Ever since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of people traveling has increased considerably. According to Statista, there were 1.4 billion inbound tourist arrivals globally in 2024, 747 million of them in Europe alone.
The large number of travelers have led to many popular destinations being overcrowded. Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, and Greece are among the countries dealing with overtourism. This has led to destinations like Barcelona, Rome, and Amsterdam imposing taxes and restrictions designed to control the number of visitors.
As a result, travelers are looking for new places to visit in 2025. Some are looking for “destination dupes,” places that are similar to well-known destinations. Some are looking for uncrowded cities and destinations in their favorite countries. Others are looking for new destinations altogether.
This list of Click2Refund’s Top 10 Underrated Travel Destinations in 2025 features a variety of cities, towns, regions, and one entire country, all in Europe, where you can spend time exploring without contending with crowds. The nearest airport to each destination is included in respective description to make it easier to plan your journey.
Antwerp, just 4 km from the Antwerp City Airport, is both the diamond center of the world and a major fashion hub. Antwerp earns its status as an underrated travel destination not only because of diamonds and fashion, but also because of its baroque and gothic churches and its galleries displaying the works of local artists like Peter Paul Rubens.
Rubens’ works are on display at both the Royal Museum of Fine Arts and St. James’ Church. The Museum Mayer van den Bergh exhibits paintings by other artists like Pieter Bruegal. St. Andrew’s, St. Charles Borromeo, and St. Paul’s are among Antwerp’s Gothic and baroque churches.
DIVA, Antwerp’s diamonds and jewelry museum, offers a free self-guided walking tour of both the Diamond District and the Historic Centre. Antwerp’s specialized museums include MoMu (fashion), the Museum Plantin-Moretus (printing press), and Chocolate Nation.
Aveiro, called the Venice of Portugal, sits on the Aveiro Lagoon. An underrated travel destination 85 km south of Porto’s Francisco Sa Carneiro Airport, Aveiro is known not just for the Lagoon, but also for its Art Nouveau buildings.
Colorful moliceiro boats take visitors on sightseeing journeys along the Aveiro Lagoon canal. An 8 km wooden walkway allows visitors to explore the canal on foot or by bicycle. The Troncalhada Ecomuseum lets guests see the salt harvesting process.
Start exploring Aveiro’s pastel colored and floral motif embellished Art Nouveau buildings at the Museu Arte Nova. Free maps guide you to the locations of the city’s other Art Nouveau buildings. Costa Nova, a fishing village 10 km south of Aveiro, has many charming and colorful fisherman’s houses. Start exploring Aveiro’s pastel colored and floral motif embellished Art Nouveau buildings at the Museu Arte Nova. Free maps guide you to the locations of the city’s other Art Nouveau buildings. Costa Nova, a fishing village 10 km south of Aveiro, has many charming and colorful fisherman’s houses.
Often ignored by visitors to Ireland, Belfast, Northern Ireland’s capital, has left its sectarian past behind and is now a thriving and underrated travel destination with a maritime heritage and plenty of live music. Visitors have two airports to choose from, George Best Belfast City Airport and Belfast International Airport.
The Titanic Belfast Museum, in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, sits on the site where the doomed ship was built. The television series Game of Thrones was partially filmed nearby at Titanic Studios. Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, a historic official residence for the British Royal Family, is open for tours.
A UNESCO City of Music, Belfast has no shortage of venues to hear live performances. The lively and historic Linen Quarter is the home of Ulster Hall, the Grand Opera House, and many bars and hotels where local artists perform.
If you’re seeking an underrated travel destination in Italy, look no further than Bologna. The city, located south of both Venice and Milan in Emilia-Romagna, has no shortage of historic and cultural sites. Plus, you can fly into the less-crowded Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport.
The Basilica di San Petronio, the Due Torre, the Museo Civico Archeologico, and the Museo Civico Medievale are within walking distance of the Piazza Maggiore. The Pinacoteca Nazionale art gallery is in the University District, which is where you’ll find Bologna University, Europe’s oldest university.
Bologna’s best restaurants may be found in the University District. In the evenings, the taverns along Via del Pratello and Via de’ Poeti come to life with live music. The Teatro Manzoni hosts an eclectic schedule of concerts. In nearby Modena, you can tour the famed tenor Luciano Pavarotti’s home.
Kotor could easily be mistaken for an Italian city, thanks to the Venetian-style architecture found in the Old Town district. Situated on the Bay of Kotor and an underrated travel destination due to the town’s well-preserved historic sites, Kotor is only 8 km from Tivat Airport.
Within the Old Town you’ll find medieval churches, baroque palaces, museums, and cathedrals, including the Cathedral of Saint Tryphon, along the cobblestone streets and alleys. A network of tall bulwarks constructed in the ninth century surrounds Old Town. Cafes dot the historic squares while boutiques and restaurants occupy many of the buildings.
Visitors seeking a break from Old Town’s sites can enjoy the crystal-clear water and scenic views of Kotor’s beaches. The small beaches along the Bay of Kotor are family-friendly, with some having adjacent restaurants.
Located in France’s second largest metropolitan area, the underrated travel destination of Lyon is the cultural center of the Rhone-Alps region. One of the world’s culinary capitals, Lyon is easily reached by air, thanks to Lyon-St Exupery Airport.
Vieux Lyon, or Old Lyon, is filled with cobblestone streets and medieval and Renaissance architecture. A symbol of the city, the Basilique Notre-Dame, sits on the Hill of Fourviere. The Lyon Historical Museum and the International Museum of Puppets make their home at the Musee Gadagne.
Lyon offers several food tours where you can try local delicacies like pork scratching, brioche sausage rolls, cured saucisson, and praline tarts. One food tour is devoted solely to Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse, Lyon’s prestigious indoor market hall, which is named for Lyon’s famous Michelin three-star chef Paul Bocuse.
Northumberland, in northeast England, offers everything you might expect to find in England, including historic sites, castles, stately homes, lovely gardens, and charming villages. This underrated travel destination, 33 km from Newcastle Airport, also offers some unexpected attractions, like islands, a bagpipe museum and the first house in the world to be powered by hydroelectricity.
The most prominent historical site in Northumberland is Hadrian’s Wall. The Roman-built stone wall inspired author George R.R. Martin to write Game of Thrones. Forts, excavation sites, bath houses, and ancient temples dot the length of the Wall, which has no shortage of scenic views.
Among Northumberland’s over 70 castles are Alnwick Castle, England’s second largest castle; and the medieval Chillingham Castle. Lindisfarne Castle and the Lindisfarne Priory are on Holy Island, which is only accessible by a coastal causeway that closes twice a day due to rising tides.
Slovenia sits on Croatia’s northern border and benefits from its location near both the Mediterranean Sea and the Alps. Served by Joze Pucnik Airport, Slovenia is small in both size and population, but it has everything you want in an underrated travel destination, including Gothic and baroque architecture, beaches, wineries, forests, and ski areas.
Slovenia’s pedestrian friendly capital, Ljubljana, is home to Ljubljana Castle, the City Museum, the National Gallery, the National Museum of Slovenia, Dragon Bridge, and many parks and groves. On most Fridays, chefs from throughout Slovenia gather at the Central Market to prepare native Slovenian meals, which are sold to awaiting diners.
The picturesque Lake Bled, with an island featuring a beautiful church and bell tower, is a gateway to explore the mountains. Kranjska Gora is the best-known Julian Alps ski destination. Slovenia’s three wine growing regions are Primorska, Podravje, and Posavje, On the Adriatic Sea, the towns of Piran and Portoroz are home to beaches, nature parks, and salt flats.
While many travelers to Spain visit either Madrid or Barcelona, they don’t take the time to explore the port city of Valencia. On the Mediterranean Sea, Valencia is an underrated travel destination that has as much history, culture, and food as Madrid and Barcelona and is just 8 km from Valencia Airport.
Valencia’s city center is home to Valencia Cathedral, where the Holy Grail resides. The Gothic-style Lonja de la Seda, known as the Silk Exchange, is one of Valencia’s signature landmarks. The historic Central Market has 250 stalls selling fresh food. Valencia 's two major art museums are The Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia and the Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno.
The Parque Natural de L’Albufera, 17 km south of Valencia, has much to offer, including lagoons, barrier beaches, sand dunes, and boat rides. Bomba rice, important in making Valencia’s signature dish, paella, grows in the park’s rice paddies.
Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, is a city of museums and churches. The underrated travel destination’s museums exhibit everything from art to money while the Classicist, neoclassical, Renaissance, and Gothic churches are an integral part of Vilnius’s history. Vilnius International Airport is just 7 km from Old Town Vilnius.
Vilnius’s art museums include the MO Museum, the Radvita Palace Museum of Fine Arts, and the Vytautas Kasilulis Museum of Art. Other Vilnius museums focus on one subject, like the Toy Museum, Money Museum, and Railway Museum.
Most of Vilnius’s historic churches are located in Old Town. The heart of Old Town is the neoclassical Vilnius Cathedral, at the base of Gediminas Hill. Other significant churches include St. Anne’s, St. Teresa’s, St. Casimir’s, and the Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit.
When flying to an underrated travel destination, you want everything to go smoothly so you can arrive relaxed and ready to explore someplace new and exciting. The last thing you need is a flight delay, an overbooked flight, a missed connecting flight, a last-minute flight cancellation, or being denied boarding to take the excitement away from you.
Filing a flight delay compensation claim or a cancelled flight compensation claim is one of the least exciting things you can do, so let Click2Refund do the work for you. Send us your flight details and our team will file your claim and correspond with the airline on your behalf. The process is simple and efficient and there are no upfront charges or hidden fees.
Click2Refund has an industry-leading success rate of over 98 percent when it comes to resolving compensation claims. To find out how much the airlines owe you for your flight delay or cancellation, use our Click2Refund flight delay compensation calculator. It’s free and there is no obligation.