The most beautiful villages in the world
German half-timbering, Austrian lakes, Swiss waterfalls, Greek islands, Japanese hamlets, Mexico's magical towns and Norwegian fjords.
From the team
Small and unforgettable
Some trips are remembered for a huge city and others for a small village where everything seemed handmade. This issue travels through seven countries by way of their most beautiful villages: from the Christmas markets of Bavaria to the red cabins of Lofoten.
Cobbled streets, thatched roofs, colourful houses by the water and mountains reflected in lakes: places small enough for a stroll that stay in your memory.
Every destination comes with its full guide. When you choose, we plan your trip in under a minute. We travel together.
The Bagintravel team
Germany
Half-timbering and Christmas markets
Medieval walls on the Romantic Road, Neuschwanstein Castle and wooden houses in the Black Forest.
Walled medieval towns on the Romantic Road, the fairy-tale castle of Neuschwanstein, wooden houses in the Black Forest and brick towns of the Hanseatic League: the most beautiful villages in Germany, lovely too with their Christmas markets.
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01 Germany
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
The most famous medieval town on the Romantic Road, with walls and half-timbered houses.
Read the guide -
02 Germany
Füssen
A Bavarian town at the foot of the castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau.
Read the guide -
03 Germany
Bamberg
A medieval old town that is a World Heritage Site, with the town hall over the river and smoked beer.
Read the guide -
04 Germany
Heidelberg
A ruined castle above the Neckar and the oldest university in Germany.
Read the guide -
05 Germany
Lübeck
The Holsten Gate, brick churches and the marzipan of the former queen of the Hanseatic League.
Read the guide -
06 Germany
Black Forest
Dark forests, villages of wooden houses, cuckoo clocks and the cake that bears its name.
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Austria
Picture-postcard lakes
Hallstatt and the villages of the Salzkammergut, and the vineyards of the Wachau along the Danube.
A village of wooden houses between a lake and the mountains, vineyard villages along the Danube, Empress Sisi's spa town and Alpine ski villages: the most beautiful villages in Austria.
In Hallstatt the houses seem to lean over the lake to look at their reflection.
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01 Austria
Hallstatt
Wooden houses between a lake and mountains, a World Heritage Site.
Read the guide -
02 Austria
St. Wolfgang
A Gothic church on the shores of the Wolfgangsee and a rack railway up the Schafberg.
Read the guide -
03 Austria
Bad Ischl
The spa town of Empress Sisi and Franz Joseph.
Read the guide -
04 Austria
Dürnstein
The blue church and the castle where Richard the Lionheart was held prisoner, in the Wachau.
Read the guide -
05 Austria
Melk
A huge Baroque abbey above the Danube, at the entrance to the Wachau.
Read the guide -
06 Austria
Zell am See
A town by a lake among mountains: skiing in winter and swimming in summer.
Read the guide
Switzerland
Waterfalls and summits
A valley of 72 waterfalls, a car-free village below the Matterhorn and lakes with castles.
A valley of waterfalls between rock walls, Alpine villages at the foot of the Eiger and the Matterhorn, a castle on Lake Geneva and a medieval wooden bridge: the most beautiful villages in Switzerland, in summer and in winter.
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01 Switzerland
Lauterbrunnen
The valley of 72 waterfalls, with sheer walls and little wooden chalets.
Read the guide -
02 Switzerland
Grindelwald
An Alpine village at the foot of the Eiger, a base for going up to the Jungfraujoch.
Read the guide -
03 Switzerland
Zermatt
A car-free village at the foot of the Matterhorn.
Read the guide -
04 Switzerland
Lucerne
A medieval wooden bridge over the river and mountains around the lake.
Read the guide -
05 Switzerland
Montreux
The Swiss Riviera, with Chillon Castle on the water of Lake Geneva.
Read the guide -
06 Switzerland
Interlaken
Between two lakes, the gateway to the Jungfraujoch and Switzerland's adventure capital.
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Greece
White and blue
Whitewashed villages above a volcanic caldera, colourful fishermen's houses and monasteries high on the rock.
White villages above a volcanic caldera, colourful fishermen's houses in the Cyclades, the first capital of modern Greece and monasteries perched on the rock: the most beautiful villages in Greece.
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01 Greece
Santorini
White villages above a volcanic caldera and the sunsets of Oia.
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02 Greece
Naxos
Long beaches, mountain villages and the Portara at sunset.
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03 Greece
Paros
White villages, fishing harbours and rocky beaches.
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04 Greece
Milos
Colourful fishermen's houses and volcanic beaches that look like the moon.
Read the guide -
05 Greece
Nafplio
An elegant town below the Palamidi fortress, the first capital of modern Greece.
Read the guide -
06 Greece
Meteora
Monasteries perched on giant rock pillars, a World Heritage Site.
Read the guide
Japan
Thatched roofs and a torii in the sea
A hamlet that looks like a fairy tale in winter, wooden streets in the Japanese Alps and a sacred island.
A village of thatched roofs among mountains, streets of wooden houses in the Japanese Alps, a sacred island with a torii in the sea, shrines among cedars and onsen with views of Mount Fuji: the most beautiful villages in Japan.
When it snows in Shirakawa-go, the thatched roofs look like hands joined in prayer.
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01 Japan
Shirakawa-go
Houses with steep thatched roofs among mountains, a World Heritage Site.
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02 Japan
Takayama
An old town of wooden houses, with morning markets and local sake.
Read the guide -
03 Japan
Kanazawa
Samurai districts and teahouses, and one of the most beautiful gardens in the country.
Read the guide -
04 Japan
Hakone
Onsen, Lake Ashi and, on a clear day, Mount Fuji in the background.
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05 Japan
Nikko
Lacquered shrines among centuries-old cedars, lakes and waterfalls.
Read the guide -
06 Japan
Miyajima
The sacred island with the great torii that seems to float at high tide, and deer among the temples.
Read the guide
Mexico
Colours and cenotes
Cobbled streets in colonial towns, Yucatán's magical towns and a lagoon of seven colours.
Colonial towns with cobbled streets, colourful houses in a ravine, Yucatán's magical towns with cenotes, a lagoon of seven colours and islands with sandy streets: the most beautiful villages in Mexico.
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01 Mexico
San Miguel de Allende
A colonial gem of cobbled streets, with a fairy-tale parish church.
Read the guide -
02 Mexico
Guanajuato
Colourful houses in a ravine, tunnels beneath the city and callejoneadas (street serenades) with student minstrels.
Read the guide -
03 Mexico
Valladolid
A colonial Pueblo Mágico, a base for Chichén Itzá, with cenotes in the town itself.
Read the guide -
04 Mexico
Bacalar
The lagoon of seven colours, with turquoise and blue waters.
Read the guide -
05 Mexico
Holbox
A car-free island of sandy streets, with whale sharks in summer.
Read the guide -
06 Mexico
Isla Mujeres
A quiet island across from Cancún, with Playa Norte and an underwater museum.
Read the guide
Norway
On the edge of the fjord
Red cabins below mountains rising from the sea and villages at the head of the fjords, with northern lights in winter.
Red fishermen's cabins below mountains rising from the sea, villages at the head of the fjords, a quayside of colourful wooden houses and an Art Nouveau town spread across islands: the most beautiful villages in Norway.
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01 Norway
Lofoten Islands
Red fishermen's cabins, mountains rising from the sea and white beaches above the Arctic Circle.
Read the guide -
02 Norway
Senja
Peaks plunging into the sea, white beaches and fishing villages, less well known than Lofoten.
Read the guide -
03 Norway
Flåm
A village at the head of the Aurlandsfjord, famous for its mountain railway.
Read the guide -
04 Norway
Geiranger
Norway’s most famous fjord, with waterfalls tumbling down walls of rock.
Read the guide -
05 Norway
Ålesund
An Art Nouveau town rebuilt after a fire, spread across islands.
Read the guide -
06 Norway
Bergen
Colourful wooden houses on the Bryggen wharf and the gateway to the fjords.
Read the guide
In the kitchen
To keep the trip going at home
Three recipes from our guides to these countries: Swiss cheese fondue, Greek moussaka and Austrian apple strudel.
Switzerland
Cheese fondue
Cheese melted with white wine and kirsch in an earthenware pot (caquelon) over a burner, into which you dip cubes of bread on long forks. Switzerland’s winter sharing dish.
Ingredients
- 400 g grated Gruyère
- 400 g grated Vacherin Fribourgeois or Emmental
- 300 ml dry white wine
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon of cornflour
- 2 tablespoons of kirsch
- Nutmeg and pepper
- 1 kg day-old bread, cubed
Method
- Rub the inside of the pot with the halved garlic.
- Heat the wine in the pot, add the cheeses little by little and stir in a figure of eight over a low heat until melted.
- Dissolve the cornflour in the kirsch and add it to bind the fondue.
- Season with nutmeg and pepper.
- Put the pot on the burner in the middle of the table and dip the bread, always stirring.
Tip: Whoever loses their bread in the pot buys the next round (or sings).
Recipe in its guide
Greece
Moussaka
Greece’s great baked dish: layers of fried aubergine, minced meat with tomato and cinnamon and a thick béchamel on top. It’s baked until golden and left to rest before cutting.
Ingredients
- 3 aubergines
- 2 potatoes (optional, for the base)
- 600 g minced lamb or beef
- 1 onion and 2 garlic cloves
- 400 g crushed tomatoes
- 100 ml red wine
- 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 bay leaf
- For the béchamel: 60 g butter, 60 g flour, 700 ml milk, 2 yolks, nutmeg and 50 g grated cheese
- Olive oil, salt and pepper
Method
- Slice the aubergines, salt them and leave them to sweat for 30 minutes. Pat them dry and fry them or roast them in the oven with oil.
- Fry the onion and garlic, add the meat and brown it. Pour in the wine, add the tomato, cinnamon and bay leaf and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Make the béchamel: melt the butter, cook the flour, gradually add the hot milk and cook until thick. Off the heat, add the yolks, nutmeg and cheese.
- In a dish, add a layer of fried potato slices (if using), then aubergine, the meat and another layer of aubergine. Cover with the béchamel.
- Bake at 180 °C for about 45 minutes, until golden. Leave to rest for 20 minutes before cutting.
Tip: Resting is key: if you cut it straight out of the oven, it falls apart.
Recipe in its guide
Austria
Apfelstrudel
Austrian apple strudel: a dough stretched so thin you could read a newspaper through it, filled with apple, raisins, cinnamon and breadcrumbs toasted in butter.
Ingredients
- 250 g strong flour
- 125 ml warm water
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 kg sharp apples
- 80 g sugar
- 50 g raisins soaked in rum
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 80 g breadcrumbs
- 120 g butter
- Icing sugar
Method
- Knead the flour with the water, oil and salt until very smooth. Coat it in oil and leave to rest, covered, for 1 hour.
- Toast the breadcrumbs in 50 g of the butter. Peel and slice the apples and mix them with the sugar, raisins and cinnamon.
- On a floured cloth, roll out the dough and then stretch it over the backs of your hands until paper-thin. Trim off the thick edges.
- Brush with melted butter, scatter the breadcrumbs over a third of it and the apple on top. Roll it up by lifting the cloth.
- Brush with butter and bake at 190 °C for about 40 minutes. Serve warm with icing sugar and cream or vanilla sauce.
Tip: If you don’t dare tackle the dough, filo pastry works very well.
Recipe in its guideDownload the app
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