With the increasing availability of travel, flexibility of the work schedule, and the general panicked need to take a long-distance break from everything going on, travel hotspots around the world are feeling the effects of overtourism.

Now, overtourism seems like a silly problem for a city to have – isn’t it a good thing to have a lot of people come visit? It brings money to hotels, restaurants, sites, and shops – more tourists mean more job opportunities (in tourism).

While the effect of overtourism can differ based off the location, many cities experience price increases and excessive crowds. Which, of course, is something that the average tourist might be willing to put up so they can still experience their dream vacation, but for a local? Every day, crowds blocking the street, your favorite café doubling in prices cause “it’s business”, short term rental companies buying out apartments so you may never leave your parents’ house, your language and culture fading to accommodate English-speaking tourists?

Personally, I got aggravated enough when I was living in Boston and all the college students came back at the end of summer, doubling the city’s population and crowding up my work route again.

With that in mind, here are some alternatives for popular cities that suffer from overtourism:

Rome, Italy

I don’t even need to introduce Rome, or explain why the Eternal City is on this list. I’m sure you’ve seen the videos of the streets in Rome during the summer – so tightly packed, you’re breathing in everyone else’s sweat as you struggle through the 100+ degree weather. Instead of impersonating a can of sardines, check on one of these spots:

Pula, Croatia

I’ll always push my Croatia agenda! While Croatia is getting more popular, you mainly see people travel to Dubrovnik, Split, and Zagreb. Pula, meanwhile, sits on the tip of the Istria peninsula (my favorite region of Croatia!) and has its own Roman amphitheater, considered one of the best-preserved amphitheaters in the world. From Pula, you can also visit the Brijuni Islands, a collection of islands that serve as both a national park and a summer resort. The largest of the islands, Veliki Brijun Island, is known for its dinosaur footprints and ruins.

Tunisia

I’ll be fair, there isn’t ONE city in Tunisia that I would recommend in place of Rome – the whole country covers everything you can find in Rome and more! Coliseum? Try the Amphitheater of El Jem. Iconic sites and movie references? Tunisia was the site of Tatooine for Star Wars. If you want a beach vacation, hop over to Djerba Island, where Italians love to vacation. Food? Tasty and fresh – especially the tuna.

Lisbon, Portugal

I remember when Portugal was the “new hot spot” for tourism. Today, Lisbon is considered a must-see city, which brings in large crowds of tourists that cause degradation to historic sites and overwhelm the infrastructure of the hilly city. Instead of seeing Lisbon, maybe give the city a little breathing space and check out a different option:

Rovinj, Croatia

Croatia again, really? I’ll stop pushing Croatia when it stops being such an ideal location – sun, food, and prices, with a nice sprinkling of Roman history? What’s not to love? In the case of Rovinj, a small city on the Istria peninsula (again!) and a short drive from Pula, it is the perfect place to stop, sit down, and enjoy a glass of wine and a nice charcuterie board as you look out over the water – without having to embark on the Sisyphean task of climbing all the stairs in Lisbon.

San Marino

If it’s a hill-top town you’re after, look no further than San Marino! My favorite of the small countries that dot Europe, the capital of San Marino (also called San Marino) is a fortified city surrounded by Italian farmland, with an interesting history, delicious food, and a beautiful view.

Barcelona, Spain

By this point, I’m sure you’ve heard about the protests against tourists going on in Barcelona. While there haven’t been any reports of injury, Barcelona locals are not being subtle when they tell tourists to get out. And having a crowd screaming at me while I try to take in Gaudi’s architecture or dig into a paella is not what I consider a fun vacation – so let’s find somewhere else to go for a little while:

Potsdam, Germany

Once the home of Prussian Kings and German Emperors, Potsdam has a number of Baroque and Rococo palaces, including Sanssouci Palace (believed to rival Versailles) and Orangery Palace (built in Italian Renaissance style, similar to Villa Medici in Rome) – both are part of the Potsdam Palaces and Parks UNESCO World Heritage Site. And while fancy palaces feed fire to my middle-class rage, I can’t deny I love the shiny gold-gilded Baroque and Rococo architecture. If you’re not visiting the Sagrada Familia, might as well visit something worth even more, with an imperial history.

Ohrid, Macedonia

I keep circling back to Macedonia, whenever I have to hop out of the Schengen zone. More specifically, I keep ending up in Ohrid, the town on the shores of Lake Ohrid, one of Europe’s oldest and deepest lakes. Much like Barcelona, Ohrid is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, renowned for its architecture and cultural significance. The natural beauty of Lake Ohrid is stunning and it is always a wonder to walk along the boardwalk to climb to Church of St. John overlooking the lake.

You can learn more about Ohrid and North Macedonia in my Top 3: North Macedonia review.

Paris, France

I’ve already outlined my love of Paris but, being the number one visited city in the world, Paris suffers from overtourism with the best of them. In mid-2025, the staff of the Louvre, the most visited museum in the world, staged a walkout, to protest the rampant overtourism impacting the museum. At this point, I think Paris needs a break – and I have a couple recommendations!

Vienna, Austria

Much like Paris, Vienna is a huge city with an imperial history and a predilection for the arts. And while Paris is known for its abundance of art museums, Vienna is the home of many famous classical composers – Beethoven, Mozart, Schoenberg, Schubert, etc. Vienna has multiple breathtaking palaces and historical museums to visit and a thriving coffee house culture, so you can easily spend your day people watching with a coffee and an apple strudel. In fact, the coffee house is so important culturally, its even listed as an Intangible UNESCO Cultural Heritage.

Bucharest, Romania

Nicknamed the “Paris of the East”, Bucharest’s architecture was heavily influenced by classic Parisian styles, with an abundance of French Renaissance buildings and wide pedestrian friendly boulevards. The city has a flourishing café culture and its own Arch de Triumph to visit – as well as an interesting and relatively recent history that, strangely enough, has some similarities to France’s Revolution. And visiting Bucharest is worth it for a day at Therme Bucharest, Europe’s largest wellness and relaxation center – I found the water slides and the mineral pools to be my favorite areas!

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Like many cities in Southern Europe, Dubrovnik has taken measures to limit their overtourism issues, including limiting the number of short-terms rentals allowed in the city. However, even with these limits, there are still an abundance of day-trippers and cruise tourists crowding up the Old Town and adding a level of danger to circling the city walls, what with people getting pushy.

Motovun, Croatia

At first glance, Motovun isn’t similar to Dubrovnik at all – a medieval hilltop city, far from the water, with no pop culture hot-spots. At a second glance, Motovun is the capital of truffles in Croatia and is known for its mostly intact city wall, where you can look out over the surrounding valley and the nearby Motovun forest. Every restaurant offers truffle dishes, and there are numerous companies that offer truffle hunts. The similarities are in the history, with both cities being known for their intact medieval architecture, their cuisine, and their stunning views.

Valletta, Malta

Valletta, the capital of the smallest island nation in Europe and the smallest capital in Europe, has a long-standing and fascinating history, often being referred to as an “open-air museum” for its well-preserved architectural history. More interestingly, Valletta was also listed as the “sunniest city” in 2016. While Valletta itself does not have any notable beaches, it is easy ferry to Gozo or Comino Island, which are known for their clear blue waters and sandy beaches.

Venice, Italy

Bluntly, Venice might be one of the prettiest cities I have visited. But overtourism is only stripping that beauty away – not only are there crowds of people, thick enough that a 5-minute walk becomes a 20-minute anxiety inducing press of shoving bodies, but the city itself is becoming “Disneyified”. The local population is leaving in droves; the culture being sandpapered down until its little more than a giant amusement park. Overtourism will always have a negative impact on the culture – globalization is a curse as much as it can be a boon – but Venice is treated more like a resort than somewhere that people live. To combat this, Venice has implemented entrance fees and is looking to install a reservation system to limit the tourist crowds, but in the meantime, maybe take a step away and check out some other beautiful cities around Europe.

Bruges, Belgium

There are dozens of towns and cities around Europe that are compared to Venice – Hamburg, Germany; Aveiro, Portugal; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Gdnask, Poland; Copenhagen, Denmark to name a handful. Of them, Bruges is a favorite. The city is known as “the Venice of the North” and its historic center is also a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its well-preserved medieval architecture. The canals are a delight to explore by boat tour or simply by getting lost as you take in the view – and while you’re there, might as well stop for a Belgium waffle!

Colmar, France

This small French town was the inspiration for the animated setting in Howl’s Moving Castle and is speculated to possibly be one of the influences for the location of Beauty and the Beast. One neighborhood in Colmar is even called “Petit Venice” for its canals, where you can join a boat tour or sit down at a canal-side restaurant and watch the boats go by. In the summer heat you may also bear witness to an impromptu water gun fight between tour guides as the boats pass each other.

Santorini, Greece

Everyone has heard of Santorini and everyone has it on their Greek island-hopping itinerary, either due to the scenic blue-domed buildings of Oia that are on all the Greece postcards and Instagram posts or because of the iconic sunset that brings out hoards of people to crowd the island. While the Greece government has decided to set a sustainability tax on Santorini (and other Greek islands), rather than limit the number of visitors, I sincerely doubt that’ll stop everyone as people will pay whatever cost it takes to have the picture-perfect trip. So, to save yourself the headache, I have a couple recommendations:

Milos, Greece

The nicknamed “Island of Lovers” is not just for lovers – rather it’s a stunning island that is welcome to everyone, whether you’re after a beach day (with 70 different beaches to choose from all around the island) or a history day (having been the site of the Aphrodite of Milos and the ancient city of Klimos). The capital of Milos, Plaka, is a charming town on top of a cliff overlooking the Aegean Sea, allowing for breathtaking sunsets and stunning panoramic views.

Chefchaouen, Morocco

If the picturesque white buildings and blue domes is what you’re after, check out the “Blue Pearl” of Morocco, Chefchaouen, a city painted in blue. Some people say this tradition stated as a legal mandate to attract tourists in the 1900s and others say it was done to keep the mosquitos away. Now, the city is repainted every year. The vibrancy of the color astonished me from the moment I arrived – it felt like everything around me was tinted in sky-blue, from the walls of the buildings to the people around me.

Prague, Czech Republic

Prague, popular during the Christmas Market season, is one of the cities on my list that stays crowded year-round, rather than just during the summertime. Much like Krakow in Poland, Prague suffers from short term tourists that fly in from more expensive countries for an overnight solely for a pub crawl – which usually end in disruptive, disrespectful, and drunken tourists. The local government has taken steps to moderate short-term rentals and organized pub crawls, but if you want to enjoy a trip to a historical city without having to deal with all that, I got some places for you:

Brasov, Romania

Brasov seems like a bit of a dark horse, if I’m looking to compare it to Prague.  But the city, while only the 6^th largest in Romania, is the second largest in terms of tourism. This is partly, of course, due to its convenient location – it serves as a good jumping off point to visit nearby castles, such as Bran Castle, Râșnov Fortress, and Cantacuzino Castle. Additionally, it has a well-preserved Old Town, lodged in a valley, craddled between two mountains. Brasov is a year-round location too, as the nearby ski resort, Poiana Brasov, is the biggest and most luxurious mountain resort in Romania, and one of the most affordable resorts in Europe.

Tallinn, Estonia

Much like Prague, Tallinn is an optimal year-round location, especially during the Christmas season as the city’s Christmas market is considered one of the prettiest in Europe! And no matter the season, Tallinn’s medieval Old Town looks like it popped straight out of a story book, with the cobble-stone streets, the surrounding city-wall, and Toompea Castle looming over the city.