The travel guide “Secret Cities around the World – 100 Cities away from the hustle and bustle” presents travel destinations that are not yet on everyone’s agenda. The book contains a total of 35 insider tips for Europe, another eight for Africa, 20 destinations in America, eight in Oceania, and 29 turbulent places in Asia. The charming descriptions of cities are meant to whet the appetite for travel where you don’t always feel like you’ve seen it all before.
The selected destinations cover all five continents and 70 countries. Love to travel guaranteed! We give you our favorite insider tips.
1. Cremona in Italy
It doesn’t have to be Rome, Pisa or Florence. Anyone can, like Lothar Matthaus, say, “The main thing is Italy!” He can also discover the wonderful city of Cremona in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Violin shops feature cityscapes, because the beautiful city of about 70,000 people is the cradle of the violin industry.
The bell tower of Cremona Cathedral offers a wonderful view of the city.
The best violin maker in the world, Antonio Giacomo Stradivari (1648-1737), lived, worked, and died in Cremona. Some ingenious instruments can be seen in the Stradivariano Museum. Even today, musicians from all over the world get their violins from workshops in Cremona and pay them a small fortune.
Winding streets, lovingly designed inner courtyards, majestic palaces and cathedral: as is usual in Italy, the architecture of the city is also charming. Even if they play the second violin in Cremona.
2. Grasse in France
Paris, the city of love? It may be. But in Grasse it smells amazing. It is known that love passes through the nose. The smell of the city is no accident. Grasse is considered the center of the perfume industry. Here lavender, roses, and jasmine bloom and blossom, it smells like rosemary, lemon and orange blossoms. In short: Grass is an aromatic dream. Chanel no. 5 are developed here and 50 out of about 1000 perfumers in the world call Grasse home.
The city’s beautiful streets were also the backdrop for the filming of Patrick Suskind’s “Perfume”. It was not possible to choose a setting more suitable for the work in which aromas play the leading role. The perfume factory Frogonard, where Süskind acquired his knowledge, should be on your to-do list when visiting Grasse, as well as strolling the narrow streets of the medieval old town with its colorful houses.
Visually a poem, sympathetically a dream: Grass in France.
3. Stadium in Sweden
Less than an hour’s drive from Malmö, fans of crime fiction will find what they’re looking for in Ystad. Because the visitor here follows in the footsteps of the fictitious Inspector Kurt Wallander. Henning Mankell’s Wallander investigates brutal murder cases in the picturesque half-timbered town. Tourists can follow in his footsteps. On your own or with the help of the Wallander app, you can discover series sets, murder scenes, or Wallander’s favorite sweet shop in the city of 20,000 people.
It remains unclear why Mankell chose his hometown as a crime scene. Far from fiction, Ystad is a peaceful and homely, oversized bully. Beautiful mountain landscapes and a long sandy beach surround the peaceful city.
A pure poet: roses on a colorful gate on a small street in the idyllic downtown of Ystad.
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4. Sukhothai in Thailand
The Sukhothai World Heritage Site was founded around AD 500. The city is home to around 200 attractions and cultural treasures, including eight-meter-high Buddha statues, the Hindu shrine of San Ta Va Daeng, and 21 scenic temples. In addition to the sights, residents of Sukhothai also distinguish the city: street vendors are equipped with everything you need: water, chewing gum or amulets that prevent any misfortune – from banana peel on the ground to facing a tiger.
A highlight is a trip to Sukhothai during Thailand’s Loi Krathong Festival of Lights. On the night of the full moon in the twelfth month of the traditional Thai calendar, which usually falls in November, the city’s lakes and ponds sparkle in a sea of lights. Water goddess Mai Konga is honored on this night and flower boats and candles at waterholes are mesmerized. By the way: Sukhothai means twilight of happiness. This alone promises to be worth a trip.
Wat Sra Si in red lighting and torches reflected in the water: the festival of lights in Sukhothai.
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5. Darwin in Australia
Darwin is the northernmost city in the country, the capital of the Northern Territory and has a population of only about 120,000. Avoid visiting between November and April as this is the time of heavy rain. The town was not named after a naturalist until 1911, and in 1869 it was incorporated as Palmerstone. 50 countries live here in Australia’s hottest city, where temperatures constantly range from 30 to 35 degrees.
With a tropical feel, a beautiful harbor, botanical gardens, and a lively nightlife, Darwin is more solid than a classic city with attractions. A trip to the Crocodile Museum or trips to the gorgeous Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks are perfect. Darwin is also a strong beer city. The annual consumption of 200 liters per person has created a tradition that has existed since 1974: at Beer Can Regatta, crews compete against each other in self-made boats made from cans of beer and soft drinks.
In Wangi Falls in Litchfield National Park, displays indicate the presence of crocodiles in the water.
6. Hamilton in Bermuda
Hamilton is located on Bermuda’s largest island, Greater Bermuda, and is the capital of the archipelago that defines itself as a British Overseas Territory. Lovers of shorts and slowdowns are in the right place here. In the city of 1,000 people, where 14,000 international companies have settled, Bermuda shorts are socially acceptable, even in Parliament they are considered work clothes.
The calmness of the city also has to do with the rules of car regulation. Only one car per family is allowed here (with a kitchen!), and tourists can only use fully motorized scooters. And you should also take it simply: even at a speed of 36 kilometers per hour, you exceed the maximum speed and are waiting for fines.
But why rush? The clean, light-colored city visually offers no reason to leave quickly, at most for the area’s dream beaches. Hamilton is free of crime and poverty, Hollywood greats like Michael Douglas have made their second homes here and the tiny island of Paradise welcomes you during the best time to travel from April to November.
Actors like Michael Douglas, who lives in his second home here, enjoy a view of Harbor Hamilton.
7. Kairouan in Tunisia
Located 100 kilometers to the west of the well-known coastal resorts, Kairouan is a desert city with its own charm. For Muslims, it is the fourth holiest place in the world – after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. The Grand Mosque was declared a World Heritage Site in 1988. Its tower rises 35 meters into the sky.
The historic center is surrounded by high city walls, attracting the colorful spice and carpet market, for which the city is famous throughout the country. For fanatics, Tunisia also offers a multi-day trek on a camel through the desert. Seeing the desert from this perspective, sand formations of all kinds and looking at an endless sea of stars in the dark will remain in your memory forever.
The colorful houses and carpets that Kairouan is famous for all over the country.
8. Marburg in Germany
In Marburg, the gap between the rich and the poor symbolized the stairs. In the Middle Ages, farmers ruled in the castle of Marburg, while subordinates lived in the lower city. 109 meters vertical between the banks of the River Lan and the beautiful castle.
Steep, long, short, or flat and narrow stairs have always characterized the city to this day. Famous students such as Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, and residents such as Clemens von Brentano, Achim von Arnim and his wife Bettina Brentano made Marburg a city of great literary and historical importance.
To this day, Marburg appears to be divided into two parts: while tall, half-timbered buildings adorn the old town in the upper town, practical concrete buildings can be found in the lower town. Tip: Started by the city’s department of culture, the Grimm-dich-Path Trail offers an entertaining climb to the castle, where characters and quotes from the brothers’ fairy tales can be discovered.
A view of the old town of Marburg and the Landgraf Castle, which rises 109 meters above the banks of the River Lahn.
9. Evora in Portugal
Far from the Algarve, the Atlantic Ocean, and Lisbon, Portugal shows its very relaxed side. Inland at Évora, visits to cafes are convenient and tour groups are scarce. Praça do Giraldo is the heart of the city. From here you can admire the Igreja de Santo Antao and the huge marble fountain with eight fountain tubes. These stand for every street that leads out of the square. In addition to visiting historic churches, temples, and Roman thermal baths, Évora also has goosebumps to offer: in the Capilla dos Osos, the Chapel of Bones, 5,000 skulls and bones of monks and priests await visitors.
Praça do Giraldo is located in the heart of the beautiful Portuguese city of Évora.
The picture-perfect city with its tiny white houses has about 10,000 students among its 60,000 residents and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A visit in February is particularly worthwhile. Then the almond trees bloom in the Alentejo region around Évora.