‘It feels like Italy with the volume turned down’: readers’ favourite (smaller) city breaks in Europe

Renaissance art without the crowds in Italy

Ferrara in Emilia-Romagna won me over precisely because it feels like Italy with the volume turned down. I stayed in a small family-run hotel near Via delle Volte, where mornings began with quiet cobbled streets and the smell of fresh pastries. The Palazzo dei Diamanti was almost empty when I visited, giving me space to enjoy its Renaissance art without crowds. Evenings meant cycling past terracotta walls to tiny trattorias serving pumpkin cappellacci, a traditional pasta dish. It’s a city that lets you slow down, breathe and enjoy its beauty.
John

One of Germany’s greenest cities

The Great Garden at Herrenhausen. Photograph: DPA/AFP/Getty Images

Next to flashy Munich or cool Berlin, Hanover in northern Germany has a reputation of being boring. It is totally undeserved: there are world-class museums, such as the modern art gallery Sprengel, one of the best-preserved baroque gardens in Europe – the Great Garden at Herrenhausen – impressive Victorian era architecture, 640 hectares (1,680 acres) of city forest (the Eilenriede, nearly double the size of New York’s Central Park) and a large artificial lake just south of the centre that you can travel on with a bus ticket (or hire a boat). Explore the city and its surroundings on more than 600 miles of cycle paths, find independent shops in the well-heeled art nouveau district of List or the multicultural Linden, and relax in a deck chair on Ballhofplatz with tea and cake at the Teestübchen.
Ulrike

The Algarve’s city of crafts

The market in Loulé was designed in a neogothic style. Photograph: Cristina Arias/Getty Images

Bursting with Portuguese charm, Loulé is 10 miles inland from Faro, capital of the Algarve. The small city has a rich history of preserving traditional crafts, supported by Loulé Criativo, a network of community-driven artisans that keeps alive and celebrates the identity of Loulé and the Algarve. It includes the House of Weaving (Casa da Empreita) and the Watchmakers (Oficina do Relojoeiro) and Stringed Instrument Workshop (Oficina de Cordofones). In these vibrant spaces – where visitors can interact with artisans – the city’s heritage is preserved and passed down through generations.
Sue

Unesco sites in northern France

The belfry of the Hotel de Ville at Place des Heros in Arras is a Unesco world heritage site. Photograph: Aliaksandr Antanovich/Getty Images

Arras, 35 minutes on the train from Lille, has two Unesco world heritage sites: the belfry of the Hotel de Ville and the Vauban Citadel. Exploring the Boves, a 10th-century network of tunnels which played roles in the first and second world wars, is an amazing experience. Above are two magnificent large squares in the Flemish style with a wide variety of alfresco cafes, restaurants and indie shops. Arras also holds one of the biggest Christmas markets north of Paris, noted for its amazing range of international gourmet foods.
Bryan Boese

Artistry and cake in Sweden’s beautiful south

Points of View, the 2017 sculptures by Tony Craig, outside the free Malmö Konsthall arts centre. Photograph: Danita Delimont/Alamy

Malmö is easily accessible (being connected by bridge to Copenhagen) and very walkable. We enjoyed the free Malmö Konsthall arts centre with contemporary exhibitions and also the skateboard artistry in the square outside. The Western Harbour contains architectural gems, such as the twisted skyscraper Turning Turso, restaurants and swimming piers in a former industrial area. The cafe Hollandia offered classic Swedish cakes and a lovely atmosphere. The Disgusting Food Museum next door was an interesting cultural experience showing food considered to be delicacies in some countries, not so much in others. A sign shows the number of people who have thrown up (visit Hollandia first)!
Elisabeth

Brilliant beach and seafood in Sardinia

The beautiful sandy beach of Poetto. Photograph: S Parente/Best of Travel/RM/Alamy

If you can tear yourself away from Poetto – surely one of the prettiest city beaches in Europe – you’ll find a lot more to love in Cagliari, capital of Sardinia. The huge indoor produce market is a riot of glistening seafood, local pecorino and sweet, nutty Sardinian treats. The town centre strides uphill from the port, with the elegant bulwark of Bastione St Remy delineating the ancient Castello district and serving up epic rooftop and coastal views. We missed the renowned archaeological museum, but that just gives us the perfect excuse to go back. Cagliari’s affordable seafood was a definite highlight, and Trattoria Lillicu’s chargrilled bream and calamari is another tempting reason to hurry back.
Martha

Stained glass wonder in north-west Spain

The windows of the cathedral in the city of León are simply breathtaking. Photograph: Around the Corner Pics/Alamy

In León, colours grab your attention and take away words. León cathedral completely wrongfooted me. This city seems to be under the British tourist radar. I thought I’d already seen stained glass that was worthy of heaven – this was another level. Coupled with this was how visitors were reacting. Everyone was using the free audio guide. No one was just marching round and ticking off the sights. People were learning and savouring the experience. The humble ninth-century San Isidoro church, one of the most important romanesque buildings in Spain, is a refreshing contrast.
Deborah

Norway’s art nouveau gem

The art nouveau waterfront of Ålesund. Photograph: Rudi1976/Alamy

Ålesund is one of Norway’s most beautiful stops on an already spectacular western coast, despite having been devastated by fire in 1904. We reached the small, rebuilt art nouveau city via the breathtaking winding roads of the Trollstigen (the “Troll’s Path”) and had our first sighting from the top of the panoramic Aksla mountain viewpoint. Exactly 418 steps lead down to the historic centre where museums, cafes, restaurants and shops cluster around the Brosundet Canal in renovated warehouses and ornate buildings. Kayaking, a rib boat ride or a trip to the stunning Geirangerfjord? We couldn’t choose so did them all!
Teresa Stansby

The French city with a bit of everything

Saint-Malo’s tidal bathing pool. Photograph: Sasha Samardzija/Getty Images

I spent five days in Saint-Malo this August. It has everything: a beautiful walled city with lots of history, a variety of beaches offering shifts in light and character throughout the day, a modernist tidal pool with a high diving platform. The city has so much pride, and the art inspired by its famous landmarks make for great souvenirs. My favourite thing, though? The wonderful cider at La Passage (on Instagram) with my sister. And despite the heat everywhere else, the temperature never got above 25C.
Sophie Amos

Winning tip: a watery Dutch master of a city

Leiden in the Netherlands is full of canals, squares and cafes. Photograph: Peter Conner/Alamy

Leiden starts badly. The walk from the station is grim. Scruffy bars and vape shops. And then, suddenly, this watery Dutch gem reveals itself. Canals shoot off from a boat-filled basin, each one lined with grand brick mansions tapering to elegant finials under the sort of blue lowland skies that typify every good (and bad) Flemish painting. Dig deeper into its narrow traffic-free courtyards and squares with cafes spilling out light and chatter, much as they did when Rembrandt trudged to the school that still stands here, just round the corner from his first tutor’s studio. He’d find it mostly unchanged if he walked back. At Christmas, an ice rink spreads across the main canal, and the smell of warm wine, cloves and crepes hovers over the market stalls.
Bill Jones