i would like to focus on smaller cities, towns, small towns and holes in the wall…

That’s certainly a broad question. What places do you already have in mind? Have you done any book or internet browsing, found any particular European countries (or any other part of the world) that has caught your eye?

Well I plan on renting a car and driving around Europe for probably 6 months to a year. So I pretty much plan on traveling everywhere. I kinda wanna focus on central and eastern Europe because I have already hit most of Western Europe. I know its a really broad question, I guess I just wanna know all the little towns and holes in the wall that you feel in love with. I have been going through lots of previous posts and found lots of cities and am investigating them now. But I wanted to see if people had other things to add, so I could research everything at the same time. I have several guide books, for Europe, western, central, and eastern europe and a few country specific guides. Although I have yet to invest in any small town guide books. Plus I would prefer actual peoples feed back to a guide book.

don’t have concrete advice on where to go, but finnegan point out that leasing cars for that 6 month period would be less expensive than renting a car. You get a brand new car, unlimited mileage, insurance, etc. Finnegan pointed to Renault and I checked it out and it was really economical especially for longer trips (3 – 6 months). Forgot the website but just check out Renault lease USA.

http://www.renaultusa.com/

One of the costlier parts of renting a car is the Value Added Tax…by doing a lease you avoid the tax (and get a brand new car off the showroom floor). Only downside is you have to make sure you follow the warranty which means you will have to get a couple of oil changes at a renault dealership (there’s lots across Europe so it’s not a problem finding one). You have to pay for the oil changes up front, but you get reimbursed for the cost when you return the car.

Opel may have a similar program.

I’ve done the leases tons of time and for long trips they are economical (especially if you are traveling with a few people). In the past I stayed at hostels and always found people willing to pay my gas in return for a drive somewhere. If you have car you’ll be the most popular person at the hostel

Yeah I know that leasing is the way to go I have done it once myself and my buddy has done it a couple of times.

But the advice I am really looking for is what small towns did you enjoy the most?

St. Jean Pieds de Port Spain: Small hill town in Spain in the Pyrenne mountains. Was a fav spot of Ernest Hemingway for fishing. A river runs through town and you can watch trout swimming in the crystal clear water. They have a Basque jai Alai court there and the hold tournaments regularly (you can sit and watch for free). Nice quiet town where you can absorb Basque culture and food.
http://www.terre-bas…

La Roche en Ardennes: quaint little Belgian village in the Ardenne Forest. A fast flowing river runs through town (you can rent kayaks) and it has some medieval castle ruins on a hill over looking the town that you can exploe. I’m not much of a history buff but I beleive General Patton went through here so they have a small war museum too.
http://www.la-roche-…

Todi, Italy: a beautiful hilltown in Umbria (next to Tuscany). Just as nice as any tuscan town but without all the tourists
http://www.bellaumbr…

And if you are a history buff, nearby Bastogne would be a good place to spend the day — great museum to the Battle of the Bulge, memorial to Patton’s troops, and general WWII history.

Cool thanks Finn! I’ll check out those links!

Agree about Todi, and will add Pitigliano, Sovana, Camogli and Pienza. Those last 4 may have some tourists in the day time, but not at night. Pitigliano and Sovana are in the Maremma, southern Tuscany, Camogli is in Liguria, Pienza in Tuscany.
The hot springs of Saturnia are in southern Tuscany. There are plenty of tourists there, but it’s kind of fun because they are from all over the world, and everyone just hangs out there.
(I am talking about the free hot springs, not the spa.)

In France last spring we really enjoyed Angoulême in the southeast (I think I posted a travel tip for it here on Eurotrip) and Plougrescant in the northwest, on Brittany’s dramatic coast.

Also in France, I love Ramatuelle in le VAR (Cote d’Azur). It’s a small village on the tip of a large bluff which you can get 180 views of the coastline to the east (where St. Tropez is), to the south (beautiful landscape/ocean) and to the west. The town itself is interesting/intricate/beautiful.

Other great villages in the area: Bormes les Mimosas (actually better than Ramatuelle now that I think about it), Gassin, Grimaud, Collobrière.

I’m partial to German-speaking places myself

I really liked Hallstatt, Austria and Gimmelwald, Switzerland. Both are “touristy” I guess, but in Hallstatt you have the whole place to yourself by the evening, and the place is surrounded by mountains and awesome forest so you can stop at the grocery store, get some food, and head up into the woods during the day to avoid the crowds, and come back in the evening to eat at your choice of ancient restaurants in town. As for Gimmelwald, there’s not much to the town itself, but it is halfway up a mountain and gives you amazing views of the alps, and there are a million trails you can take up to the summit (or if you’re less sure of yourself, right the cable car up, and hike back down).

This is the view out of pretty much any hostel window in Gimmelwald: http://photos-h.ak.f…