Transformative Local Art In Lisbon, Portugal
Wendy Werneth from The Nomadic Vegan
The Quinta do Mocho neighborhood is one of many European hidden gems.
On the outskirts of Lisbon’s capital city, it is a social housing project that used to be a notorious slum where most Lisbonites would not dare to enter.
That all changed though starting in 2014 when the local government commissioned a group of national and international artists to cover the buildings in street art.
It transformed into a hidden gem of Lisbon. Just about every year since then, an annual street art festival has been held here, adding more and more murals to the already impressive collection.
Currently, there are 111 works of art in Quinta do Mocho, most of which are large-scale murals covering multi-story buildings.
This makes it the largest open-air street-art gallery in Europe!
The local residents, most of whom are immigrants from the former Portuguese colonies in Africa, have really embraced the project.
While life is still difficult for them, they can now take pride in where they live, whereas they used to try to hide the fact that they were from Quinta do Mocho for fear of discrimination.
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Nowadays, it is perfectly safe to visit the neighborhood on your own.
No one will mind if they see you taking photos of the artwork (though you should not take photos of any people without their permission).
The best way to experience Quinta do Mocho is by joining a guided tour led by one of the residents.
There is a group of guides known as Guias do Mocho that offer tours for 10 euros per person, which you can book easily through their Facebook page.
Tours last two to three hours, and in that time you will be able to see a few dozen of the most impressive works of art.
Your guide will explain the backstories of the artists and the meaning and symbolism behind their work.
It is also possible to add on lunch at the end of the tour at one of the local restaurants that serve traditional African specialties, such as cachupa from Cabo Verde.
This is a great way to further support the local community and learn more about the diverse cultures represented among its members.
Interested in discovering sunny Lisbon during a city break? Check out the best accommodations here!
Half Abandoned Village Of Upper Qeparo, Albania
Maria from Maptrekking
After living in Ireland for 7 rainy months, I was so excited to take a holiday to explore Albania.
This is a country that has so many European hidden gems!
I had been wanting to visit ever since I saw Nas Daily videos about how unique, beautiful, and underrated this Balkan country was.
As I was staying in Himare, a small town along the Albanian Riviera, I decided to do an early morning hike to a village.
My host generously offered to give me a lift from Himare to Qeparo, only a 20 minute drive away.
I was visiting in September but it was still blazing hot so I went early in the morning and arrived at 8AM.
The beach town of Qeparo is on the seaside so I still had a way to hike to reach ‘Upper Qeparo’ or ‘Old Qeparo’.
The windy road provided amazing views as I climbed higher and higher.
I saw regular homes of locals and some abandoned, half-built tourist villas before going through a beautiful olive grove and catching my first sight of Upper Qeparo.
As I approached, I caught my breath a little and knew that this place was special.
At my back was the shimmering Adriatic sea and in front, a village perched on a hill, frozen in time, with a stunning mountain range as a backdrop.
The only sounds to be heard were goats bleating and the wind rustling the olive branches.
It felt like I had been transported back in time or to another planet.
On arrival, I was immediately drawn past the old town centre to go East down one of the paths.
With no idea what to expect, I turned the corner to find the most beautiful vista before me.
I was totally caught off guard because I had only seen the picture of the front of the village.
I marveled at the viewpoint for quite a bit before going to explore the actual village.
There was no way the village could beat that view, I thought, but I was wrong.
In its own way, it was just as good. I navigated (if you can call it that, more like randomly wandered) through the tiny alleyways, never knowing what to expect.
When communism ended in Albania in the 90s, most people had fled and left this and many other villages abandoned.
There has been some restoration done but to this day, only a few families are residing there.
Seeing what village life in Albania was like 30 years ago was amazing.
What really got me was the peace and solitude. Life felt so simple there, like all the problems of the world did not really matter.
I think it is a place that I could see someone escaping to so they can write a book or work on a secret project.
If you are interested in visiting, check out these amazing Albanian Riviera accommodations! I loved my stay in Himare. It is a great little beach town that is big enough to offer amenities but not too big to feel commercial.
Read More: Amazing Montenegro Food – Eating Like Locals & Living In Montenegro
Wild Swimming In The Peak District, United Kingdom
Charlotte from Bursting My Bubbles
The Peak District is a national park in the north of England. It is filled with European hidden gems to discover.
It has lots of amazing walks, gorgeous villages, cycle routes, beautiful road trips through dramatic scenery, and lots of places to go wild swimming.
Due to the unreliable weather in England (we are known to get 4 seasons in one day), there are not many outdoor swimming baths.
For those of us who love to go swimming, we have made it our mission to find outdoor lakes, rivers, streams, etc to go for a swim, in beautiful places.
Now one thing to be aware of when swimming in the Peak District is, as long as it is not a designated area for fishing you will be absolutely fine.
I would say that in each place you could spend anything from a couple of hours to an entire day there.
As they usually have a nice spot for a picnic afterward and a few there can have a short walk to them.
It is like having a day at the beach but somewhere completely landlocked!
Interested in exploring the beautiful Peak District of the UK? Check out the best accommodations here!
My favourite spots are:
The River At Chatsworth House
Now, this swimming spot is huge! So there is plenty of space for you to do it, and you may even be joined by deer or sheep.
There is lots of plunge areas and also tree swings just to add some fun!
Set amongst huge fields, this place is somewhere you can take a picnic and spend the entire day.
Calver Bridge
Now here you can walk to this swimming spot from Carver which will take around 30 minutes maximum.
Park up next to the bridge if you can get a spot. The river is huge with areas to paddle or a full swim.
You can even jump off the Bridge into the water if you feel brave as it is plenty deep enough.
Padley Gorge
Padley Gorge has a stream running all the way down with plenty of places to swim and paddle!
It has mini waterfalls, plunge pools, and a tree swing! Definitely not one to miss out on.
Read More: Slow Tourism – What Does It Mean To Travel Slowly
Drinking Lessons with Loggers In Transylvania, Romania
Kim from My Global Ways
Transylvania is a hikers paradise, definitely one of many European hidden gems located in Romania.
This is why it was my very first overnight trekking destination. Several university friends and I decided to go for a 5 day trip through the mountains.
It was great, there are huts that you can stay at that will feed you breakfast and dinner and pack a lunch if you ask.
That means that you only really have to carry snacks, a sleeping bag, and your personal items.
Plus Transylvania is gorgeous and off the beaten path, no one goes there!
The only issue was that it was WAY harder than we anticipated!
So on the last day before we caught the train back to civilisation and we decided we deserved a few well-earned beers at our final hut.
It turned out that we were not the only ones with this idea.
The only other people staying at this hut were two Romania loggers who were on their way out to the mountains.
They did not speak a lick of English and we did not speak a lick of Romanian. By the time beer #3 was gone, we were fast friends.
We spent the entire night trying to teach them card games (which did not go well) and they shared their drinks with us.
They took out two 1L see-through pop bottles filled with a see-through liquid.
Eventually, we found out that it was ţuică, the national drink of Romania.
It is a type of moonshine often made in people’s backyards and derived from plums.
It is usually 50-60% alcohol. Traditionally it is also drunk with crusty bread and pig fat ignorer to help absorb the alcohol and chase the taste. So that is what we did!
The Romanian loggers poured all of the boy’s very sizable shots and instructed them (via demonstration) on how to properly take a shot.
The girls got a little insulted that the Romanians did not think we could handle it.
I tried to inform them that I am actually 1/4 Romanian and I could handle my alcohol, but I do not know if that came across!
They did end up pouring each of us several shots and instructing us on the proper technique.
I think they were very impressed with how we girls handled our alcohol (although good thing they did not see us later that night).
The best part about learning to drink Romanian uică – no hangovers (almost)!
Interested in seeing the stunning Transylvania region in Eastern Europe? Check out the best accommodations here!
How many Europe hidden gems are on your bucket list?
Check out my slow travel bucket list below.
