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Jul 28, 2020 • 6 min read
With COVID-19 pressing pause on the over-tourism box set, the travel industry has the chance to reflect, reassess and reconfigure. However, do travelers need to change too? Could traveling beyond blockbuster destinations yield more fulfilling experiences? One writer believes so.
When this pandemic is over – and yes, that’s a hopeful, hands-clasped, please-make-it-happen “when” – and we emerge blinking from our homes, lugging hastily-stuffed backpacks with us, where will you visit first?
Perhaps you’ve been scrolling through photos of the cherry blossoms in Japan? Or circling some way-too-cool bars in New York City? Maybe you’ve been waking in the night, sticky with sweat, following another Cinque Terre fever dream?
Not me. There will be no torn-and-tanned bucket list to unfurl from my pocket; no best-rated restaurants to seek out. Instead, I’ll visit lesser-known destinations where I’m likely to be asked: “What are you doing here?” Here’s why.
It leads to more authentic interactions
Schwump schwump schwump. The windscreen wipers were making heavy work of the ongoing downpour as we crawled blindly around the overhanging foothills of the Colombian Massif. “This road,” the driver shouted over the rain clattering on the bonnet, “it sometimes washes away in weather like this.”
My partner and I weren’t meant to be caught in this storm, even less so this car. We’d been waiting for a bus at the bottom of the road to San Agustín for some six hours. Yet, as a dramatic rainstorm tumbled over the mountain, the last scheduled departure swooshed past, its driver shaking his head.
Fortunately, Miguel, who had been following behind the bus, realized we were stranded and pulled over to offer a lift. However, had we been stuck outside the Roman Forum or the Sanctuary of Apollo – or any ancient ruins where tourists outnumber residents – would anyone have stopped? It’s doubtful. But in lesser-visited destinations, meaningful interactions like these seem to increase.
We told Miguel about visiting the cartoonish neolithic sculptures of San Agustín Archaeological Park and he recommended we head to Popayán to see where the poet Guillermo Valencia had lived. He’d even be happy to drive us there. We gleefully accepted and treated Miguel to coffee on the gleaming Parque Caldas, Popayán’s bustling 16th-century market square, as a thank you.
You can eat like an actual local
We arrived a bit early for Issoudun’s lunchtime rush, if you could call the six or so office workers who came through the swing doors of Brasserie de la Paix a rush. A line of three would constitute an onslaught in this lovely, little-known Loire Valley town, famous for a 27m-high white tower constructed for Richard the Lionheart in 1195.
But that was the whole point of our visit: we had deliberately chosen the slow route between Châteauroux and Bourges, driving past fields of yellow barley and small green woods, searching for a provincial eatery, preferably a bistro offering le menu.
A 2016 survey revealed that millennials view authenticity as the most vital factor when traveling, and few restaurants are more genuine than those serving fixed-price menus to locals. In contrast, more popular destinations, particularly near major sights, often compromise authenticity for potential profit.
There was no table-turning at Brasserie de la Paix. What it lacked in metropolitan haste, it made up with blanched asparagus drizzled in a smooth mousseline sauce and tender filet mignon cooked in Dijon mustard. The bottle of dry Muscadet, perfected and bottled just a short tractor drive away, felt like a hidden gem known only to locals.
It’s cheaper – and there are far fewer crowds
It’s the photo that will light up social media: you standing alone in front of a towering white statue of Jesus Christ against a cloudless blue sky, its robed arms outstretched above a carpet of sun-bleached rooftops and busy city life. The shot looks great; however, how did you get Rio de Janeiro’s most iconic tourist attraction all to yourself?
The truth is, you didn’t. This isn’t Christ the Redeemer, the art deco statue that crowns Sugarloaf Mountain; instead, it’s the Bolivian equivalent: the taller, but slightly less elegant, Cristo de la Concordia on San Pedro Hill in Cochabamba. Both are expansive interpretations of the same figure, yet the latter is free to visit. Travelers can also climb up the statue itself and are likely to be the only ones there.
Swapping blockbuster sights for their lesser-known alternatives not only results in smaller crowds, but can also help stretch your budget. For example, to see the Mona Lisa in the Louvre it costs €15, but to view The Prado Mona Lisa, painted in Leonardo da Vinci’s workshop at the same time, it costs half that price (or is free during evening hours).
The pivotal question to ask is “why am I visiting?” If you want to see a remarkably preserved Roman amphitheater, swap Rome’s Colosseum for Pula’s 1st-century gladiatorial arena; if it’s a dip in alluring blue waters you seek, head to Albania rather than Iceland. Bucket lists are highly subjective; however, budgets and breathing space rarely are.
It offers more unique photography opportunities
It’s easy to tumble down a wormhole of Instagram inspiration, scrolling from one medieval hamlet in France to the white-washed serenity of another Spanish Pueblo Blanco, particularly since both countries essentially host annual beauty contests for their villages. However, where is the thrill in jostling with a coach-load of tourists to take the millionth snap of Riquewihr’s colorful half-timbered houses?
Lesser-known destinations not only provide travelers with fresh perspectives but also unique photo opportunities. Frame it right and the Semois River bend in Bouillon, Belgium sweeps as gracefully as the famous First Bend of Yangtze River in Lijiang, China.
Hochburg-Ach in Upper Austria is another undiscovered destination sitting by a river. It’s a slow, inconspicuous town that travelers might only stumble upon en route to the most offensively-named village in Europe (for English speakers at least). However, at dusk, it reveals its secret: a startling view of Germany’s 12-century Burghausen Castle bathed in golden light, with the turquoise Salzach river flowing beneath it.
You’ll own the bragging rights when you find the Next Big Thing
The clock was ticking towards the time of the milkman’s wake-up call, no hour to really be awake. However, in Groningen, a city nestled towards the North Sea in the Netherlands, the Russian DJ in the nightclub I was in was bashing at a Kaoss Pad that emitted a series of blips and beeps over a metronomic techno thud.
When it comes to partying, Groningen is no Berlin or Amsterdam; nevertheless, there is something special about this university city: its youthful heartbeat; the abundance of bars; a gleeful embrace of architectural futurism set against the storied canal houses and Amsterdam School oddities; and enough terrace cafes to make Paris blush.
It’s car-free, community-oriented, and exceptionally progressive – it’s also somewhere very few tourists seem to discover. Yet, after visiting several times, I can see that change is on the horizon, so I’ve been encouraging friends to visit for years.
Recently, it unveiled the Forum Groningen, a cultural hub the city refers to as a “cultural department store.” This unique space allows locals to hang out without any obligation to consume – a concept we may see more of across the globe if the pandemic drastically impacts our high streets.
