Ten best places in Europe to escape overtourism this summer from Estonia seaside resorts to Italian cities

SICK of the busy crowds, bumping shoulders with strangers and fighting for the best selfie spot? Well, no more.

Which? has discovered the most overpopulated tourist destinations around in Europe, and the least busy ones where we should be exploring instead.

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Certain destinations across Europe are constantly busy, like Zante, Paris and Majorca.

Which? analysed European Commission (EC) tourism numbers from the most recent data and found where holidaymakers might avoid due to overcrowding and where to go instead.

The research found that the island of Zante is most affected by overtourism.

Around 40,000 people live there, but the island had a whopping six million overnight stays in 2023.

Along the south coast of Zante was 150 overnight stays for every person who lives there.

Another incredibly popular holiday destination is Istria in Croatia.

It’s often described as the country’s ‘best-kept secret’ – but in fact Istria was only second to Zante when it comes to being overcrowded.

It has 133 overnight tourist stays for each resident. 

Meanwhile, Majorca is the most visited place in Europe by holidaymakers. It had over 51 million stays in 2023 which is massive considering the population is 966,000.

Paris has a population 2.1 million and in 2023 had around 44 million overnight stays.

For anyone who would rather avoid tourists altogether Which? discovered the least visited destinations.

At the very bottom of the list of overcrowded European cities was Teleorman in Romania.

The county is on the border with Bulgaria and the capital city is Alexandria.

You can explore historical sites like the Teleorman County Museum, St. Alexander Cathedral, and the Church of the Holy Apostles.

There’s also outdoor activities at Parc Pădurea Vedea and relax by the Teleorman River.

Teleorman recorded just 20 overnight stays per 1,000 residents in 2023.

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Other destinations that aren’t holiday hotspots, yet, are Rybnicki in Poland, Targovishte, Bulgaria, and Soignies, a municipality in Belgium.

For a quiet seaside holiday, Which? suggests heading to Haapsalu in Estonia.

The seaside resort has around 120 overnight stays by tourists per square km.

Visitors can explore Haapsalu Castle and stroll the scenic promenade.

For anyone still wanting to explore Italy but doesn’t want to see the busy cities of Rome and Milan, the city of Benevento is one of the quietest.

You can still see historic monuments like the Roman Theatre, Arch of Trajan and enjoy authentic Italian food.

Here’s another destination where a Sun Travel writer found they were the only tourist.

And the Spanish city rarely visited by Brits named top destination this year with new train routes.

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