Did you ever think of the amazing European cities that don’t see as much face time as the well-known ones? I had never been enticed to research them until I was unfortunately not chosen to study abroad in Florence, Italy.
However, I was pleasantly surprised with the beautiful cities I had found and in the end I was incredibly grateful for my rejection. They were all beautiful and received amazing tourist reviews. Ultimately, I found the hidden gem of Perugia, Italy and I knew I had to apply to live there with one of my great girl friends. I never thought that I could be happy with anything other than Florence.
This experience of rejection made me realize what I’m trying to make all of you realize-- there is more to Europe than just Florence and Barcelona.
Europe, in fact, is a sea of wonderful towns and cities that are waiting to be explored. Just like there is more to the United States than just New York City and San Francisco.
If you’re a sophomore and considering studying abroad within the next year, I advise you to do some extra research that takes you further than Florence or Barcelona. If you're a junior who is already set to study abroad in a well-known European city, I encourage you to make a few pit stops at the smaller, lesser-known places throughout your time spent there.
If you need help getting started, I’ll leave you with a list of the top 5 underrated European cities and towns that I discovered throughout my search:
