If there’s one thing Europe does well, it’s stunning towns and villages that bring you to a standstill, not knowing where to look. Many of these places go back ten or more centuries, with histories that places like America and Australia can only dream about.
But it’s more than that. It’s the authenticity of the places, knowing you’re standing where the Romans built roads, where traders sold their wares, or where raiders pulled their boats up onto the sand to invade.
I’ve traveled enough to know that beauty isn’t just about pretty pictures. It’s about the feeling you get when you walk down an old cobbled passageway where you can almost feel the stories beneath your feet. These 12 places deliver those moments.
The 12 Most Beautiful Places in Europe
If these 12 places in Europe don’t make you want to hop on a plane immediately, there’s something wrong. Now, of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but having visited each one of these, I can attest to their beauty.
The Cliffs of Moher, Ireland
The Atlantic crashes into rock faces that rise 214 meters straight up from the sea. The Cliffs of Moher run for eight kilometers along Ireland’s west coast, and take your breath away, quite literally, if it’s a windy day. But it is totally worth it.
O’Brien’s Tower sits on a headland offering views south toward Hag’s Head and north toward Doolin. On clear days, you can see the Aran Islands floating on the horizon and mountains in the distance. The visitor center built into the hillside explains the geology and history without ruining the views.
Walk the official cliff path between Doolin and Hag’s Head if you want the whole experience without the crowds that cluster around the visitor center. The 14-kilometer trail takes you along the cliff edge with the ocean pounding below and seabirds wheeling overhead. Over 30,000 pairs of birds nest here during the breeding season, including Atlantic puffins in isolated colonies.
The cliffs sit on the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s coastal driving route that runs 2,500 kilometers from Cork to Donegal. This stretch through County Clare combines dramatic coastline with traditional Irish culture, which will no doubt draw you in as it did me. Doolin village has traditional music sessions in its pubs most nights, and the Burren National Park spreads inland with its moonscape of limestone and ancient monuments.
Where to stay near the Cliffs of Moher >>>
Eguisheim, France
As I live in France, I’ve chosen two places that I thought were absolutely spectacular and fed into my obsession with history and beautiful villages. And Euisheim delivers on both counties. It’s a circular village that wraps around a medieval castle, in concentric rings of half-timbered houses overflowing with flowers. Eguisheim sits in Alsace wine country, where France meets Germany, and the architecture reflects both influences. The village won France’s favorite village competition a few years ago, and it’s easy to see why.
Geraniums cascade from the window boxes of pretty much every house, and it’s quite the sight to see. Vines climb walls. Courtyards hide behind archways. The whole village looks like a film set, and it’s rumored to be the inspiration for Disney’s latest Beauty and the Beast.
The Alsace Wine Route runs right through Eguisheim, connecting wine villages and vineyards across rolling hills. Stop at wineries for tastings of Riesling and Gewürztraminer. Walk vineyard trails for views across the valley. Visit during harvest season when the vines turn gold and wine cellars buzz with activity, that’s when I went the last time.
Three ruined castles crown the hillside above town, remnants of feudal power that once controlled the region. Hike up for views across vineyards to the Vosges Mountains. The churches hold centuries of history, and the main square hosts markets where locals sell produce and cheese.
Where to stay in Eguisheim >>>
Mont Saint-Michel, France
This place quite literally takes your breath away; there is no other way to describe it, and the pictures don’t do it justice. An abbey rises from a rocky island in a bay where the tide goes out for miles. Mont Saint-Michel has drawn pilgrims for over a thousand years, and approaching across the causeway still delivers that medieval sense of wonder. The island and abbey together create one of France’s most recognizable silhouettes.
Vikings raided here until the Normans built the abbey and fortifications in the 10th century. The mount became a pilgrimage destination, with the faithful crossing dangerous tidal flats to reach the hilltop church. During the French Revolution, it served as a prison. Victor Hugo campaigned to restore it, and by the late 1800s, tourism had discovered the mount.
Today, a bridge connects the island to the mainland, though at high tide, water still completely surrounds the mount. Walk up through the medieval village with its narrow streets and tourist shops to reach the abbey at the top. The Gothic architecture soars despite the cramped space, and the cloisters offer views across the bay that show why monks chose this spot.
The tide here moves faster than anywhere else in Europe, racing across the flats and turning the island back into an island twice daily. Timing your visit for high tide or the hour before gives you the most dramatic views. Tour boats circle the mount so you can see it from the water, as pilgrims used to do.
Where to stay near Mont Saint-Michel >>>
The Cotswolds, England
Ever since I watched the Christmas movie, The Holiday, I’ve loved the Cotswolds. Honey-colored stone villages sit in rolling hills, offering the quintessential look of the English countryside. The Cotswolds built themselves on wool, and the wealth shows in the stone cottages, medieval churches, and manor houses that line every village street. This is England at its most stereotypically English, all thatched roofs and roses climbing cottage walls.
Bibury is called England’s prettiest village, primarily because of Arlington Row, a terrace of weavers’ cottages built in the 14th century. The cottages appear inside British passports, which tells you something about their iconic status. The village gets absolutely mobbed with tourists, over a million visitors a year coming to photograph those famous cottages.
Bourton-on-the-Water calls itself the Venice of the Cotswolds because five stone bridges cross the River Windrush as it flows through the center. The river is shallow enough that kids wade in it during summer, and the green banks make perfect picnic spots. The Model Village is worth seeing: a one-ninth-scale replica of Bourton-on-the-Water, built from local stone, complete with a model village inside the model village.
Chipping Campden sits at the northern end of the Cotswold Way, a 102-mile trail that runs all the way to Bath. The town grew rich on the wool trade, and you can see that wealth in the limestone buildings along the High Street and the grand wool church that wool merchants paid for. Stow-on-the-Wold works best as a base, sitting centrally with good connections to other villages. Chipping Campden offers a smaller-town atmosphere.
Where to stay in the Cotswolds >>>
Positano, Italy
Positano is another one of those beautiful places that seems to defy gravity, clinging to the Amalfi Coast with staircases connecting different levels. The village has drawn artists and writers for decades, all trying to capture something about the light and the setting, and you can see why.
People come here for the views, for the terraced gardens spilling bougainvillea, for the ceramic shops and lemon-scented air. Walking in Positano means climbing stairs, lots of them, but every level offers new perspectives on the colorful jumble below.
The Path of the Gods winds above Positano with views that justify the dramatic name. The trail runs along clifftops from Positano to Praiano, taking about three hours and offering constant views over the coast and the islands offshore.
Boats run from Positano to Capri and other Amalfi Coast towns. Taking the ferry shows you the coast from sea level, where the cliffs look even more impressive. Restaurants serve seafood caught that morning and lemons grown on terraced hillsides. If you like Limoncello, you’re in luck because it flows freely, made from those enormous Amalfi lemons that taste like sunshine. Positano is expensive, no way around it. But the setting is spectacular enough to make it worth the expense.
Hallstatt, Austria
Hallstatt sits on the edge of a lake with mountains rising behind it like a protective wall. The village looks exactly how you’d picture an Alpine paradise, with pastel houses lining the shore and church spires piercing the sky. The Austrians themselves voted it one of their most beautiful places, and once you see it reflected in the glassy water of Lake Hallstatt, you’ll understand why.
The village dates back 7,000 years to when salt miners first settled here. That salt made Hallstatt wealthy enough to survive through the centuries. Walking these streets feels like stepping into a living postcard, except the mountains are taller and the air is crisper than any photograph can capture. China even cloned the entire village because of its beauty.
In the early morning hours, the mist rises off the land you can walk the cobblestone streets practically alone. Take the funicular up to the salt mines where this whole story began, or simply find a bench by the water and watch the light change on the mountains.
Where to stay in Hallstatt >>>
Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
Seventy-two waterfalls pour down sheer rock faces into a valley so spectacular that J.R.R. Tolkien used it as inspiration for Rivendell. Lauterbrunnen is tiny and sits at the bottom of a U-shaped valley with the Alps rising dramatically on all sides.
Staubbach Falls drops 300 meters right next to the town, and if you walk up behind it, you’ll feel the spray on your face. Lauterbrunnen is also a great base for exploring some of Switzerland’s most famous peaks.
Take the cable car up to Mürren or Wengen, car-free villages perched on opposite sides of the valley. Hike the trails that wind through wildflower meadows with the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau watching over you. Or ride the train up to Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe, where glaciers stretch as far as you can see.
Spring brings wildflowers and waterfalls; summer offers perfect hiking weather; fall colors of gold and orange are stunning, and winter turns everything into a snow globe. There’s no wrong season here, just different kinds of spectacular.
Where to stay in Lauterbrunnen >>>
Český Krumlov, Czech Republic
A medieval castle towers over red-roofed houses that curve along the Vltava River. Český Krumlov froze in time after its economy collapsed following the Thirty Years’ War, and tourism found it centuries later, perfectly preserved. The entire historic center earned UNESCO World Heritage status, and walking these cobblestone streets explains why.
The castle dates back to the 13th century and grew over the centuries into an architectural timeline spanning Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque. Inside, you’ll find a working Baroque theater, one of only two surviving in Europe. The stage machinery still functions, operated by the same rope-and-pulley system used 250 years ago.
Climb the castle tower for views that show how the river loops around the old town in an almost perfect circle. Those red roofs glow in the afternoon light, and you can see why people travel here from all over the world.
Where to stay in Český Krumlov >>>
Budapest, Hungary
The Danube splits Budapest into two. Buda climbs hills on the west bank with castle fortifications and Roman ruins. Pest spreads flat on the east with grand boulevards and Art Nouveau masterpieces. The river ties them together with bridges that light up at night like strings of diamonds.
Budapest earned its nickname as the Pearl of the Danube by building something magnificent at every turn, from the Gothic-looking Parliament Building to the Buda Castle, which looms on its hill, rebuilt multiple times. Fisherman’s Bastion has those gorgeous fairy-tale turrets, like something out of Rapunzel, and panoramic views. St. Stephen’s Basilica rises over Pest with a dome you can climb for yet more spectacular views.
But what sets Budapest apart from other European capitals is the thermal water. Over 100 springs bubble up under the city, feeding elaborate bathhouses that have operated for centuries. The Széchenyi Baths sprawl across an entire city block with outdoor pools where locals play chess while soaking in 38-degree water. Rudas Baths preserves its Ottoman-era core with an octagonal pool under a domed ceiling. Gellért Baths serves up Art Nouveau elegance with its mosaics and stained glass.
Take an evening cruise on the Danube to see the city lit up like a jewelry box, or spend an afternoon at the Central Market Hall sampling Hungarian flavors. Wander the Jewish Quarter and its ruin bars, where abandoned buildings became Budapest’s most atmospheric nightlife.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
Rothenburg ob der Tauber has walls that circle the old town, half-timbered houses leaning at impossible angles, and cobblestone lanes that look lifted from a Brothers Grimm illustration. The town was Germany’s second city in medieval times, and when its economy tanked during the Thirty Years’ War, development stopped, accidentally preserving everything.
Walk the town walls on the covered walkway that runs around the entire perimeter. The views look out over red rooftops and down into the Tauber Valley below. Climb the town hall tower for an even higher perspective.
The Plönlein, a fork in the road with a yellow half-timbered house and two medieval gates, is the most photographed spot in Germany. St. Jakob’s Church holds a masterpiece by Tilman Riemenschneider, the Michelangelo of German woodcarvers. The Medieval Crime Museum shows torture devices that will make you grateful for modern justice systems.
Take the Night Watchman’s tour at 8 p.m., and you’ll get a guide in period costume who walks you through town by lamplight, telling stories about medieval life. You won’t sleep that night after doing this.
Where to stay in Rothenburg ob der Tauber >>>
Bruges, Belgium
Canals wind through a medieval city that looks exactly like it did 600 years ago, which, for me, is part of its charm. Bruges reached its peak in the 1400s as a textile powerhouse and trading center. When the economy shifted elsewhere, the city simply stopped growing, preserving its Gothic architecture and canal network almost perfectly. UNESCO recognized this by naming the entire historic center a World Heritage Site.
Start at the Markt, the main square dominated by the Belfry of Bruges. Climb those 366 steps if you want views across the red rooftops to the countryside beyond. The bells ring on the hour using a carillon mechanism that’s operated the same way for centuries. The sound carries across the entire old town.
Walk south to the Burg, the second main square lined with buildings spanning every architectural style from medieval to neo-Gothic. The Basilica of the Holy Blood houses a relic supposedly containing Christ’s blood, paraded through the streets every Ascension Day in a tradition eight centuries old.
Take a canal boat tour to see Bruges from water level, where medieval warehouses and merchant houses line the banks, and take it all in. The Rozenhoedkaai viewpoint captures the quintessential Bruges scene, canals reflecting ancient buildings with the Belfry rising in the background.
The Church of Our Lady has Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child, supposedly the only sculpture he made that left Italy during his lifetime. The Groeninge Museum displays Flemish Primitive paintings by masters who set up studios here when Bruges was an artistic center rivaling Florence. There is just so much to see and wonder at.