Back doors into Europe bypass crowds
between a towering mountain and a gorgeous lake, is less crowded than Salzburg (though lately it’s becoming more popular).
Many popular destinations have a tourist rush hour (generally between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.), when everybody floods in from nearby cities, cruise ships and tour buses. These day-trippers inundate the town, see the marquee attractions, do some shopping, then retreat to their home bases.
To enjoy these places without the crowds, spend the night. For instance, the historic Spanish city of Toledo, on a high rocky perch just south of Madrid, is mobbed with day-trippers. But after they leave, locals push away the postcard racks and come out for their paseo, and the real Toledo emerges. Touristy towns really come into their own late at night and early in the morning. If you play it right, it’s just you, floodlit cobblestones and romantic ramparts. guest house sipping wine produced right in the valley, gazing at views of the river and distant vineyards. Rodin Museum, with a spectacular sculpture garden, or the Cluny Museum, with its mysterious “Lady and the Unicorn” tapestries, are positively peaceful.
It’s also fun to seek out museums suited to your private little fancies. I love human bones, so in Rome, while everyone’s at St. Peter’s, I visit the Capuchin Crypt, with thousands of 18th-century bones stacked artistically. Similarly, if you’re into the Beatles, Barbies, thimbles, shoes or chocolate, there’s a museum in Europe for you.
I love Europe today, and oftentimes that’s an angle that travelers miss. In big cities, it’s worth leaving the old town to visit the modern business districts, such as London’s Canary Wharf or Paris’ La Defense.
Lately, I’ve been enjoying the less glamorous second cities — the Chicagos of Europe — such as Antwerp (Belgium), Marseille (France), Liverpool (England) and Hamburg (Germany). A lot of money and effort are being put into revitalizing these once-depressed, former Industrial Age powers, giving them a certain energy that you don’t find in other cities. If you have three days in Edinburgh, spend one of them in Scotland’s second city: Glasgow ( just 45 minutes away).
To me, the best back doors are ones where you hang out with Europeans in their element. Visit the market and buy fruit from a local farmer. Attend an evensong service in Britain. Go to a sporting event: soccer in Spain or hurling in Ireland (and just think about all the cultural insights Europeans would gain if they attended an American tailgate party and college football game). Join the old retired French guys in a game of petanque. Or visit a Budapest bath, slip into a too-tight bathing suit and challenge some big guy to a chess match.
Europe may be crowded, but it provides endless joy if you know where to find those offbeat, back-door nooks.