Friday, August 12, 2016

Skip it or See it: Getting off the tourist-beaten path


Europe has its fair share of tourist traps, designed to charm your wallet empty with worthless and over-hyped activities. Over the past three years, we’ve spent extended stays in Italy and Spain, and seeing all the countries in between.  One thing we’ve learned living abroad is that there are two sides of Europe, the touristy Europe and the local Europe. While seeing the touristy things (like the Louvre in Paris, the Colliseum in Rome, etc.) can be fun enough, getting away from the crowds and experiencing Europe like a local can be much more rewarding. The result of our travels – this list of what to see and what to skip. Call this a volume 1, if you will.

Skip it: Expensive Gondola Ride in Venice
Truth be told, we’ve never taken a Gondola Ride in Venice, even though we spent 3 months living an hour from this tourist hot spot.  Sure, there is a lot to enjoy about Venice—it’s charm, it’s history…but it all comes at a steep cost: really expensive tourist traps. Gondola rides are probably number one on the list. One ride can cost you 80 euro, or close to $100, and to be honest, you can get the romantic charm of Venice in so many other experiences (a nighttime stroll in St. Marks when the tourists have gone vacated the area is one) without paying the high price of sitting in a gondola.

 See it: Venice’s Vaporettos
If you want to save money and still get the amazing views of the Venetian canals, take the Vaporettos. They’re basically water buses that travel on a regular schedule around the island of Venice and in and out of the canals. They also take people out to the outlying islands, including Murano, famous for its glass blowing.  The Vaporettos also have a stop at the most easily accessible free bathroom on Venice (in McDonald’s). And trust us, Venice is one of the most difficult places to find a free bathroom in Europe.

Skip it: Pisa, Italy
Yes, we know, it’s probably heresy to suggest someone would skip Pisa. Don’t skip Pisa, just don’t plan more than an hour there. It’s an unremarkable city with a football field size center where everything worth seeing, including the Leaning Tower, is all crammed in to one walled-off field. Yes it’s beautiful. Yes it’s touristy (battling the throngs of tourist shops and vendors on the way in is fun enough), and yes, you’ll take a ton of pictures, but you’ll have more fun in….

See it: Lucca, Italy
The real charm around Pisa is actually Lucca, an old but vibrant town surrounded by a large wall that serves as an exhilarating bike riding path. Lucca was also one of our favorite towns to get lost and explore in, with amazing local food and plaza markets. A must try is their Cecina, a brick-oven type pizza made of garbanzo beans, it’s delicious and quite inexpensive! Of course, you’ll take more pictures in Pisa, but you’ll have more fun in Lucca.


Skip it: Dublin, Ireland
We’ve seen the hype about Dublin and, yes, it’s a fairly easy city to walk around and it has its historical and cultural draw, but its cultural gems (the Book of Kells, St. Patrick’s, etc.) are hidden behind some pricey entrance fees, and the foot traffic and crowds are almost unbearable (and this is coming from a family who spends every Summer in metropolitan Barcelona).  

See it: Pretty much everything else in Ireland.
Ok, so much of the sites worth seeing cost some money in Ireland, but we definitely got more out of the sites outside of Dublin than walking through a cathedral or touring a several hundred-year-old copy of the Bible (both of which are still cool in their own right).  The best parts of Ireland are out on the coasts and country, especially the Cliffs of Moher, where you can spend an entire day enjoying the sea-carved cliffs. Driving the small backroads where two cars are supposed to fit on a one-lane road is also an adventure to say the least.

Skip it: Pula, Croatia
Ok, you’ve probably never heard of Pula, many haven’t. But it’s billed as a tourist destination for Roman ruins (they have their own Roman Colliseum) and beach-side views. Pictures do it much better than it actually is, in our opinion. However, we only mention Pula here because we really liked…

See It: Rovinj, Croatia

This town is the type of seaside fishing town you would see on postcards. There are beautiful coasts, islands, fun walks through the cobble-stone town, and plenty of places to jump in the sea and swim (with lots of fish to swim with). You can also get a pretty good deal on an inexpensive glass-bottom boat tour, especially if it’s in the off-season. 


No comments:

Post a Comment