Off the Beaten Path Travel
What does Off The Beaten Path Travel mean?
Hi! I’m Anya, founder of the travel blog Stop Going to Paris which focuses on underrated cities in Europe. I’m a passionate traveler but above all, a passionate adventurer always looking for the hidden gems that deserve more love.
After 10 years and 70+ destinations, I can help you plan your European trip: book a call with me. It includes a full itinerary with unique destinations, transportation, accommodation and activities.
Fun fact, I live in… drumroll… Paris! That’s why the name of the blog is funny.
Hello There,
Let’s start with a few quick facts about me and my blog 🙂 My name is Anya and I travel quite a lot around Europe. My goal with this blog is to explore off the beaten path travel, i.e: lesser-known cities and regions in Europe in order to help you diversify your travels here.
Let me explain my concept a bit: the point is not so much to never go to Paris or never write about it, as Paris is a lovely city. I would know, I’m Parisian! (Bet you didn’t see that one coming huh). However, other equally lovely cities exist in Europe and deserve to be known – some of them only 1 hour away from Paris. And they would make fine day trips, so why not dig into them as well?
The keyword here is EXPAND: by diversifying your travel destinations, you get to explore hidden gems and new facets of Europe. I will focus on niche, off-the-beaten-path places to bring the best the continent has to offer.
Having visited more than 70 of these small, relatively unknown cities in Europe, I now know all the tricks: where to go, what’s worth your money, and how to make the most of your trip. I can share with you travel guides, tips and of course my top picks, so you stop missing out on these small hidden gems that are sometimes just next door.
The term “Hidden Gem” can be vague and very relative. For example, for me, Nîmes in France is not unknown or “hidden”, but to a foreigner it would be. In this blog, “Hidden Gems” will not be measured by how many people know a city but rather by how often it is talked about. To make it simple, if a city is mentioned and written about less online or in pop culture, it is underrated and therefore a Hidden Gem.
For concrete examples, check my posts on Zakopane, Poland’s winter capital and Amboise, the Loire Valley Kings Capital.
All that being said, it doesn’t mean I am never going to write about Barcelona, or Lisbon, or Prague (or even Paris!). After all, tourists go to these cities for a reason – and I have been as well. It just means I will try to focus as much as possible on the hidden gems and bring them to you 🙂