New Back Doors
Europe still holds Back Door destinations — off-beat nooks and crannies that are short on crowds and long on culture. Or an activity can be a Back Door: a festival no tourist seems to know about, a sporting event you can join, a local language class. What's your best Back Door discovery or experience?
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Romania
Romania is a beautiful country with very friendly people. Although the roads are not very good and driving is a bit dangerous, the experience of visiting the villages and smaller towns of Romania is really a backdoor experience. Tourism is just taking off in most areas outside of Bucharest, so prices are good and services are adequate. Language is not as much of an issue as you might expect. We were able to make ourselves understood with the help of a phrase book. We drove through Transylvania (Sibiu is especially nice), Bucovina (painted monasteries), and Maramures (traditional village life). Visit now, before it's too late!
Marcia <email>
Spokane, WA USA 04/14/2010
Ubeda, Spain
Ubeda is a wonderful town in southern Spain with many Renaissance buildings. A UNESCO Heritage site. The Semana Santa (Holy Week) processions are spectacular and spiritually moving - similar to the famous processions in Seville. Apart from that week, Ubeda is probably a lot quieter but you can still enjoy the beautiful buildings and hikes in the countryside. Ubeda makes a good stopover between Madrid and Granada, although not on a rail line. We loved Hotel Alvar Fanez - room, ambiance, location, value.
Dave
Calgary, AB Canada 04/12/2010
Malta
I just made a week-long trip to Malta. Since it was Holy Week I had the opportunity to see how this very catholic nation celebrates the Easter season. The streets of many towns are filled in early evening with a variety of parades and "wirja" (exhibitions) that celebrate different aspects of The Passion and other Easter-related events. Some of these last well into the evening. For adherents this is great as one has many chances to enjoy the season in a way that is different from what most of us know in the U.S. These festivals remind me of the processions I saw in Sevilla, Spain at Easter-time.
Overall, Malta is well-worn by tourists, but not many outside of Britain or some of the nordic countries and Germany. I met very few Italians, French, Spanish, Americans etc. As a result, it is quite "anglo" but very easy to navigate for an American visitor.
The landscape is striking and filled with impressive natural and archaeological sites. Some of the towns are classically Mediterranean. The streets are atmospheric and maintain all of the great aspects of many southern European countries.
Prices for flights are not any cheaper than those for the rest of Europe, and one needs to connect from the U.S. However, prices in all other areas are low - this is Europe's "bargain basement" and I would certainly return.
William Suesholtz <email>
Harrison, NY USA 04/07/2010
Gargantas de Sil
We had a wonderful backdoor experience in the beautiful Gargantas de Sil region. A network of country roads and isolated village takes one far off the tourist path to an area of beautiful canyon views, two monistaries, a castle, vineyards and wineries. Access begins north of Orense off N-120. Follow the OU-0555 toward the St. Estevo monistary. The road will change numbers several times before reaching Castro de Caldelas. The road changes from a forested environment into a grape/agricultural areas as you head eastward. This was a wonderful and relaxing experience in Galicia.
Chris Dahlquist <email>
Asheville, NC USA 03/24/2010
Castrillo de los Polvazares, Spain
Just outside Astorga, Spain (just west of Leon) lies an area of perfectly preserved 15th-16th century villages. Although most of the younger inhabitents have moved away to the cities, a handful of elderly still populate these amazing communities. There does appear to be attempts to stoke the tourist fire, but visitation by tourists from outside the region seems to be almost non-existant. We stayed the night in the absoutely stunning village of Castrillo de los Polvazares, located along LE 142. As we walked the nearly silent cobbled streets, we were in absolute awe of the architecture, sights, and sounds of this undiscovered village.
Chris Dahlquist <email>
Asheville, NC USA 03/24/2010
prague church st cyril
the church of st cyril and methodius is just a few minutes walk from prague's famous "dancing building" and far removed from maddening crowds of tourists. a fascinating museum in the crypt recounts the last stand of ss nazi leader heydrich's assassins during op anthropoid. definitely worth a 30-minute visit.
zack
MD USA 03/11/2010
Heive de Tahiti
Heiva Festival in French Polynesia from June 29 for about 4 weeks. Main events were on Tahiti. Competitions of all sorts: canoe racing, dancing, singing, arts and crafts, agriculture, races of all kinds, fashion design. There was an amazing 2 hour parade with lots of costumes and tatoos on display. Also, a carnival with few rules. We were amongst the few non-locals there. Helps to speak some French, but you can get by without it. Go to the roulottes for great, inexpensive food with a real local vibe.
April
Eastsound, WA USA 02/12/2010