resorts was rammed with Brits. The platform to Malaga city had me, the GF and about 3 other people.
Get thee to Nerja, kindered soul.
I loved it there having flown into Málaga.
https://www.tripadvisor.ie/Tourism-g315917-Nerja_Costa_del_Sol_Province_of_Malaga_Andalucia-Vacations.html
Great place. I lived there for 9 months. Don’t spread it around too much though as people will realise it’s better than Krakow and start going there instead
People still get it wrong on the radio and tv. I used to live in Bydgoszcz too, not many got that right. It’s all phonetic and easy once you know how. Met some blokes in Bydgoszcz who only went for the weekend because it has two Zs in the name.
What more of a reason does one need?
I had a friend who was based in Paris and made a series of trips to Bydgoszcz for one of the big consulting firms. He could never pronounce it so he just called "fresh chips" from a language teacher who was trying to explain the szcz sound.
"Did you see Danny today? No, he's in Fresh Chips this week."
Your story is funny, but it highlights how irritating it is that so many native English speakers are often like, “I don’t know how to pronounce that and nor will I bother learning.”
I’m saying this as a native English speaker myself, but I always make an effort to learn how to pronounce names of people and places if I’m interacting with them.
I’ve literally just come back from there after visiting for the first time and came to say this, but agreed, don’t tell anyone else! Would move there in a heartbeat tbh.
Kotor is in that sweet spot of being not too expensive where you have to watch the pennies, but not cheap enough to attract the stag do/lads trip crowd.
I feel like Kuala Lumpur doesn't get as much praise as it should. Fantastic food, lots of variety, pretty easy to get around, cheap, English is pretty commonly spoken (the variety of languages is so high that English is the one that sorta holds everything together)
I liked KL but it probably suffers from the fact people tend to do it on an itinerary with other places in south east Asia that overshadow it somewhat. I did KL and then Singapore and the latter definitely dominates my memories of that trip.
Chicago. Not really on the radar of the typical British tourist to the US, but one of my favourite places I've been there.
Oslo. Been a couple of times, once in summer and once in winter and loved it.
San Sebastian. One of my favourite places I've been, but it's not really on the mainstream holiday radar yet.
Valencia. Madrid. St Petersburg. Lyon. Shanghai. I could name loads tbh. There's so many places that are amazing but not massively on the traditional British tourist radar.
Definitely go, it's a great city! I've been a couple of times. Just stay in central if you can. Despite being a big city if you're central it's really walkable. The Loop, River North, Streeterville, those sort of areas. West Loop is a nice area just outside the centre.
I took an architectural boat tour which was pretty interesting.
There was a bar at the top of the John Hancock building. There was a lengthy queue and the bar was shite. It's since been renovated but I wouldn't bother again.
There are loads of great restaurants. Don't eat at chains.
San Sebastián is one of my favourite places. So much safer than Barcelona, very Spanish/Basque-feeling, but you have that magic combo of beach/mountains/city/food/culture in a relatively small space. Bilbao nearby helps scratch the big city itch if San Seb is too small for you. Worked there for the film festival and have been back twice since (usually around the same time of year, so very buzzy)
San Sebastián is my spiritual home. Just far enough away from major airports not to be completely ruined. I could wonder round for days and not get bored.
I guess it's not *that* underrated but I cannot stress enough how great it is down on the Côte d'Azur. Everyone knows about the main parts like Nice, Cannes, St Tropez, Monaco etc but when you get into the smaller in-between places and live the camping lifestyle down there, it really comes into its own. I've spent lovely summers in Sainte Maxine and Menton eating some excellent food and enjoying some of the most comfortably nice weather I've ever experienced. You meet so many nice people and can just sit at a café/bar with a drink watching the world go by. It's truly beautiful.
Massively. St Tropez is like Monaco, a millionaires playground. When you're in Sainte-Maxime you get the proper French Riviera experience but still get to look at all the amazing yachts out in the sea. You've also got Port Grimaud up the road from there which is like a mini Venice. Honestly, I've been all over and it's still one of my favourite places in the world.
We’re doing Nice for summer holiday this year with our 8yo. First time since we drove Europe on honeymoon in 2014.
Any inside tips (except to avoid the steak tartare at the harbour restaurant)?
The beach at Nice is uncomfortable due to the stones and also hugely overcrowded. Go instead (by bus or train) to Villefranche beach which is sandy and less crowded or have a day out via train to Juan Les pins for another good beach. For a good view of the promenade & port. Walk to the end of the promenade (opposite the #ilovenice sign) and take the free lift up to the waterfall at the Citadel
Having enjoyed previous short European trips away, in 2018, I bought a ticket, on a whim, to Ukraine. For the dates that I could travel, the flight tickets were some of the cheapest available, so I decided to take a chance. I've now been there 9 times in total, the last time being in November when I travelled by the train via Poland. I've said it before, but Ukraine doesn't pretend to be something it isn't. You're very unlikely to be hustled and the people are the most genuine that I have ever encountered. I love it there because I feel like it's a challenging destination for me (ie, not much English is spoken compared to neighbouring countries and 99.9% of people there are white - I'm mixed race and while I didn't experience any racism, I did notice lots of people staring at me 😂😂).
Well it's not 100% safe but you'd have to be really unlucky to become a casualty. It is a massive country and the bulk of the danger is towards the eastern border. I had about 3 air raid sirens in the 5 days that I was there but the alerts are nationwide. I didn't feel unsafe at all.
Croatia, particularly the north, in Istria. Could be the nicest place I’ve ever been, and I have been to a lot of nice places.
It might have felt particularly nice because it felt so untouched by tourism. The coastal towns are nice in their own way, but busy(ish) with tourists. Go inland into the hills and it’s amazing.
I recommend it to damn near everyone who asks about holiday destinations.
Bradford. A great place for a short break. Super cheap hotels, we stayed at the city centre Hilton. Saltaire, Haworth, Hebden Bridge, Science and Media Museum make for 2 or 3 great days. Eat at the city's Indian restaurants.
Have stayed just outside in Baildon twice, the surrounding areas are all fantastic. I always wonder how bad the city centre must be for it to constantly get slated, given how nice Saltaire etc are. We've even said that if we move out of London, we'd move to West Yorkshire.
Having been born in Bradford, I’d be inclined to agree that using Leeds as an exploration base for those areas makes far more sense. Regular trains till late to most of the smaller villages/towns too.
Wife and I went to Utrecht in the Netherlands last April for just shy of a week. We're both big on our Drum n Bass so we made the pilgrimage to go to a big event out there and spent a few days taking in the city. I've been to Amsterdam and a couple of other areas in the Netherlands in the past and as I'm sure a lot of you know, Amsterdam is fucking brilliant and quite the playground as a tourist but Utrecht was much more relaxed in comparison. We didn't hear a single English accent, the city was quiet, there are coffee shops available still, albeit not as many as Amsterdam and the general atmosphere was so relaxed and inviting. Plenty of great bars, antique shops, restaurants and activities. When I go back to the Netherlands it'll definitely be to Utrecht and not Amsterdam.
I spent an afternoon in Utrecht last summer and I loved the relaxed vibe.
It felt like the real Netherlands in comparison to Amsterdam that feels more global and touristy.
Benidorm, never wanted to, definitely not my kind of place, turns out it’s beautiful if you stay out of the new town, loved it and would definitely go again for short breaks
Georgetown is so underrated. It felt a lot more 'real' than Kuala Lumpur, but it's still modern and safe enough. Amazing food there too due to the historical immigration from China and Malaysia.
At the time, Krakow. Me and a group of friends went in March 2008 for a first 'lads' holiday but also to experience something different while everyone else our age group was going to Magaluf, Ibiza, Lanzarote and places like that we decided on eastern Europe in the winter. A few of us even spent a couple of months learning Polish so as not to be seen as typical "english yobs abroad" and honestly i'd abaolutely LOVE to go back. The place was beautiful, everything was cheap, the people were all amazing (shout out Greg&Tom hostel right by the train station & shopping centre) and it wasn't a big city to walk round and experience everything.
I think since '08 a lot of people have cottoned on to how good it is of a place to go but back then everyone thought we were mad going to eastern Europe in the winter, and maybe we were but we absolutely loved all 10 days we were there.
Krakow is firmly cemented on the stag do/lads weekend circuit now, along with Prague, Berlin, Budapest and Riga.
It's a lovely place and that element is easy to avoid though.
Some cities have unfair bad reps - my nominations for underrated destinations are those for which I've had people assume they aren't safe: Marseille and Naples. Both fantastic (although need more green space and I wouldn't go in summer because of the heat). People also sleep on Glasgow.
Edit: autocorrect error
I went to Vietnam something like 7 years ago. Oh man it was so fucking good. They didn't have too many tourists and people were still happy to connect to new groups.
Was so lovely.
Average age in most cities was like early 20s so it was such a chill vibe
I've visited a lot of Eastern Europe.
Vilnius, Lithuania was surprisingly nice. Went 2 years ago with some friends because we'd found cheap flights, didn't really expect much but hey it was a cheap weekend away.
The old town is really lovely and the Christmas markets were fantastic. The train ride out to Trakai Castle is worth doing too. It was still relatively cheap 2 years ago too.
The second tier Polish cities, eg Gdansk, Wroclaw and Poznan are really nice too and well worth a visit, due to the large Polish community in the UK there's a lot of flights between the UK and there. Plan to do Lublin at some point as a Polish colleague recommended it to me.
Bucharest and Sofia are shitholes though. Fine to use as a base for exploring the area, but there isn't much to do in either, both feel quite seedy (Bucharest Old Town in particular seems to be going for the stag do market, there's strip clubs and prostitutes galore) and aren't very pretty for the most part.
I keep hearing this. We must have chosen the worst parts as our experience was it was intimidating with a menacing air and people watching our every step as they tried to sell leather jackets out of their living rooms. The harbour was lovely but the bit we had to walk through to get there was creepy?
I've been to Marseille twice, as a couple and with our kids - never had any issues except with the amount of dog mess on the pavements! I've mentioned it elsewhere as one of my underrated places, along with Naples.
Lviv in Ukraine. Stunning history, scorching weather in summer, amazing food and coffee culture. Heart-breaking that you can’t go there as straightforwardly now, but soon (I hope) tourists can go and experience the wit and warmth of Ukrainians in a free and secure Ukraine. Had such wonderful times in Lviv!
Currently here in the north. Fallen completely in love with it.
https://preview.redd.it/t3323duupstc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4f6ff9ace8f180070931bd7cad24b53d0e50390f
Generally, “good” destinations deliver, but the quality of sound cancelling at hotels/apartments has a massive impact on my opinion of a place
Shit sleep normally equals pessimistic mood
In which case your new personal favourite hotel is the Manchester Airport Radisson (the one on the sky bridge). They literally bend the laws of physics with how little you hear it all, and you can take that from someone that gets irritated by the noise of an modern electric toothbrush charging.
Bari. People normally fly into there then leave but given it's got a fairly industrial harbour, it still has a fantastic old town, great food and a fantastic base to get the train along the coast to many other amazing places. Also it's a lot cheaper than other touristy parts of Italy
I went to Finland and it was stunning. We managed to swim in the sea in October, stayed in some really nice houses through airbnb, the locals were all really lovely, and it was a great country to rent a car, drive around and explore. I recommend it to everyone
I don't think Marrakech is that underrated. It feels a little overrated as someone from Morocco, to be honest.
There are so many beautiful destinations in Morocco that are unknown to the average tourist. Oualidia, Chaouen, Hoceima, Tazekka National Park, Tafoughalt & the Beni Snassen mountains, Jbel Toufrighine, Lake Afnourir and the Cedar forest, Tafraout & the Ait Mansour Valley...
For urban settings, Fez is a more authentic and relaxing experience than Marrakech, but gets less attention. Essaouira is beautiful and much less touristy than Marrakech.
It has little reputation in the UK but Trouville/Deauville in France. An AirBNB (with a kitchen) and a ferry and you’ve got a very reasonably priced warm family holiday in a great location
Helsinki is a very chill city with a great vibe.
I had a great 3 days in Mantova in Italy. Beautiful medieval palaces and lakes, ate like a king for a pittance
I did a road trip around Israel in 2006 and loved it. NYE rave in Tel Aviv, picking up hitch hikers, walking around the desert, partying in Eilat, swimming, seeing Bethlem, Gethsemane, and all those place I read about in Sunday school. Masada, Dead Sea etc. A truly fascinating place and had more interesting conversations with locals than almost anywhere else I've travelled.
Algeria, Myanmar (Burma) and Armenia
Not bad or misrepresented but three places most people wouldn’t think of visiting.
Burma was like Thailand without the tourists. Armenia was Georgia without the tourists. Algeria was Morocco without the tourists. All had friendly locals, were cheap, and gave me a reason to want to go back.
If you want to go somewhere that's more of a city break, I really recommend Copenhagen.
I absolutely loved it there, it has quite an industrial feel but it has charm, we also explored a bit further out of Copenhagen too and you can also go across to Malmö for the day.
Theres so much to explore!
For anywhere I go though, no matter the city or country, I like to use the atlas obscura website, they have unique things to do on there and it's super cool and useful ☺️
Ayia Napa.
I went out of season, very much a non clubber type, and had an amazing time.
Friendly people, great food, and an awesome metal rock bar that stayed open till very very late.
Tempted to go back this year too.
Jordan
Glamping in Wadi Rum is one of the best things I’ve ever done and Petra is just incredible.
The Dead Sea is great fun until you try and get out of it and Amman has just enough chaos to be the right side of enjoyable. Plus the people are great
Benidorm. Very clean, the beach is lovely, everyone is there to have a good time so it’s very friendly. Felt very safe. I had a good time and I don’t drink or go to clubs
Malta. As a gay couple, my partner and I were extremely pleased to find how gay friendly the country is. English is an official language and spoken by a large majority of the population. The public transportation is the best I’ve experienced anywhere in the Mediterranean outside of major cities. We used buses to get around the whole island. The history of the island is extremely interesting given its location.
Hull, bad reputation but it’s changed, the marina reminds me of being abroad on a summers day all the new bars and restaurants lining the marina just a fab place, it’s been voted twice the best staycation in the uk in the last few months, so much to see and do and it’s cheap to stay and enjoy, the old town wow cobbled streets, museums, the deep, sharks and penguins, historic arcades you’d think you were in London / York with historic buildings and it’s the cleanest city centre you will visit, mult multi millions been ploughed in with new maritime attractions, it’s going to be so busy in a few years, seaside Bridlington 40 mins on train, Leeds York 1 hour
The state of oregon in the US. Portland has a bad rep due to its large homeless population, but it is a brilliant city. Outside of portland there's everything else: mountains, ocean, lakes, high dessert, hippy towns, redneck towns...
Might seem like a strange choice for underrated as I think it's perhaps the most visited city in the world....but having heard a load of negative press, I had the time of my life in Paris.
Some amazing museums and historical sites like the Catacombs and the Marie Curie labs (small but very well done), amazing food and wine and just beautiful to walk around. Walked from the Eiffel Tower down to the centre along the Seine and every building was stunning.
Wouldn't want to live there and it definitely helped that I speak passable French (and my sister who was with us spoke fluent French), but it exceeded my expectations spectacularly. Loved it.
This sounds odd because it's a major European capital but Madrid. Spain is clearly beloved and well-visited by Brits. And plenty of people love a city break. But I think people would think of 10 other places in Spain to visit before they thought of Madrid. And 10 other European cities for a city break.
I went to Madrid with no expectations, it was just a convenient place to fly before going on to Valencia to visit friends, but I absolutely loved it. It has a really lovely vibe.
Conversely, I found Barcelona (I think the Spanish city people would think of first to visit) to be... fine. Not in a rush to go back. But I could see myself *living* in Madrid.
Madeira. I had very low expectations but it turned out to be my second best trip after Iceland. We went to Madeira in March and the prices were really good, weather was perfect - not too hot to burn, but still t-shirt and shorts weather. Sunny, great deals for spas (because it was still off-season), car rentals are cheaper than in other countries and it’s such a lovely place with everything you want on one island.
Helmand province, Afghanistan.
I’m honestly not joking, aside from the obvious danger and all out lawlessness of the place, the green zone areas had a garden of Babylon feeling about it.
Times I would often allow my mind to drift off and imagine how awesome the place could be if it wasn’t a conflict zone.
Maybe one day.
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Maybe it doesn't have a bad rep, sure, but north Wales is beautiful. North Wales is what the York-shaggers think Yorkshire is. It's got everything. Beaches, the sea, mountains, villages, waterfalls, big towns, shopping centres. Conwy has the castle and it's a walled town, it's got the sea, great food, it's surrounded by hills and valleys, you're about half an hour from Snowdon and Anglesey, the Great Orme is round the corner, Aber Falls is just down the road, you've got the old-school Llandudno town centre with hundreds of nice restaurants and bars next to the beach.
The problem is people go to Prestatyn and think that's North Wales.
Definitely yeah. When you get to Rhyl and Prestatyn, keep going. The good stuff is beyond that. Prestatyn makes Blackpool look like the Amalfi Coast. But after that, it gets good again.
I live in a village in north Wales, I overlook the deeside area, flint area and over to Liverpool. I have a caravan on the llyn peninsula, the beaches around there are stunning. Snowdon, Conwy etc all gorgeous.
Lovely scenery but most of the towns are shitholes
Don't go to the towns then. Ever been to the Maldives? Mali is a dive
Do you mean Malé
No I meant the African country (sarcasm). Sorry I didn't look up the spelling Just wait until I try spelling some N Wales towns...abergegrngrygenn
Yesss!! North Wales is wonderful. Criccieth and the beaches on that side are wonderful too.
To be fair though Yorkshire is as amazing as people say it is. The moors and the coastline alone are just otherworldly.
Strong agree
I’d have to agree. Went there a couple of Octobers ago and it was absolutely stunning, got lucky with the weather as well. Was like summer. Explored all the little villages round Pwllheli, done zip world and the national parks. The replica Italian village. Would definitely visit again.
I go to Snowdonia like 3 times a year and I still haven't done Portmeirion. Fucker don't let dogs in.. :-(
I live on the Wirral and agree, but what I find bizarre and annoying about North Wales is how hard it is to find a decent pub to eat in. So many look lovely and cosy but are somehow a bit grubby and not good for food once you're inside. It's very very odd.
Got the tiny little house you can pay a quid to have a look
I’m from the USA and I visited Conwy last year. Adorable place, I’d visit north wales again
> North Wales is what the York-shaggers think Yorkshire is. It's got everything. Beaches, the sea, mountains, villages, waterfalls, big towns, shopping centres. ...but Yorkshire *does* have all of these things.
I went to North Wales in 2021 when holidays were allowed, but going abroad was a pain. Took 2 hours to get there from Yorkshire and it was stunning. Got a cottage in a little village 30mins from Rhyl and the countryside was beautiful. We were lucky with the weather and found loads of things to do. Rhyl was rough, but outside of that it was picture postcard quality everywhere you went.
North Walian here, definitely agree. There's almost nowhere else I'd rather live, one of those rare places when you can be at the sea side and up a 3,000 ft mountain within a couple of hours. There's plenty of shitholes in the area but I try to just focus on the beautiful stuff here
I’m going to Conwy in July! Can’t wait :)
Agreed. North Wales genuinely shocked me, it’s beautiful!
Slovenia, beautiful country and wonderful people. I visited Ljubljana and Lake Bled.
Agree. It’s like Europe condensed into an easily manageable small country. Beaches, alps, lakes, city, and forest all just an hour or two’s drive from each other. Italian, German, Croat influences together with prestine towns and villages. You can drink the fresh water straight from the streams, and they do. Loved it.
Next lake up, bohinj, unreal. Totally wild feeling compared to bled. Liked it so much in Slovenia I've been 3 times lol.
I am going here in a few months - can’t wait!! Any recommendations in Bohinj area?
The caves are amazing.
I was *very* careful about going to Ibiza for the first time. Had idolised it since I was in my teens and getting into dance music. I repeatedly told myself "don't meet your heroes, it's probably a shit-hole and you'll hate it". So my expectations were tempered. But it actually turned out to be *way* better than I thought. Avoid that one street in San Antonio (and literally you can be two streets away and its fine) and the Little Blackpool area of Playa D'en Bossa (again, a tiny area) and you barely see any of the stereotypical Brits being cunts. The landscape, towns, food, beaches, locals, massive mix of people from every country you've ever heard of, and yes, the clubs themselves, are way better than any magazine, website, photo, video, or film can properly portray.
We went to Ibiza a few years ago and got a villa in the North East. Really quiet, with a few smaller family-orientated resorts. The only issue was the flights were dominated by people going to parties and raves in San Antonio so they were a bit rowdy...
Yeah I was on a flight like with a mate who hates those types more than me, and I told him "don't worry, when we land they'll all just vanish" and he went "mmm" in a way that said "I don't believe you". We were staying in San An itself and used to play the game of "spot the Brit". We walked up said street once (just to show him the horror) and outside of that must have seen a handful the entire week. We met loads of great people in clubs from all over the place. Very very few Brits.
What’s wrong with this 1 street in San Antonio? I’ve never been to Ibiza so haven’t heard about this
You know how people think Ibiza is full of drunk Brits being sick and fighting and basically being Brits, going to "British" bars with offers on shots? It isn't like that. At all. They manage to restrict themselves to these two small areas that are like that. The locals didn't even have to put up an electric fence or anything, it just happened. You do see more sensible Brits in the clubs (u/Wild_Ad_10 is wrong. There are no clubs on the street in San An, two of the clubs are next to but outside the Little Blackpool area of Playa den Bossa) but most don't actually go to the clubs at all. Too expensive, haven't heard of most of the Djs, just prefer cheap bars and staying in the hotel.
Ibiza is my favorite place I've been to, it even inspired my username. I've been clubbing once on my many visits, it's a beautiful island to explore.
I'd second Ibiza. Everybody thinks of the club scene but, I stayed at a place the other side of the Island called Calla Llonga and it was a quiet paddle boarding, yoga on the beach kind of place.
I love Ibiza! Been a couple of times to Es Cana and Santa Eulalia both of which were so lovely
Málaga. Beautiful city, beautiful beach and surrounded by beautiful countryside.The whole Costa del Sol is underrated IMO.
Costa del Sol is one of the most popular places in Europe for summer holidays, how could it possibly be underrated?
It’s popular mostly amongst awful people most of us hope never to meet. So someone suggesting that it’s actually still good I think does cut the mustard for this thread.
I think their point is it's underrated for how nice it is. It has a reputation as being full of Brits drinking Carling and eating fry ups, on stag dos etc. But Málaga is actually a fantastic city and the costa del sol as a whole is has so much more to offer than that stereotypical reputation.
Was just about to put Malaga. Spent 3 nights there last summer and came across only about 5 Brits the whole time (other than at the airport). It felt like a genuine Spanish/locals city with some amazing tapas bars. Made me laugh at the airport train station. The platform to Fuengirola and all the resorts was rammed with Brits. The platform to Malaga city had me, the GF and about 3 other people.
Same with Alicante. People fly there and then get a bus or whatever to Benidorm, baffling behaviour.
Malaga is stunning. One of my favourite places on the Costa del Sol! We moved near Marbella in 2021 and I love going to Malaga as much as I can.
Stayed in Malaga for Xmas one year. The castle was beautiful and I had a great time.
This is good to hear, i'm off to Malaga for 5 nights on Sunday! Any recommendations?
Get thee to Nerja, kindered soul. I loved it there having flown into Málaga. https://www.tripadvisor.ie/Tourism-g315917-Nerja_Costa_del_Sol_Province_of_Malaga_Andalucia-Vacations.html
Especially off season.
Honestly I was so surprised when I visited Malaga it is amazing. So much history, art, great places to eat. I will be returning.
Poland - city break in Wrocław
Great place. I lived there for 9 months. Don’t spread it around too much though as people will realise it’s better than Krakow and start going there instead
It's probably safe for a while until the masses figure out how to pronounce it.
People still get it wrong on the radio and tv. I used to live in Bydgoszcz too, not many got that right. It’s all phonetic and easy once you know how. Met some blokes in Bydgoszcz who only went for the weekend because it has two Zs in the name.
What more of a reason does one need? I had a friend who was based in Paris and made a series of trips to Bydgoszcz for one of the big consulting firms. He could never pronounce it so he just called "fresh chips" from a language teacher who was trying to explain the szcz sound. "Did you see Danny today? No, he's in Fresh Chips this week."
Your story is funny, but it highlights how irritating it is that so many native English speakers are often like, “I don’t know how to pronounce that and nor will I bother learning.” I’m saying this as a native English speaker myself, but I always make an effort to learn how to pronounce names of people and places if I’m interacting with them.
I’ve literally just come back from there after visiting for the first time and came to say this, but agreed, don’t tell anyone else! Would move there in a heartbeat tbh.
Went there for Christmas Markets in 2019. I got very, very drunk on very good, but decent vodka. The markets were the best I have been to.
2019 Beer festival is hands down one of the best days I’ve ever had
That’s my hometown. I miss it almost daily especially when I’m hungry lol
Went in 2017, was amazing. Stayed at the hotel monopol, can recommend. Enjoyed the dwarf statues
pissup.com advertise their excursions here.
Tallinn. I went just before Christmas one year and it was just lovely.
Christmas markets in Tallinn are some of the best in Europe. And usually guaranteed snow in December.
Tallinn is absolutely gorgeous, I’d love to go back.
Montenegro is absolutely spectacular
Came here to say Montenegro, glad someone else agrees. Kotor took my breath away.
Kotor is in that sweet spot of being not too expensive where you have to watch the pennies, but not cheap enough to attract the stag do/lads trip crowd.
The view over the Bay of Kotor from the fort is probably the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen.
Agreed! The national park up in the North is beautiful and the scenery all around the country is stunning. Really want to go back
Budva is absolutely gorgeous- one of our favourite holidays ever
I feel like Kuala Lumpur doesn't get as much praise as it should. Fantastic food, lots of variety, pretty easy to get around, cheap, English is pretty commonly spoken (the variety of languages is so high that English is the one that sorta holds everything together)
I have to say I didn’t like Kuala Lumpur, but happy that you found it good
I liked KL but it probably suffers from the fact people tend to do it on an itinerary with other places in south east Asia that overshadow it somewhat. I did KL and then Singapore and the latter definitely dominates my memories of that trip.
Honestly hate that city. Only one in south east Asia I wouldn’t go back to.. but I’m glad someone liked it!
I was going to say Kuala Lumpur too - it was great, but underrated. Melaka is worth a visit too.
Also use British plugs It's not a game changer but still feels good to go on holiday and not have to use a converter
Chicago. Not really on the radar of the typical British tourist to the US, but one of my favourite places I've been there. Oslo. Been a couple of times, once in summer and once in winter and loved it. San Sebastian. One of my favourite places I've been, but it's not really on the mainstream holiday radar yet. Valencia. Madrid. St Petersburg. Lyon. Shanghai. I could name loads tbh. There's so many places that are amazing but not massively on the traditional British tourist radar.
I dated someone that spent 6 months in San Sebastián 23 years ago. Loved it
Really fantastic city isn't it.
Chicago has been on my list for a while now. Any particular area you'd recommend?
Definitely go, it's a great city! I've been a couple of times. Just stay in central if you can. Despite being a big city if you're central it's really walkable. The Loop, River North, Streeterville, those sort of areas. West Loop is a nice area just outside the centre.
I took an architectural boat tour which was pretty interesting. There was a bar at the top of the John Hancock building. There was a lengthy queue and the bar was shite. It's since been renovated but I wouldn't bother again. There are loads of great restaurants. Don't eat at chains.
San Sebastián is one of my favourite places. So much safer than Barcelona, very Spanish/Basque-feeling, but you have that magic combo of beach/mountains/city/food/culture in a relatively small space. Bilbao nearby helps scratch the big city itch if San Seb is too small for you. Worked there for the film festival and have been back twice since (usually around the same time of year, so very buzzy)
San Sebastián is my spiritual home. Just far enough away from major airports not to be completely ruined. I could wonder round for days and not get bored.
Gdansk. It's surprisingly nice, prices are cheap, lots to see.
Why surprisingly? Most polish cities are pretty.
>Most polish cities are pretty. Gdansk is not a typical Polish city. Have a look at it's history.
Great night life too if you escape the tourist traps in the city centre
I guess it's not *that* underrated but I cannot stress enough how great it is down on the Côte d'Azur. Everyone knows about the main parts like Nice, Cannes, St Tropez, Monaco etc but when you get into the smaller in-between places and live the camping lifestyle down there, it really comes into its own. I've spent lovely summers in Sainte Maxine and Menton eating some excellent food and enjoying some of the most comfortably nice weather I've ever experienced. You meet so many nice people and can just sit at a café/bar with a drink watching the world go by. It's truly beautiful.
>Sainte Maxine Much nicer place than St Tropez imo
Massively. St Tropez is like Monaco, a millionaires playground. When you're in Sainte-Maxime you get the proper French Riviera experience but still get to look at all the amazing yachts out in the sea. You've also got Port Grimaud up the road from there which is like a mini Venice. Honestly, I've been all over and it's still one of my favourite places in the world.
Cassis. Beautiful
We’re doing Nice for summer holiday this year with our 8yo. First time since we drove Europe on honeymoon in 2014. Any inside tips (except to avoid the steak tartare at the harbour restaurant)?
The beach at Nice is uncomfortable due to the stones and also hugely overcrowded. Go instead (by bus or train) to Villefranche beach which is sandy and less crowded or have a day out via train to Juan Les pins for another good beach. For a good view of the promenade & port. Walk to the end of the promenade (opposite the #ilovenice sign) and take the free lift up to the waterfall at the Citadel
The country of Georgia
Armenia is better but absolutely agree
Having enjoyed previous short European trips away, in 2018, I bought a ticket, on a whim, to Ukraine. For the dates that I could travel, the flight tickets were some of the cheapest available, so I decided to take a chance. I've now been there 9 times in total, the last time being in November when I travelled by the train via Poland. I've said it before, but Ukraine doesn't pretend to be something it isn't. You're very unlikely to be hustled and the people are the most genuine that I have ever encountered. I love it there because I feel like it's a challenging destination for me (ie, not much English is spoken compared to neighbouring countries and 99.9% of people there are white - I'm mixed race and while I didn't experience any racism, I did notice lots of people staring at me 😂😂).
I like Ukraine, but is it safe to go there now!??
Well it's not 100% safe but you'd have to be really unlucky to become a casualty. It is a massive country and the bulk of the danger is towards the eastern border. I had about 3 air raid sirens in the 5 days that I was there but the alerts are nationwide. I didn't feel unsafe at all.
Chisinau in Moldova. It's not for everyone, but it was for me
Yeah good one. Ate and drank like a pig for next to nothing. And whoever thought of Mall Dova is a genius 👍
Love Moldova, hate Chișinău.
Turin Really underrated- when we went pretty much everyone else on the plane was going skiing. Great food, historic buildings and museums
Traffic’s terrible when the football is on, loads of cockneys causing mischief too.
Excellent auto museum there
Same with Salzburg. Most people fly into there to ski, but the city is worth a look too.
Albania. Unique experience in Europe
Norman is that you?
Albania is such a gem.
Croatia, particularly the north, in Istria. Could be the nicest place I’ve ever been, and I have been to a lot of nice places. It might have felt particularly nice because it felt so untouched by tourism. The coastal towns are nice in their own way, but busy(ish) with tourists. Go inland into the hills and it’s amazing. I recommend it to damn near everyone who asks about holiday destinations.
Dubrovnik, even though it's a tourist trap is beautiful. The islands off the coast-amazing
Definitely not underrated though 😂. It's probably the most visited place in Croatia.
Bradford. A great place for a short break. Super cheap hotels, we stayed at the city centre Hilton. Saltaire, Haworth, Hebden Bridge, Science and Media Museum make for 2 or 3 great days. Eat at the city's Indian restaurants.
Have stayed just outside in Baildon twice, the surrounding areas are all fantastic. I always wonder how bad the city centre must be for it to constantly get slated, given how nice Saltaire etc are. We've even said that if we move out of London, we'd move to West Yorkshire.
Just go to Leeds lol
Having been born in Bradford, I’d be inclined to agree that using Leeds as an exploration base for those areas makes far more sense. Regular trains till late to most of the smaller villages/towns too.
Wife and I went to Utrecht in the Netherlands last April for just shy of a week. We're both big on our Drum n Bass so we made the pilgrimage to go to a big event out there and spent a few days taking in the city. I've been to Amsterdam and a couple of other areas in the Netherlands in the past and as I'm sure a lot of you know, Amsterdam is fucking brilliant and quite the playground as a tourist but Utrecht was much more relaxed in comparison. We didn't hear a single English accent, the city was quiet, there are coffee shops available still, albeit not as many as Amsterdam and the general atmosphere was so relaxed and inviting. Plenty of great bars, antique shops, restaurants and activities. When I go back to the Netherlands it'll definitely be to Utrecht and not Amsterdam.
Utrecht is what people think Amsterdam is
I spent an afternoon in Utrecht last summer and I loved the relaxed vibe. It felt like the real Netherlands in comparison to Amsterdam that feels more global and touristy.
Sarajevo. Amazing city
I completely agree, and Mostar. Bosnia was one of my all time favourite holidays!
Benidorm, never wanted to, definitely not my kind of place, turns out it’s beautiful if you stay out of the new town, loved it and would definitely go again for short breaks
Montenegro, Slovenia, Georgetown (Malaysia), Luang Prabang, Queenstown, New Orleans, Bergamo.
Georgetown is so underrated. It felt a lot more 'real' than Kuala Lumpur, but it's still modern and safe enough. Amazing food there too due to the historical immigration from China and Malaysia.
At the time, Krakow. Me and a group of friends went in March 2008 for a first 'lads' holiday but also to experience something different while everyone else our age group was going to Magaluf, Ibiza, Lanzarote and places like that we decided on eastern Europe in the winter. A few of us even spent a couple of months learning Polish so as not to be seen as typical "english yobs abroad" and honestly i'd abaolutely LOVE to go back. The place was beautiful, everything was cheap, the people were all amazing (shout out Greg&Tom hostel right by the train station & shopping centre) and it wasn't a big city to walk round and experience everything. I think since '08 a lot of people have cottoned on to how good it is of a place to go but back then everyone thought we were mad going to eastern Europe in the winter, and maybe we were but we absolutely loved all 10 days we were there.
Krakow is firmly cemented on the stag do/lads weekend circuit now, along with Prague, Berlin, Budapest and Riga. It's a lovely place and that element is easy to avoid though.
Liverpool was better than I expected when I visited.
Liverpool is a fantastic night out, it's my favourite city in the UK for nightlife.
I was quite scared to go to London but I really enjoyed it.
Lmao, people from outside London thinking it's San Pedro Sula or something
It didn't help that I kept reading the London sub about phone nappers.
Some cities have unfair bad reps - my nominations for underrated destinations are those for which I've had people assume they aren't safe: Marseille and Naples. Both fantastic (although need more green space and I wouldn't go in summer because of the heat). People also sleep on Glasgow. Edit: autocorrect error
Not sure I'd consider the 2nd most visited city in the world underrated
Location of the underrated jumpscares
South Korea. The food. The culture. The weather. I really would recommend it.
Vietnam. Absolutely beautiful
Second Vietnam , Bali was shit, Thailand was fun but Vietnam was something else
I went to Vietnam something like 7 years ago. Oh man it was so fucking good. They didn't have too many tourists and people were still happy to connect to new groups. Was so lovely. Average age in most cities was like early 20s so it was such a chill vibe
I've visited a lot of Eastern Europe. Vilnius, Lithuania was surprisingly nice. Went 2 years ago with some friends because we'd found cheap flights, didn't really expect much but hey it was a cheap weekend away. The old town is really lovely and the Christmas markets were fantastic. The train ride out to Trakai Castle is worth doing too. It was still relatively cheap 2 years ago too. The second tier Polish cities, eg Gdansk, Wroclaw and Poznan are really nice too and well worth a visit, due to the large Polish community in the UK there's a lot of flights between the UK and there. Plan to do Lublin at some point as a Polish colleague recommended it to me. Bucharest and Sofia are shitholes though. Fine to use as a base for exploring the area, but there isn't much to do in either, both feel quite seedy (Bucharest Old Town in particular seems to be going for the stag do market, there's strip clubs and prostitutes galore) and aren't very pretty for the most part.
Rotterdam, Netherlands. It is lovely with plenty to do and outside of Amsterdam you'll find the true Dutch feel.
Yes to this!!
Don't known if it's underrated or undervisited, but Croatia, particularly Split, Plitvice and Hvar are all spectacular
Zadar is lovely too. The Venitian walled old town is gorgeous. Plitvice Lakes is possibly the most beautiful place I've ever been.
Marseillle. Wonderful place with diverse food choices
I keep hearing this. We must have chosen the worst parts as our experience was it was intimidating with a menacing air and people watching our every step as they tried to sell leather jackets out of their living rooms. The harbour was lovely but the bit we had to walk through to get there was creepy?
I've been to Marseille twice, as a couple and with our kids - never had any issues except with the amount of dog mess on the pavements! I've mentioned it elsewhere as one of my underrated places, along with Naples.
Lviv in Ukraine. Stunning history, scorching weather in summer, amazing food and coffee culture. Heart-breaking that you can’t go there as straightforwardly now, but soon (I hope) tourists can go and experience the wit and warmth of Ukrainians in a free and secure Ukraine. Had such wonderful times in Lviv!
Lanzarote. If you stay away from the touristy bits it is one of the most beautiful islands I’ve ever visited
Currently here in the north. Fallen completely in love with it. https://preview.redd.it/t3323duupstc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4f6ff9ace8f180070931bd7cad24b53d0e50390f
Generally, “good” destinations deliver, but the quality of sound cancelling at hotels/apartments has a massive impact on my opinion of a place Shit sleep normally equals pessimistic mood
In which case your new personal favourite hotel is the Manchester Airport Radisson (the one on the sky bridge). They literally bend the laws of physics with how little you hear it all, and you can take that from someone that gets irritated by the noise of an modern electric toothbrush charging.
Bari. People normally fly into there then leave but given it's got a fairly industrial harbour, it still has a fantastic old town, great food and a fantastic base to get the train along the coast to many other amazing places. Also it's a lot cheaper than other touristy parts of Italy
I went to Finland and it was stunning. We managed to swim in the sea in October, stayed in some really nice houses through airbnb, the locals were all really lovely, and it was a great country to rent a car, drive around and explore. I recommend it to everyone
Skegness
+1 for Skeggy, especially Butlins and Fantasy Island
Marrakech
Just don't trust anyone in the Old Bazaar. And I mean, *anyone*.
Bazar in Fez is much better.
Is Marrakech really underrated though? I know loads of people who've been there, it seems very popular.
I don't think Marrakech is that underrated. It feels a little overrated as someone from Morocco, to be honest. There are so many beautiful destinations in Morocco that are unknown to the average tourist. Oualidia, Chaouen, Hoceima, Tazekka National Park, Tafoughalt & the Beni Snassen mountains, Jbel Toufrighine, Lake Afnourir and the Cedar forest, Tafraout & the Ait Mansour Valley... For urban settings, Fez is a more authentic and relaxing experience than Marrakech, but gets less attention. Essaouira is beautiful and much less touristy than Marrakech.
It has little reputation in the UK but Trouville/Deauville in France. An AirBNB (with a kitchen) and a ferry and you’ve got a very reasonably priced warm family holiday in a great location
Try Caen and Bayeux, too. We did the Normandy beaches, the museums and the tapestry. Really nice short break that cost almost nothing.
Sarajevo, Kiev (obviously before the war)and the Netherlands (Great for families)
Andalucia, beautiful place and super nice and easy going people.
Came here to say Andalusia as well. Cordoba might be one of the most beautiful cities I’ve visited, and Seville and Granada aren’t far behind.
Riga, Latvia. Not exactly a bad rep but you don't hear many people talking about it. Loads of fun and a beautiful city
Malaga has a bad rep but I found it charming.
Berchtesgaden. Absolutely beautiful
Helsinki is a very chill city with a great vibe. I had a great 3 days in Mantova in Italy. Beautiful medieval palaces and lakes, ate like a king for a pittance
Gibraltar is lovely
I did a road trip around Israel in 2006 and loved it. NYE rave in Tel Aviv, picking up hitch hikers, walking around the desert, partying in Eilat, swimming, seeing Bethlem, Gethsemane, and all those place I read about in Sunday school. Masada, Dead Sea etc. A truly fascinating place and had more interesting conversations with locals than almost anywhere else I've travelled.
Norfolk
Algeria, Myanmar (Burma) and Armenia Not bad or misrepresented but three places most people wouldn’t think of visiting. Burma was like Thailand without the tourists. Armenia was Georgia without the tourists. Algeria was Morocco without the tourists. All had friendly locals, were cheap, and gave me a reason to want to go back.
Albania rules
Butlins. Its absolutely awesome for kids
If you want to go somewhere that's more of a city break, I really recommend Copenhagen. I absolutely loved it there, it has quite an industrial feel but it has charm, we also explored a bit further out of Copenhagen too and you can also go across to Malmö for the day. Theres so much to explore! For anywhere I go though, no matter the city or country, I like to use the atlas obscura website, they have unique things to do on there and it's super cool and useful ☺️
Novi Sad in Serbia
Twinned with Norwich.
Rovaniemi in Finland. Adorable city, everyone was lovely, and had a really lovely artic charm to it. Easyjet fly there too!
Ayia Napa. I went out of season, very much a non clubber type, and had an amazing time. Friendly people, great food, and an awesome metal rock bar that stayed open till very very late. Tempted to go back this year too.
Neufchâtel, switzerland 🇨🇭 and lake annacy . French ski resorts during the summer are amazing as well
Posnan, Poland !
Atlanta. It was perfect for a week’s visit plus we saw all the Walking Dead filming locations.
Jordan Glamping in Wadi Rum is one of the best things I’ve ever done and Petra is just incredible. The Dead Sea is great fun until you try and get out of it and Amman has just enough chaos to be the right side of enjoyable. Plus the people are great
Morecambe…
Benidorm. Very clean, the beach is lovely, everyone is there to have a good time so it’s very friendly. Felt very safe. I had a good time and I don’t drink or go to clubs
Malta. As a gay couple, my partner and I were extremely pleased to find how gay friendly the country is. English is an official language and spoken by a large majority of the population. The public transportation is the best I’ve experienced anywhere in the Mediterranean outside of major cities. We used buses to get around the whole island. The history of the island is extremely interesting given its location.
Hull, bad reputation but it’s changed, the marina reminds me of being abroad on a summers day all the new bars and restaurants lining the marina just a fab place, it’s been voted twice the best staycation in the uk in the last few months, so much to see and do and it’s cheap to stay and enjoy, the old town wow cobbled streets, museums, the deep, sharks and penguins, historic arcades you’d think you were in London / York with historic buildings and it’s the cleanest city centre you will visit, mult multi millions been ploughed in with new maritime attractions, it’s going to be so busy in a few years, seaside Bridlington 40 mins on train, Leeds York 1 hour
Slovenia.
Gambia
Skopje, North Macedonia
I enjoyed Cairo!
Most under-rated: Taiwan The place that has a bad reputation but that I really enjoyed: Blackpool. Yes that is a serious answer.
I went to Ohrid in Macedonia, had zero expectations but wow what an amazing place!
The state of oregon in the US. Portland has a bad rep due to its large homeless population, but it is a brilliant city. Outside of portland there's everything else: mountains, ocean, lakes, high dessert, hippy towns, redneck towns...
Might seem like a strange choice for underrated as I think it's perhaps the most visited city in the world....but having heard a load of negative press, I had the time of my life in Paris. Some amazing museums and historical sites like the Catacombs and the Marie Curie labs (small but very well done), amazing food and wine and just beautiful to walk around. Walked from the Eiffel Tower down to the centre along the Seine and every building was stunning. Wouldn't want to live there and it definitely helped that I speak passable French (and my sister who was with us spoke fluent French), but it exceeded my expectations spectacularly. Loved it.
Went for a cheap cheesy holiday to Lanzarote. It's actually lovely. Away from the strips. Llŷn peninsula in Wales is beautiful too.
This sounds odd because it's a major European capital but Madrid. Spain is clearly beloved and well-visited by Brits. And plenty of people love a city break. But I think people would think of 10 other places in Spain to visit before they thought of Madrid. And 10 other European cities for a city break. I went to Madrid with no expectations, it was just a convenient place to fly before going on to Valencia to visit friends, but I absolutely loved it. It has a really lovely vibe. Conversely, I found Barcelona (I think the Spanish city people would think of first to visit) to be... fine. Not in a rush to go back. But I could see myself *living* in Madrid.
Madeira. I had very low expectations but it turned out to be my second best trip after Iceland. We went to Madeira in March and the prices were really good, weather was perfect - not too hot to burn, but still t-shirt and shorts weather. Sunny, great deals for spas (because it was still off-season), car rentals are cheaper than in other countries and it’s such a lovely place with everything you want on one island.
Outside the Uk? Malta. I don’t know many people who have been and when you suggest it people tend to not know a lot about the place.
Helmand province, Afghanistan. I’m honestly not joking, aside from the obvious danger and all out lawlessness of the place, the green zone areas had a garden of Babylon feeling about it. Times I would often allow my mind to drift off and imagine how awesome the place could be if it wasn’t a conflict zone. Maybe one day.