The Real Europe: Crowds, Tourists, and Money

Even though it would bring in far more visitors and probably earn me more money from advertising, I don’t talk much about Europe on this blog. Sure, I’ve reported on here from Iceland , Hungary , and the Czech Republic and I do have Romania and Bulgaria in The World’s Cheapest Destinations. Truth be told though, I’d rather leave the countries most people think of when they think of Europe to the Rick Steves guidebook crowd. I’ll travel more in Europe when I’m old and feeble. And I’ll go in the off-season.

Here’s a great slideshow from World Hum on real photos of the landmarks in Europe —crushing crowds with cameras and all. This is what I think of when I imagine Western Europe—especially in the summertime.

I understand the pull of Europe and get why everyone and their brother seems to want to go there, really. It’s perceived as safe, efficient, properly historic, and filled with cultured people who eat well and drink good wine. But even with the dollar faring a bit better these days (under $1.40 to one euro), it’s still a very expensive place to travel unless you’re on a pre-paid group package tour or you’re flying with L’argent de Père.

Unfortunately, those two categories make up the bulk of who you’re rubbing elbows with: package tourists (especially retired ones) and college kids having fun with Daddy’s money. All seemingly trying to get that definitive photo of the sites they’ve seen a million times in postcards. “I was there!”

If you do go to Europe sometime soon, remember the “urban vs. rural axiom” and the “known vs. unknown axiom.” Smaller towns are more reasonably priced (and often more interesting) than the thronged cities. The places or parts of town that are not in slim city guidebooks are the ones where you will find the real Europe—places where tourists don’t outnumber the locals 5 to 1. Think Moravia, not central Prague. Villages of Avignon rather than Paris. All the great towns of Holland outside Amsterdam.

Get away from the crushing crowds and you’ll have a unique experience instead of just coming back to a maxed-out credit card and a series of photos that look like everyone else’s. Some would say that’s not really travel anyway…

(If you’re just getting ready to see the world and want to know how to slash your budget, pick up this book on being a contrarian traveler .)