3 European Destinations that should be on your bucket list

I've been lucky enough to travel through a lot of Europe, in fact I spent over a year taking trains from one city to another and I came across a few places that I felt really should be more popular than they are and thought I would share a 3 slightly alternative destinations to the more popular places such as Paris and Amsterdam (which are both fantastic in their own rights but very busy!). 

While these destinations are not exactly unknown they are at times overlooked in favour for bigger more bustling cities but they are still easily accessible with city breaks being an option if you fancy a dash of culture after 2yrs of limited travel. Just remember to make sure your Passport is up today and you have any required visas before travelling as well as double check what their Covid entry requirement are. 

St Marks Church in Zagreb

1. Zagreb

Zagreb the Capital of Croatia is really a very special and unique city yet most don't even consider it in favour for coastal destinations such as Dubrovnik or Split. I spent some time couch surfing in Zagreb with a playwright who showed me around, took me to an old black and white movie theatre and local bars and eateries and what I love about Zagreb unlike the coast is that it's very. Croatian and hasn't suffered from over-tourism in anyway and is very reasonable budget wise. A few things you should check out if you visit the city are St Marks Church with it's stunning multi coloured tile roof, Dolac Market which has been around since the 1930's and you can get every kind of food here and also take a stroll down the colourful Tkalciceva street which has plenty of cool cafes and places to hang out and grab a bite to eat.

On holiday in Antibes

2. Antibes

I spent some time living and working in Nice, in the South of France and my favourite places to visit on my days off was Antibes. The old town is beautiful and filled with cobbled streets only moments away from stunning coastline, it also has a laid back yet vibrant atmosphere and is a culturally rich place to explore and unlike Cannes which is more flash, Antibes captures that artsy bohemian feel. Also in contrast to Nice which is a larger busier city, Antibes is a place you can slow down and relax and really enjoy all that the French Riviera has to offer. It has some lovely flower markets, delicious gelato and street food as well as the Picasso Museum which is well worth a visit. 

3. Helsinki

My kids and I spent 10 fantastic days exploring Helsinki and we still didn't see everything! The Finnish capital is just packed with culture, coffee and outdoor spaces as well as lots of islands (over 330 actually). Helsinki is an incredibly clean, safe and organised city where everything runs on time and is very easy to navigate and while the locals are not the most forthcoming every person we spoke to was very friendly and welcoming and its the kind of place I would love to revisit. The highlights of our trip was spending the day on Suomenlinna Island, visiting the Rock church and running around all the city parks. What I also noticed was that for a capital city it wasn't packed with tourists which was really refreshing. 

Of course there are many other destinations worthy of this list and I can name a few that I would recommend instantly such as Bratislava in Slovakia and a place on my personal bucket list is Romania and all the fantastic Romanian castles I want to see first hand. What is on your bucketlist?