6 Awesome Tips For How To Find Hidden Feeling Places in Europe

6 Awesome Tips For How To Find Hidden Feeling Places in Europe

(For those who prefer to read)

Have you ever looked at someone’s travel photos and wondered, How did they find that place

It’s one of the questions I get asked all the time.

People see me wandering through a quiet village, hiking a peaceful trail, or enjoying a beautiful landscape or historical site they’ve never heard of, and they want to know how I found it.

The truth is, I don’t have a secret list.

What I do have is a process.

Over the years, I’ve developed a way of researching trips that usually leads me to what I call hidden feeling places in Europe.

These aren’t secret destinations.

They’re places that often get overshadowed by their more famous neighbors or never make it to the top of a Google search result.

They’re places that are typically less busy and where you can connect with the landscape and the local people.

And the cherry on top?

You feel like you’ve discovered something special.

Here are the 6 tips I use for my own travels — and the same approach I use when I’m working with my travel clients.

#1 Start with a map

Before I book accommodations — or even build an itinerary — I spend time exploring maps.

Google Maps is one of my favorite research tools.

I zoom into an area that interests me and start looking around.

National parks or nature preserves, walking trails, viewpoints, castles, abbeys, scenic roads, small villages — anything that catches my eye.

One interesting place often leads to another…and another.

Before long I’ve fallen down a wonderful rabbit hole.

Many of my favorite discoveries have started with nothing more than curiosity and a map.

#2 Follow travelers with a similar style

Not every travel creator travels the way you do.

If your goal is slower, more meaningful travel, seek out bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, and writers whose travel style matches your own.

Maybe you love getting into the outdoors?

Follow someone who enjoys that.

Into history or art?

Ditto!

I discover plenty of new places by following people who enjoy exploring beyond Europe’s usual stops.

Sometimes they’ll mention a village, walking trail, or region I’d never considered before, which leads me to researching somewhere entirely new.

#3 Search by your interests

Instead of searching for “best places in Scotland” or “best places in Italy,” search for the experiences you enjoy.

Try searches like easy hikes in Ireland, coastal walks in Scotland, Roman history in northern England, waterfalls in Slovenia, or family-run wineries in Tuscany.

Your interests will often lead you to places that receive fewer visitors because you’re searching for experiences rather than the most famous destinations.

And you’re getting more specific and more granular in your search which will, in turn, provide better results.

#4 Look beyond the famous places

I always say, the famous places are famous for a reason.

I still encourage people to visit many of them.

But don’t stop there.

Look at what’s nearby.

Is there another valley, peninsula, town, or region that offers a similar experience with fewer visitors?

One of my favorite examples is southwest Ireland.

Many travelers head straight to the Ring of Kerry or the Dingle Peninsula.

And for good reason.

They’re beautiful.

But look just a little farther south and you’ll find the Beara Peninsula, Sheep’s Head Peninsula, and Mizen Head.

They receive far fewer visitors, yet offer the same stunning coastal scenery, charming villages, and wonderful opportunities to get outdoors.

Italy’s Piedmont region is another great example.

It offers incredible food, wine, rolling hills, and beautiful villages/

Yet it’s often overshadowed by more famous Tuscany.

Some of my favorite hidden feeling places in Europe weren’t even on my radar until I started looking beyond the glamour girl destinations.

#5 Stay longer

Sometimes a destination doesn’t become a hidden feeling place until the day-trippers leave.

I’ve experienced this in places like Orvieto, Italy.

During the day it can be quite busy with visitors coming off cruise ships or other points nearby.

But once evening arrives, the atmosphere changes completely.

By staying a night or two instead of rushing through on a day trip, you experience a completely different side of a destination.

You discover local cafés, quiet streets, neighborhood parks, and moments that many visitors never experience.

And often, that’s when you discover those hidden feeling places — because you simply have the time to slow down, linger, and explore a bit more deeply.

#6 Ask the locals

This might be the simplest tip of all.

Ask someone who lives there this question:

“If you had a free afternoon, where would you go?”

Whether it’s your guesthouse owner, a café worker, a shopkeeper, or your server at dinner, locals often recommend places that never appear in guidebooks.

One of my favorite towns in Umbria, Italy — the town of Bevagna — came from exactly this kind of recommendation.

It wasn’t on my list, but after hearing about it from the owners of the place I was staying, I visited it.

And now Bevagna is one of my favorite spots in the region.

The locals are always fabulous resources!

Final thoughts on finding hidden feeling places in Europe

Finding hidden feeling places in Europe isn’t about keeping secrets or avoiding every popular destination.

It’s about looking a wee bit deeper.

Sometimes that means opening a map instead of clicking the first search result.

Sometimes it means following your interests instead of someone else’s itinerary.

And sometimes it simply means staying one more night or asking one thoughtful question.

I genuinely enjoy this part of travel planning.

I love falling down research rabbit holes, following one interesting place to another, and seeing where it leads.

Not everyone enjoys that.

And that’s okay.

If researching trips sounds like fun, I hope these ideas help you discover places that become some of your own favorite travel memories.

And if you’d rather spend your time dreaming about the trip instead of researching it, that’s where I can help.

This is the same process I use when working with my travel planning clients — whether we’re building a custom itinerary, reviewing plans they’ve already made, or simply talking through ideas during a travel consultation.

After all, the goal isn’t just to visit Europe.

It’s to experience it in a way that feels right for you.

Because sometimes the places you’ll remember most aren’t the ones everyone talks about — they’re the ones you discovered for yourself.

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