Famous destinations have their double

• flymeto
• Aug 30, 2019
• 4 min read

That is why Venice, Barcelona or Macu Picchu are among the top places in the world’s most sought-after places. Their history, landmarks and atmosphere are unique and you will find nothing like it anywhere. Or yes? Meanwhile, these destinations remain off the radar, while offering almost the same as their more visited counterparts. Give them a chance. Sometimes it is better to leave off the trails of beaten millions of tourists.

Venice vs. Colmar

The uniformity and detail of the Venetian architecture is stunning, and nowhere in the world can you find it to such an extent, even in combination with the canals. Venice has about 260 thousand inhabitants, but about 10 million visitors flow through them every year. If you want to enjoy romance on crush-free channels, try places labeled Little Venice, such as Camden, London, Valencia, or Bogor, Indonesia. The former fishing neighborhood with this title can be found in the French town of Colmar near the German border. Colmar is one of the oldest cities in Alsace and has been shaped by all architectural styles from medieval Gothic to French Classicism, which blend together into an impressive mosaic of colors and sensations.

Paris vs. Belgrade

Belgrade in the Balkans successfully substitutes the French capital. Paris has Sacré-Cœur, the Belgrade Cathedral of Saint Sava. St. Mark’s Church could be inhabited by a Serbian Quasimodo. Where the similarities end, Belgrade casts a hallmark of genuineness. The commemorations of the Soviet times pushed between the Art Nouveau buildings and monuments from the Ottoman times create the backdrop of the city, which is not just a shop window for tourists. Real people live here and have their backyards.

Barcelona vs. Valencia

Barcelona has Gaudi, Valencia has Santiago Calatrava - a brilliant architect, thanks to which Valencia elegantly combines history with the present. The beaches of this life-bustling metropolis wash the same Balearic Sea as Barcelona. The excellent local cuisine will also leave a lasting mark on you.

Dubrovnik vs. Rovinj

Game of Thrones and the new Star Wars attract a record number of visitors to Dubrovnik. The pearl of the Adriatic, as it is nicknamed by the UNESCO-listed city, has its competitors almost at the other end of Croatia, on the Istrian peninsula. Brightly colored houses in Rovinj harbor grow out of the sea and lazily turn into rolling stone streets that can be both quiet and surprisingly vibrant. Restaurants, pubs and small art galleries will bury you directly.

Santorini vs. Paros

Everybody wants to have photos of white houses with blue roofs ingeniously stacked into island cascades. But few know that the nearby island of Paros offers the same in pale blue. Moreover, life on Paros is more peaceful than on Santorini, which suffers from invasion by tourists.

Galapagos Ballestas

Giant turtles and marine iguanas running along the beach around human visitors or Darwin’s finches. Ecuador still benefits from the fame of the Galapagos Islands and the opportunity to see the animals live there, but they also face the problem of getting them all and not destroying the islands. The other Galapagos are quite close. The Ballestas Islands belong to Peru, and hundreds of penguins, seals and other animals are being heated on their rocky shores for tourists to travel to the Galapagos Islands.

Macu Picchu vs. Choquequirao

While Macu Picchu is closing more and more sightseeing tours and diverting visitors to dedicated routes, Choquequirao is the opposite extreme and a real treat for connoisseurs. The Inca city ruins, which at that time was about three times larger than Macu Picchu, can only visit about 20 people a day. The reward for a rather difficult trek, which you have to complete on the way, is the amazingly preserved monument, and above all the all-encompassing silence.