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  • ✇The Guardian
  • ‘It feels like Italy with the volume turned down’: readers’ favourite (smaller) city breaks in Europe
    You share your low-key alternatives to overcrowded hotspots, from an island city in the Med to a Norwegian art nouveau gem• Tell us about your trips in Europe’s mountains – the best wins a £200 holiday voucherFerrara 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
     

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

04. September 2026 um 07:00

You share your low-key alternatives to overcrowded hotspots, from an island city in the Med to a Norwegian art nouveau gem
• Tell us about your trips in Europe’s mountains – the best wins a £200 holiday voucher

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

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© Photograph: Witold Skrypczak/Alamy

© Photograph: Witold Skrypczak/Alamy

© Photograph: Witold Skrypczak/Alamy

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