Top European Travel Destinations for 2023: My Review
From the places I’ve visited in 2022
Most Overwhelming
Vatican Museums
With its awe-inspiring art collections and the sheer scale of the arts, I couldn’t but feel overwhelmed while visiting the galleries of the Vatican Museums. From the galley of maps to the Sistine Chapel — everywhere I looked, there were some outstanding pieces of painting or sculpture done by some of the most famous names in the world like — Michelangelo or Raphael. This museum can easily mesmerize even a non-museum person like me for hours and still, I felt like I needed more time in there. Surely one of the highlights of the year 2022.
Best Drives
Alpine: Tauern Highway, Austria
Starting from Salzburg to Villach this alpine highway is a real treat for the eyes, especially during my road trip in January at the peak of snowy winter. The highway runs through mountains via tunnels and bridges on the sharp edges of the Austrian Alps. What surprised me with my tour mates was the sudden change of weather when we passed through a long tunnel (the photo on the left was before the tunnel vs the one on the right after)
Coastal: Amalfi Coast, Italy
Known around the world for its small and picture-perfect coastal villages and marketed as the romantic coastline, the Amalfi coast takes it away as one of the most breathtaking coastal drives from my last year's travel diary.
Villages like Positano and Amalfi can be a perfect getaway from all the hustle and bustle of all Italian big cities. The narrow winding roads with the blue ocean on one side and steep hills on the other are definitely a treat to the eyes. But, maybe drivers need to be very careful driving this road as it can really tricky to take some turns and pass the oncoming traffic.
Arctic: Tromsø — Senja, Norway
During summer, the midnight sun shines over the arctic circle and it never becomes dark for months in the region. We visited the Norwegian region last summer and did a pretty amazing road trip. Starting from one of the northernmost cities Tromsø, we crossed over multiple gorgeous fjords and lakes and snowy mountains on our way to the Amazing Senja islands. The roads and the scenery along it was breathtaking which kept changing almost on every turn. Really a road trip to remember for sure.
Best Hikes
Aletsch Glacier, Switzerland
While one can visit Europe’s longest glacier in the Swiss Alps with a gondola, the hiking trails there are also pretty great. What’s different about this alpine hike? While hiking we could see the green mountain valley with flowers on one side, but when we reached the top we got to see the frozen glacier view — which made it a rewarding hike compared to a lot of others.
Kotor, Montenegro
Offering a breathtaking view of Kotor bay, the Kotor fortress hike is for sure one of my highlights during my trip to Montenegro. The hour-long hike passing some very old churches and houses and zigzag roads was a great hike in the black mountain region of Montenegro. On my way down, I took some time to sit down and absorb the view of the sunset here. It was a great sight to see the lights turning on throughout the coast of the bay.
Best Cities
Vienna, Austria
I guess I was curious why this Austrian capital kept getting nominated as one of the most livable cities in the world in recent years by multiple travel magazines! And honestly speaking, I was not disappointed at all. What a vibrant city with history, architecture, and culture, at the same time, retaining a good mix of modernity with a lot of youthful vibes. For sure I could see myself living in this city for a while if I have to move somewhere! Definitely worth the hype.
Innsbruck, Austria
Another Austrian city, nestled in the Austrian Alps, with numerous world-renowned ski resorts, comes to mind. Beautiful city, mountains, nice little old town, great public transport connection to multiple countries within an hour or two makes it a very good destination. That’s why probably I’ve been to this city twice in the past year, once in snowy winter and another time during the peak of summer. Both times really enjoyed the city and the scenery.
Best Small Towns/Villages
Davos, Switzerland
Some people say this is the place where the top people around the world gather to set the tune of the modern world. But other than the world economic forum, this small mountain town in the Swiss Alps offers great value to travelers. I got to stay at a budget hostel there that offered a guest card and using that, I could ride multiple high-altitude cable cars for the whole day spending just €15! A bargain considering we are talking about one of the most expensive countries in the world.
Interlaken, Switzerland
I guess this place doesn’t need much introduction. This is a hub for traveling around one of the world’s most famous swiss regions of Bernese Oberland. With two big blue/turquoise lakes on both sides and high alpine mountains on the other, this is the place to be. For my trip, I tried to make the best use of the area by
- Taking the mountains trains to Wengen and Lauterbrunnen
- Rode the ferry on lake Brienz
- Swam in lake Brienz to cool down on a very warm day (35°C)
Atrani, Italy
Already talked about the beautiful Amalfi coast, among a lot of other villages like Amalfi & Positano, Atrani can definitely be one of the most picturesque. Definitely worth a stop or stay.
Gjirokaster, Albania
One of the very well-preserved Ottoman towns in the eastern Albanian hills, this is definitely a cultural gem! My short stay in this town was for sure a great experience to roam the narrow painted streets, see the architecture and enjoy some local traditional food.
Wengen, Switzerland
This village in the mountain is definitely one of the most picturesque I’ve seen last year. The view of the Lauterbrunnen valley below is simply awesome. A lot of hiking and cycling possibilities in the area make it more attractive during the summer months.
Ostuni, Italy
This is something I found while browsing the internet and got to visit by chance on my way back to Berlin from Albania. This small Italian old town is gorgeous with its white buildings and cool architecture. It’s not Santorini or Bodrum, but it’s definitely a great travel destination. I was more than happy to find this place and stay there for two days.
Tiny Nations
Vatican City
Okay, nothing to say much about it, it’s just a place that has some wow factor to it. The sheer scale of things and richness of the art & architecture make it one of the most visited places on earth. And I could definitely see why after I visited it.
Liechtenstein
Not much happening in this tiny alpine nation nestled between Switzerland & Austria. From my small stay there, it felt like a quieter version of Switzerland. While naturally beautiful with mountains, this small country doesn’t have a lot going on except peace. It was really an interesting stay there, to say the least.
2022 was a great year that enabled me to travel to multiple countries, numerous cities, and areas with different landscapes and cultures. Each place has its own uniqueness and it’s hard to pick the best in any category without being biased. So, these are my personal best from my 2022 travel history. And as one can see, I like mountains probably a bit more than the coast. But, I’m not ashamed of this bias 😅 Hoping for a great year of travel in 2023 🤞
