During Europe’s summer season, millions of people pack their swimsuits, EHIC renewal (European Health Insurance Card) and sunscreen in order to jet off to Europe’s most stunning countries. Who wouldn’t want to soak up the sun and take some overdue time off of work? However, with such a large influx of tourists, avoiding staggering queues and constricting crowds can be difficult, and can even put a downer on your entire trip.
Visiting Europe during the summer is a must for many people, so if you’d still like to spend your time abroad in the height of summer yet avoid the painful tourist queues and rushes, carry on reading!
Look For Europe’s Hidden Gems
When embarking on their summer holiday, most tourists will spend their time visiting the famous landmarks in that country, which is where you can expect the giant queues to form. Of course, we understand that you might want to visit some of these places yourself, however, to avoid the height of the tourism rush, we’d suggest going off the beaten track a little and exploring in the back streets where not many people decide to go. This way, not only do you get to avoid the tourist rush, but you also get to discover beautiful parts of the country that you never knew existed before!
Visit Europe’s Big Museums At Night
For many European destinations, the most popular attractions are the museums, encapsulating the rich history and culture of that country. With their popularity comes thousands of tourists, however, preventing you from truly admiring the historical items due to the numerous heads in the way! Usually, the most popular museums will be open to the public at least one night a week, which is the optimal time to visit in order to avoid the heaving crowds. Alternatively, many other tourist attractions will be available late at night, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris for example, so you can still admire the stunning views, simply without the added crowds!
Be Smart With Your Time in Europe
Avoiding the rush of tourists is all about being wise with your itinerary. There will always be times of the day where attractions are more popular, so try to plan your time around that. Usually, the busiest tourist times are between 10am-4pm, so rise bright and early to beat the initial crowds, and then continue to visit your museums and other landmarks later at night. When it comes to the busy periods, this is the perfect time to explore and search for those hidden gems, as this way you’re still able to enjoy your holiday and avoid the rush of tourists.
Fast-Track The Theme Parks in Europe
When visiting a destination with a legendary theme park, the truth is avoiding the rush of tourists is near impossible – but only near. When planning trips to these theme parks, we’d suggest factoring the cost of the fast-track passes into your overall holiday budget, as visiting these parks becomes tedious and frustrating when queuing hours for a single ride. Fast-track passes are obviously more expensive, however, the price is worth it to bypass the crowds and jump straight onto your rides with ease.
We all love taking the classic, all-inclusive summer holiday, but that’s exactly the issue. In order to avoid the flustering rushes of tourists, we strongly recommend you follow our advice for a more peaceful and stress-free holiday – you don’t have to miss out on the fun!
Header image credit: Queue at the Tate Gallery, London by Richard Summers Banalities via Flickr Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
