How not to follow the tourist crowds — according to our experts

Times

11-05-2025

I vowed to choose my holidays more carefully when I found myself in Santorini one July queuing to take a photo of the sun setting behind the island's famous blue domes (Siobhan Grogan writes).
More patient people nearby had been waiting hours to guarantee their prime spot, armed with snacks to see them through until nightfall. Which was probably wise given that their chance of finding a restaurant table nearby was precisely zero, unless they had booked weeks in advance and wanted to blow their entire holiday budget on a main course.
Beyond Santorini, overtourism is now a serious problem across Europe for residents and holidaymakers. Popular destinations such as Barcelona, Mallorca and Paris are swamped by record numbers of visitors each year, leading to crowded attractions, protests and demands from locals to enforce measures to prevent the problem from getting worse. Many cities, including Amsterdam and Venice, have already levied tourist taxes in the hope of deterring future travellers.
A new report from Which? has analysed European Commission tourism numbers to calculate three outcomes: how many nights tourists spend in a region compared to the number of residents, the most overnight stays overall and the most overnight stays per square kilometre. It discovered that the Greek island of Zakynthos — also known as Zante — is Europe's worst-hit hot spot in terms of a tourist-to-local-resident ratio, with six million overnight stays in 2023 to only 40,000 residents, or put simply, 150 more people each night for every person that lives there.
Istria in Croatia and the Canary Island of Fuerteventura follow close behind, with 133 and 119 stays respectively for every resident. Mallorca is the most visited place in Europe overall, with more than 51 million overnight stays in 2023 compared to a population of just 966,000. Meanwhile, Paris has by far the highest number of tourists per square km, with 418,280, followed by central Athens (88,535) and Copenhagen (63,944).
However, you can still holiday without the crowds if you look elsewhere in Europe, according to Which?. The survey found that the seaside resort of Haapsalu in Estonia had just 120 overnight stays by tourists per kilometre in 2023. If you really want the sunset to yourself, you could also consider the Dytikos Tomeas Athinon region near Athens or Teleorman in Romania, which respectively recorded just six and two overnight stays per 1,000 residents.
Here's the travel desk's pick of some more alternative destinations where the locals will actually be glad to see you.
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I spent my university year abroad in a little town west of Toulouse, which at the age of 21 I unfairly thought was the most boring place in the world (sorry, Auch). While this southwestern French city — more a country town than a big hub — can't compete with the razzle-dazzle of Paris or Provence, it has more laid-back charms: a walk along the Garonne river, admiring the pink architecture (which gives it its moniker the Rose City); eating steak frites and drinking local-ish Bordeaux wine in the sun at Brasserie de l'Opera, in the grand Capitole square (mains from £6; bouilloncapitole.fr). Toulouse's Romanesque basilica of St Sernin is one of the finest in Europe. If you're into planes — this city is the home of the plane manufacturer Airbus — don't miss the fascinating Aeroscopia museum (£12; aeroscopia.fr). The boutiquey townhouse-style Hotel des Arts in the old quarter, near the Capitole square, is the place to stay. Need more reasons for the swap? Toulouse is cheaper and the weather's better.Details Room-only doubles from £139 (hoteldesartstoulouse.fr). Fly to Toulouse
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The last time I visited Amsterdam, hotel and Airbnb prices were so high we ended up staying in a seaside town called Zandvoort, 25 minutes away by train. Commuting … on holiday? Extremely bad vibes. For a cheaper (and much less crowded) city break, I'd recommend Ghent, over the border in Belgium. Does it have as much going on as the Dutch capital? No, but there's plenty to keep you busy over a long weekend. The 1432 Ghent Altarpiece at St Bavo's Cathedral rivals Rembrandt's The Night Watch, the highlight of Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, in scale and vivid detail (£14; sintbaafskathedraal.be). The city's gabled canal houses are as pretty as those in nearby Bruges, another hectic tourist hub. And with more than a quarter of Ghent's population being students, the nightlife scene is diverse and lively — grab a beer at grungy Afsnis (drinks from £2; afsnis.gent) then check out a folk or punk gig at Trefpunt (prices vary; trefpunt.be). Decked out with house plants and abundant mid-century brown and orange, Yalo Urban Boutique Hotel is a stylish, central place to crash afterwards.Details B&B doubles from £182 (yalohotel.com). Take the train to Ghent via Brussels
While the crowds rush onwards to the Algarve, stay put in the region's overlooked capital for its cobbled old town, laid-back seafood restaurants and three sandy islands just off shore for beach days. There's a smattering of sights including a 15th-century cathedral (£4; Largo da Sé) and the spooky Bone Chapel (£2; Largo do Carmo), fashioned from the skulls of Carmelite monks. Potter around sunlit squares, join a dolphin-spotting boat cruise (£49; oceanvibesalgarve.com) or visit the Roman ruins of Milreu six miles away (£2; Estoi). The four-star Hotel Faro overlooks the historic marina and has a rooftop pool and bar, sleek modern rooms and a free shuttle to its own beach club nearby.Details B&B doubles from £94 (hotelfaro.pt). Fly to Faro
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Canals, cicchetti and crowds — Venice has, and always will be, an absolute honeypot for tourists and, as a result, pickpockets too. Just over an hour down the road is the much calmer, and lovelier, Verona. Entirely walkable, the city is the perfect size for a long weekend, which you can spend exploring Giardino Giusti, a gorgeous Renaissance garden that's all bubbling fountains and romantic turrets (giardinogiusti.com); settle in for some opera at the 30m-high Arena di Verona (arena.it) and take the funicular to the top of Colle San Pietro (round trip £2.50; funicolarediverona.it) to watch the sky turn the same colour as the £2.50 Aperol you'll have in hand (you won't find that in Venice, either). Book a room at Byblos Art Hotel, which feels half gallery, half hotel thanks to the 200 works on its walls.Details B&B doubles from £280 (byblosarthotel.com). Fly to Verona
The sprawling Unesco-listed region of Cilento is just a couple of hours down the coast from the glitzy, glamorous Amalfi but features on far fewer Brits' itineraries. They are missing out. The vibe here is deliciously authentic, with beautifully preserved Greek temples in Paestum, charming buffalo mozzarella farms featuring intriguing deli shops, one of the country's largest national parks, which is ripe for hiking and biking, and miles of sandy beaches. Base yourself in the seaside town of Santa Maria di Castellabate, with its palm-tree lined promenade, wooden fishing boats and pretty pastel-coloured buildings, and feast on delicious pizza and pasta at Le Gatte (mains from £15; legatte.it). Stay in the town's grandest hotel, Palazzo Belmonte, with lovely gardens and a pool.Details B&B doubles from £115 (palazzobelmonte.com). Fly to Naples or Salerno
Nobody likes Barcelona. You might think you do, but you don't really. Far too touristy, far too expensive and they can't even be bothered to finish that big, weird church thing. So bugger Barcelona and get thee to Girona, 60 miles north. Smaller, quieter and infinitely more charming than its Catalonian cousin, Girona only really gets busy in May, during the spectacular annual flower festival. Other than that you'll pretty much have the city to yourself, meaning you can comfortably stroll the cobbled streets of the medieval Jewish Quarter or stare at the River Onyar from one of the many bridges. Even if you can't bag (or stretch to) a table at the three-Michelin-starred El Celler de Can Roca (tasting menus from £265pp; cellercanroca.com), you should try to stay at the Roca family's stylish 15-room hotel, the Casa Cacao.Details B&B doubles from £220 (hotelcasacacao.com). Fly to Girona
Look, don't get me wrong, I love Santorini. The steep cliff face with its built-in white architecture, the sunsets, the tiny boutique hotels covered in bougainvillea … it's not surprising that 3.4 million tourists come every year. But I spent a good chunk of my last visit — in late October, the off-season — navigating the sweaty queues that snake through the streets of Oia come sunset time. I should have returned to Naxos, Santorini's Cycladic sibling to the north and my other Greek island love, instead. What it lacks in dramatic caldera views and direct flights, the island makes up for in affordable tavernas, hiking trails, ancient history (make time for the excellent Archaeological Museum, free entry; archaeologicalmuseums.gr) and — hurrah — no queues for your sunset snap. Chora, the lively old town, is a handy base for getting around and exploring neighbouring Cyclades (pretty Paros is a 30-minute ferry ride away). Stay at Arco Naxos Luxury Apartments, a charming bunch of self-catering pads in the town centre.Details Room-only doubles from £90 (naxosarco.com). Take the ferry to Naxos via Mykonos
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Of course Mallorca is gorgeous, we all know that, from the wannabe pro cyclists who come to test their mettle and muscles on the steep Tramuntana mountain ascents to the toddlers who paddle in the pretty coves and the louche open-shirted lounge lizards who to try to catch a scent of a bygone hippy past in Deia. But Menorca is the Balearic to go for now. It might not quite have the same lusciousness as the green hilly parts of Mallorca, and it isn't that much like Ibiza, with all that stands for, but it has a starker, more arid beauty all its own. You feel very on-the-money pleased with yourself when you discover a tucked-away boutique farm stay such as Son Vell, an airy mansion with a vast deep swimming pool in a stone irrigation tank and palm-filled tropical gardens. Or when you're eating hipster fried fish small plates in chichi Ciutadella's Ulisses bar in the town's covered market (small plates from £8; ulissesbar.com) and are told, 'Oh, this is where everyone who's bored of Ibiza is coming now.' The most famous white sand calas, or beaches, may still get busy in summer but the island is covered in cool little corners that are only now starting to be discovered by tourists, and they remain well dispersed across the rural hinterlands.Details B&B doubles from £465 (vestigecollection.com/son-vell). Fly to Mahon
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Where do you go to avoid the crowds? Spill your secrets in the comments