Italian villages
Elcito: Marche's Little Stone "Tibet" at 820m
Elcito, a handful of stone houses at 820 metres beneath Monte San Vicino: fewer than five residents and a rare, total silence in the Marche.
Jun 21, 2026Travel where others don't
Little-known destinations, forgotten villages and whole regions to discover before everyone else does. The antidote to overtourism, one guide at a time.
Latest guides
Italian villages
Frontino, stone and woods between Carpegna and the Montefeltro
Frontino, one of the smallest villages in the Marche, clinging to the Apennines between Carpegna and Monte Montone: stone, woods and silence.
Jun 21, 2026
Italian villages
The Tuscan-Emilian Apennines and their empty villages
An hour from the overcrowded art cities, a ridge of stone villages, trails and slow cooking that almost no one seeks out.
Jun 20, 2026
Responsible travel
Off-season: why it's worth it (for you and for the places)
Same places, half the people, a third of the price. And a much gentler impact. A short guide to off-season travel.
Jun 20, 2026
Wild nature
Lahemaa: Estonia's forests and bogs
Estonia's largest national park: peat bogs, manor houses and fishing villages an hour from Tallinn, yet worlds away.
Jun 20, 2026
Hidden Europe
Maramureș: horse-drawn carts and wooden churches in rural Romania
Maramureș in northern Romania: UNESCO wooden churches, the Merry Cemetery of Săpânța, and peasant traditions alive and practiced every day.
Jun 20, 2026
Responsible travel
Night trains: rediscovering Europe by travelling slow
Fall asleep in Vienna and wake up in the Alps. Night trains are back, and they're the most civilised (and least crowded) way to get around.
Jun 20, 2026
Hidden Europe
Valbona: mountain Albania, beyond the beaches
Everyone rushes to the Albanian coast. The interior, made of glacial valleys and stone villages, stays empty and spectacular.
Jun 20, 2026
Wild nature
Val Grande: the wildest corner of Italy
The largest wilderness area in the Alps is in Piedmont, an hour from the crowded Lake Maggiore. And almost no one goes there.
Jun 20, 2026