By Ann Abel

Travel has gotten weird. First, nobody did it for a couple of years. Then everybody did it at once, and airports fell apart. “Revenge travel” became a thing. Airports mostly figured out how to keep track of luggage, and people kept going places—too often the same ones. Major cities across Europe have enacted anti-tourism policies.

Meanwhile, anyone who’s been to Rome, Amsterdam or Lisbon lately knows that sharing beautiful places with a million other visitors isn’t all that much fun. With even second cities getting busy, it’s time to dig a little deeper. Even though, in today’s hypermobile world, there’s no such thing as a nice place that’s completely free of tourists, here are ten smaller cities worth a look—especially now, as summer winds down and autumn is set to begin … continue reading

Ann Abel is a travel writer and editor and was a senior editor at ForbesLife. She writes for Forbes, Departures, Conde Nast Traveller, Robb Report, Afar, National Geographic Traveler, Islands, Hemispheres, Brides, Modern Bride, Well + Good NYC, and other print and online publications.”In the name of lifestyle journalism, ” she says, ” I’ve gotten a tattoo in Bora Bora, been bitten by a massage therapist, and flown small aircraft above three continents.” She lives in Lisbon.