41 Picturesque European Towns And Villages I Have Seen Since I Began Traveling In August 2013

In chronological order, these are the most picturesque small towns I have visited.

Which one would you most like to visit? Enjoy!

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Sens, France

Vezelay, France

The starting point for my 1,000 mile walk on the Camino de Santiago.

Sainte Foy-la-Grande, France

Saint Jean Pied de Port, France

This is the last stop on the French part of the Camino de Santiago–after St. Jean it’s all Spain.

Puente la Reina, Spain

Puente la Reina is famous for its medieval bridge, but I will always remember it for the smell of red peppers roasting on charcoal fires.

La Guardia, Spain

Castrojeriz, Spain

Villafranca del Bierzo, Spain

Villafranca was the last stop before I conquered the challenging and breath-taking Dragonte route of the Camino.

Howth, Ireland

Howth is a windswept harbor on the northern side of Dublin; I hiked around it one windy afternoon in November.

Maastricht, The Netherlands

Amiens, France

It’s a stretch to call Amiens a small town (pop: over 130,000) but it’s old quarter features possibly the most awe-inspiring Gothic cathedral of them all.

Autun, France

Bayonne, France

Toledo, Spain

I celebrated my 24th birthday with my dad in Toledo.

Sintra, Portugal

Nazaré, Portugal

On its own, the town of Nazaré is picturesque enough, but it’s the huge waves in wintertime that are so incredible.

Segovia, Spain

Segovia has a castle which may or may have not inspired the Disneyland version (I think the original one is cooler, of course).

Cádiz, Spain

Girona, Spain

For all the history nerds out there, Girona is full of Paleolithic, Roman, and Medieval artifacts. And it’s damn cute.

Roses, Spain

Fun fact: I slept on the beach in Roses – this picture was taken as I woke up at sunrise.

Cadaqués, Spain

Mechelen, Belgium

Mechelen isn’t as glamorous as Bruges or Ghent but it has a picturesque main square and typically Flemish architecture.

Cruas, France

Vinezac, France

Vinezac is one of a handful of charming towns in Ardeche, a region just north of Provence.

Ruoms, France

Skagen, Denmark

Not counting Greenland or the Faroe Islands, Skagen is the northernmost point of Denmark.

Alghero, Italy

This charming town on the island of Sardegna has some incredibly lovely beaches.

Ramsgrange, Ireland

Inverary, Scotland

Arrochar, Scotland

It might be hard to see, but the town is that little white strip at the bottom of the mountains.

Pease Pottage, England

It’s not especially pretty but I would like to point out how wonderfully ridiculous English place names can be.

Salisbury, England

Salisbury sits in the figurative shadow of Stonehenge–just 8 miles away–but it should be the other way around.

Perranporth, England

Isafjordur, Iceland

Population: 3,000, making it the biggest city in the extremely remote–even by Icelandic standards–Westfjords region.

Uppsala, Sweden

Archi, Italy

Narrow streets, a ruined castle, an old church, and internecine family feuds, and lots of homemade wine. Must be Italy.

Pesche, Italy

Castelmezzano, Italy

Matera, Italy

Smederevo, Serbia

Perast, Montenegro

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