As much as Venice is beautiful, Barcelona is beautiful and London is historic, the idea of spending half your holiday battling huge crowds and standing in hour-long queues isn’t particularly appealing. Besides, there are dozens of destinations all over the globe that deserve their time in the spotlight (and a lot of them actually want more tourists).
And according to BBC Travel, two of those places are right here in the UK. The publication has just revealed its pick of the 25 most underrated destinations we should be visiting in 2025. These are places that are often overlooked but welcome tourists with open arms. They each use tourism to support local communities, protect the environment or preserve their unique cultural heritage.
In at number five was Wales. BBC Travel calls it one of ‘Europe’s most up-and-coming destinations’. This year, Wales is celebrating ‘Year of Croeso’ (meaning welcome), with the slogan ‘feel the hwyl’ – an untranslatable Welsh word describing a deep state of joy that comes from being immersed in the moment. Who can say no to that?
Further down, BBC Travel has ranked Bradford at number 12. Bradford is UK City of Culture for 2025, offering a year-long programme that includes a David Hockney exhibition and the reopening of its National Science and Media Museum.
RECOMMENDED: Part of England has been named the world’s best place to visit in 2025 by the New York Times.
BBC Travel wrote about Bradford: ‘The diversity of offerings reflects the eye-opening variety of a city whose historic enclaves like Little Germany [...] are complemented by a landscape of dramatic moors that play host to an extraordinary open-air immersive sound walk mixing contemporary classical music with a sculpture trail.’
For even more underrated places to add to your list, check out BBC Travel’s roundup in full here, or take a look at Time Out’s own list of places you should show some love in 2025. And if you still want to see what all the hype is about here’s our advice on how to be a better tourist in Europe’s most visited cities.
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