How to see famous European landmarks without dealing with massive crowds
Popular travel guides often tell people with crowd and overstimulation anxieties to skip major sights entirely for hidden gems. This leaves first-time international travelers feeling shut out from seeing the iconic landmarks they finally have the money and opportunity to visit. You can still experience these famous places near major hubs like Paris by learning how to navigate them comfortably without settling for off-the-beaten-path alternatives.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Traveling during the shoulder season or off-season to avoid peak crowds
- 2Creating a balanced itinerary that mixes famous landmarks with less crowded or niche places
- 3Visiting major sights early in the morning
- 4Ignoring unsolicited advice and visiting whatever attractions you personally want to see
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“As a new international traveler, I honestly hate the whole “skip the popular places and go somewhere less touristy” advice.”source ↗
“Now I finally have the money and opportunity to travel internationally, and of course I want to see them too.”source ↗
“But now it feels that every piece of touristic information (blogs, videos, reddit) tells me that I shouldn’t go because of overtourism and that I should visit some hidden gem instead.”source ↗
“You already got to see these famous places. Now it’s my turn, and I won't do it just because I'm ruining it for you”source ↗
“I struggle coping being around a lot of people ideally within maybe an hour or 2 of Paris by train.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5Why is public transit so packed during rush hour?
- 3How to handle tension and disagreements during group travel
- 3How to handle terrible air pollution when traveling
- 2Why is traveling to a new place so mentally exhausting?
- 4How to stay positive when you get sick or injured while traveling
- 3Why do locals give such bad walking directions?