5 underrated European cities

I suppose these cities are only underrated depending on who you are, who you speak to and what you look for in a city break destination. Maybe I was just uninformed before I visited them and I'm about to list 5 of the hottest holiday destinations of the last 5 years but hey- This one's for all the ignorant past me's out there so- enjoy.

Anyway, I'm just going to list 5 cities I've visited in Europe at one time or another which I think go under the radar when it comes to getting appreciation. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Amsterdam and Berlin but, so does everyone and sometimes you find the coolest shit when you go a little off piste.

This is my first blog post ever so I'm just gonna dive right in but first I'll apologise for the fact that all of the photos in this post were probably taken on a disposable camera or an old motorola so, sorry, but at least they're all mine so.... there's that..

Also I know the title specifically says cities but... they're not all cities :)

1. Mostar - Bosnia and Herzegovina

The. Coolest. Place.

I'd never heard of Mostar and couldn't have pointed Bosnia and Herzegovina out on an unlabelled map pre-travelling. Geo not my strong point, I'm learning as I go and that's ok.
Anyway.. There's so many things to appreciate about this place but I just wanna briefly cover 4 and then move on or we'll be here all day. Well I will and you'll have closed this page.
   
 -The Scenery      -The History      -The food      -The Chilled Nightlife

So I'm gonna start with the scenery because it's something I never expected. I love a good scenic view but it's not what I went to Mostar for. To be honest I'm not sure what I went for but who cares, I'm glad I did.
If you go, you have to (and this is a direct order) go to the Kravice Waterfalls. Not only does it look incredible but you can actually go swimming in there (unlike a lot of waterfalls you can visit) and there's no one there stopping you jumping of rocks or just being a general adventure killer.
You can get a weirdly reasonably priced taxi for I think about 30-40 mins to the top of this mountain where the waterfalls are and it's just a sick day out. The water is FREEZING cold but you don't care at the time. It helps that it's boiling hot outside the water so I would only recommend going in the peak of summer, but hey, you do you. (also I was gonna cover the bridge in the scenery bit because... google Mostar and it's all you're gonna see but I'll get to that in a bit.)

I promise this doesn't do it justice but... what can I say I only had a disposable camera on me

So the other amazing scenery you get ties in with the history of Mostar which I'm not about to get into right now but is certainly one you should educate yourself on when you visit. 

Basically, you can see the remnants of what went on there everywhere you look but it makes for some amazing imagery.
Hands down the coolest place I visited on a month long trip in Europe was the abandoned sniper tower (old bank) in Mostar.

I think it's technically not allowed but loads of places do organised tours (I think) so it can't be that bad right?
It's this abandoned multi-story
building that was used during the war and is now covered in a mixture of debris, crap and the most intense graffiti you're ever gonna see. Also cool because if you make it to the top you get a pretty amazing view of the whole city. I wouldn't recommend going at night time tho....


THE FOOD.

I'd never had or heard of Bosnian and Herzegovinian food but I am definitely glad I tried it. On our first night we went out to this nice, authentic looking place and ordered a mixed plate of all the local favourites. Amazing value btw (and I've been called stingy). I couldn't tell you the name of any of the individual foods I ate right now but I can tell you they were all f*cking delicious. This isn't about to be an old M&S advert description but it's very meaty, ricey and leafy. Which it turns out is a winning combination and you even get a shot with most meals.
I loooooove trying authentic local food and drink and hands down the tastiest I had was in Mostar.

Ok so as promised I'm about to mention the bridge. Not only an awesome looking bridge, actually known as Stari Most, it's proper big, has an interesting history and, if you're lucky you might get to see someone jump off. That wasn't supposed to sound dark, jumping off the bridge is a genuine Mostar activity you can do, but only when you've been allowed and done a practice from a lower height. I talked a lot of talk about how I was gonna jump off and then heard one too many stories from locals about how I was going to die so decided to leave it to the pros.

Stari Most (Mostar Bridge)

My main experience with it was from the nightlife. It seems like the cool place to go hang with your mates and have a drink at night. Which is exactly what we did and I can say I fully understand why it is the go-to hangout spot.
Amazing views, cheap drinks, surrounded by like-minded people. What's not to like?
I understand that this isn't for everyone but you're also likely to be surrounded by a pack or two of stray dogs. They're friendly AF though and appreciate a stroke so.... it's actually really cool.


2. Ljubljana - Slovenia 

This is on the list even though I feel like it's a reasonably popular destination already.
However, everyone I know who's been here has only talked about visiting Lake Bled and not about the actual city Ljubljana, which is a pretty amazing place.

Mid-way through a month of continuous nights out, Ljubljana was the perfect city to spend a night in. Having only spent one night here I actually can't tell you much- but I'll tell you what I can.

Firstly, the McDonalds there serves chicken wings and nuggets in one box so... that was a great start.
But seriously, it's one of the nicest looking cities I've ever visited: clean, amazing architecture and everything is just.... nice. I also remember seeing loads of flags or signs about how environmentally friendly it is there so that's very cool.
It's in the perfect location to get a train or bus to Lake Bled for the day, which is such an attractive place and a proper fun day out if you're into rowing, swimming, chilling and ice cream.

Enjoying the lake

Anyway, back to Ljubljana. I couldn't tell you what the nightlife scene is like but I can imagine there's some really decent bars and clubs. I'm pretty sure we went somewhere for a beer and ice cream overlooking a river with some edgy scenic markets and lights around. The whole city just gives off a vibe of chillin' which sometimes, is exactly what you're looking for.

Annoyingly (despite my earlier moan about everyone only focusing on Lake Bled) my only pictures are actually of the lake.... so you're just gonna have to imagine what the city looks like based on my visually lacking description. Or google it.

UPDATE: I stole this picture

from my travelling pal, Will's 

Facebook page so this can help 

you paint your mental picture 

(sorry he's clearly an awful

 photographer) 

3. Belgrade - Serbia

Even though this is the Capital, I still feel like it's underrated as a place to visit.
I'd never been to anywhere like Serbia before I went inter railing and we never planned to go but you never really know who you're gonna meet when you're travelling around and it just so happened that we ended up changing our plan and seeing what was going on to the East.

So I went with no idea what to expect regarding what it was going to look like, what there would be to do there, how much anything would cost or pretty much anything about the place. Call me uncultured I don't care, here you are reading my blog for culture tips.

I wanna talk about the hostel I stayed at for a minute because it was the coolest place I have (maybe) ever stayed. Before I go into it I will say- it's not for everyone. Will, my travelling buddy, hated it. It's funny because he's the one who booked the place and I've never seen anyone look so uncomfortable before. I actually remember someone from there calling him "the enemy of the revolution" which was a personal highlight of the whole trip for me. Although I did get called ratchet (which it turns out is not a compliment)... so maybe you have to be a certain kind of person to enjoy this place.

Anyway, not important.

We stayed at The Green Studio which is in a proper central location and just an awesome place. The design, the staff and the guests make it very authentic feeling (not forgetting the fact that there were 3 week old kittens roaming around waiting to be played with and a guy making huge pans of tea for refugees). It was also like £6-£11 for a night I think (I can't fully remember and I'm not checking but you'll have to trust my memory). The staff got involved and took us on a night out and I would just really highly recommend it to a friend so.. there you go.

Check out that tiny kitten then imagine 5 more running around

Anyway, Belgrade was so cool. I'm not usually into proper educational trips to places I go on holiday but Belgrade really is an exception to this (non) rule. There's loads of museums and galleries around which aren't expensive and I really do think it's an important place to learn about the history of, whether you're visiting or not. I can't talk for other countries but it really gets overlooked within British education and it definitely shouldn't, so, go learn something.
Then when you're done there and you need to lighten the mood, go explore. There's some reaaaaaaally interesting architecture around like...  you'll see a fancy hotel on one side of the street then literally a bomb site on the other side that used to be a house or a shop or anything I suppose.

Along the way you're gonna find loads of 2nd hand clothes stores and I 100% recommend you go in. 50p got me a T-shirt all the way from Canada celebrating Niagara Falls which is a kind of indescribable shade of brown but I love to this day.

There's also some awesome places to eat. I'm all for trying new things regardless of where I am or what I'm doing and food within different cultures is always one the most interesting new things to try. Go get some deceitfully bland looking Serbian grub and you will not be disappointed. Then after you can go on one of the cheapest nights out you'll probably ever have. Or for a slightly more expensive one you can go boozing on the river where they have a bunch of boat-clubs called Splavs. (be warned: If you dress in the weird clothes you thrifted earlier in the day like I did you will struggle to get let in to any of them)

Lack of good pictures of Belgrade results in this being posted

I nearly forgot to mention the clubbing scene. We ended up in this area literally covered in different themed clubs and bars, all different crowds and different prices so it really makes the perfect night out for whatever you're looking for. Conveniently, I've forgotten the name of that area and can't find it on google so, you're just gonna have to do with that what you will.
 I also noticed loads of up-and-coming type places around there so maybe it's becoming a more popular go-to destination anyway.



4. Blackpool - UK

Call me biased for putting my hometown on the list- I don't care, it deserves its place.

I'm not saying it's the best place in England for... well, anything really. BUT, as far as underrated cities (actually a town not a city) go, Blackpool gets treated like a piece or gum on the bottom of the UK's shoe.

There is literally something for every member of your family or squad to enjoy in the Vegas of the North (said no one from Blackpool ever).

First, if you look into Blackpool's entertainment history some of the world's biggest legends like Frank Sinatra and The Beatles have played there... not too shabby am I right?

Also I'm pretty sure I heard on the radio the other day that Britney Spears is doing a tour date here this year so, all the stars flock to perform in one of the MANY(ish) music venues the seaside town has to offer.

So, if you're a family and you're bringing your wild, energy filled kids this is the perfect place. You have The Pleasure Beach (theme park), The Sandcastle (waterpark), Coral Island (arcade) and The Tower (literally a tower but still cool) to name a few attractions along The Front. Not forgetting the 3 Piers, crazy golf, go karting and other random amusement type places dashed around the town.

Food (or scran as the locals call it) isn't actually anything to brag about but there's a Nandos now so, it's all good.

Let's get to the good part- Nightlife.
There's literally soooo many options and no time limit so it's truly a great night out. If you're into the kind of club where everyone is the epitome of class and eloquence, sipping on champagne and taking selfies then this is not the town for you, which is ok... but you should already have moved on to city number 5 by now.

There's a smorgasbord of chain bars like Revs and Walkabout mixed in with some independent places like Galleon and Scrooges then everyone ends up at Mingos with no concept of date or time.

Let's not forget there's an actual decent looking beach right there for you to go for a walk or even a donkey ride (pretty sure they still do that). And also all the shops you'd hope for in any good-sized town like Topman/Next and that.

That beach tho

Blackpool is also an easy day trip to Manchester distance wise. A 45 min train maybe?
Worth a visit even if it's just to say you've been I reckon.... and remember, Northerners are the friendliest Brits you'll meet so perhaps worth it just for that. Just remember to bring a coat.



5. Hvar - Croatia 

An island, certainly not a city.
I've probably said this about most of the places by now but this is arguably my favourite place on the list.
If you like chilling on the beach then swimming in amazing, clear, blue water and eating great seafood during the day then partying throughout the sunset and the nighttime on the beach spring break style- go to Hvar.
One of the more expensive places I've visited in Europe but the amount of free stuff you can do there which is still awesome more than makes up for it.

I'd never heard of Hvar, even by the time I was in Croatia I didn't know it existed, but I'm soooo glad I heard about it. Mostly, when someone tells you they're going to Croatia you can guarantee to hear one of three places they're going: Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Split. I get it, and I have been to all three myself, and while I am glad I went, I'm not sure I'd spend any time in Zagreb or Split again. Very touristy and not with the kind of tourists I was after meeting. More the slow moving family type buying "I <3 Split" T-shirts rather than the party-hungry, good story telling, beach fiend type. If you are going to Split tho pleeeeeease visit Froggyland and then come talk to me about it after (it's exactly what it sounds like). 

My only picture of the Hula Hula Bar

We went from Split to Hvar on a (not too pricey) ferry and stayed for 2 nights. We stayed at  Dink's Place which was proper cool, met some awesome people who were staying there and it had the most helpful staff.
Another great thing is that you're gonna meet loads of people during the day and then probably end up seeing them in the evening at Hula Hula Bar because.... well just go there and you'll understand.

Hvar also has some nice views (here I am in the way of one)

If you're not into the whole night out thing then I'd still recommend Hvar. The beaches are fiiiiiine (pebbles not sand tho so there is that). The sea is amazing during the day or the night and every hotel/hostel/apartment I saw there looked amazing. Also great food and some cool touristy but still authentic feeling places to visit.

Another benefit is that it's quite a small island so you can pretty much walk everywhere you need to go including different beaches, clubs and back to your accommodation.  (although it is hilly AF but hey... at least you're walking down hill half the time).

Cliff jumping in Hvar 

I can only apologise for the pictures I've used in this post, I'd love to lie and say they're gonna get better but I seem to mainly only remember to take pictures during nights out.














I hope this was helpful for you, let me know either way if you like. Also if you have better options for this list let me know because I really feel like I'm ready for a holiday.