Hidden Gem Travel Hotspots: These are the best cities to avoid the crowds

Hidden Gem Travel Hotspots:

New research released today from luxuryhotel.com reveals the capital cities with the most and best hidden gems.

Finding those hidden gems in some of the world’s busiest and most visited cities may be a challenge, but it can be rewarding. We’ve done the hard work for you and collated some of the best-hidden holiday gems around the world as well as the world capitals with the highest number of secret attractions to travel to.

The research conducted by Luxuryhotel.com looked at which capital cities around the world had the most hidden gems. It found the average capital city has 53 hidden gems.

The ten capital cities with the most hidden gems:

London had the most hidden gems with 419 in the British capital, eight times more than the global average.
Manila, Philippines has Asia’s most hidden gems with 309 secrets, followed by the Vietnam capital of Hanoi (98 hidden gems).
Washington DC is the only capital city outside of Europe and Asia in the top 20.
Museums are the most popular hidden gem for just under half of the cities researched.

Rank	City, Country	Number of hidden gems	Top-rated hidden gem
1	London, England	419	Bimber Distillery
2	Manila, Philippines	309	San Agustin Museum
3	Rome, Italy	228	Basilica Papale San Paolo Fuori le Mura (Religious site)
4	Paris, France	214	Musee Marmottan Monet (Museum)
5	Prague, Czech Republic	147	NaFilM: National Film Museum (Museum)
6	Amsterdam, Netherlands	125	Museum Ons’ Lieve Heer Op Solder (Museum)
7	Lisbon, Portugal	112	Medeiros e Almedia Museum (Museum)
8	Dublin, Ireland	110	14 Henrietta Street (Museum)
9	Madrid, Spain	109	Museo Sorolla (Museum)
10	Hanoi, Vietnam	98	Hanoi Police Museum

London, UK – 419 hidden gems

What could be more luxurious than a trip to the Big Smoke? While there are plenty of well-known tourist attractions that are sure to be crowded, the sprawling city also offers the highest number of hidden gems, with the highest rated being Bimber Distillery, where you can enjoy a tour and tasting of their handcrafted spirits.

Manila, Philippines – 309 hidden gems

Second on our list is the Philippines capital, Manila. With 309 hidden gems across the city, you’ll find plenty of places away from the crowds. The highest rated hidden gem in Manila is the San Agustin Museum, where visitors can explore religious and spiritual art and learn about the role of religion within the country.

Rome, Italy – 228 hidden gems

Rome is known for its luxury, so it’s the perfect city to round out our top three, boasting 228 hidden gems. The highest rated hidden gem in this historic city is the Basilica Papale San Paolo Fuori le Mura, one of Rome’s four ancient, papal, major basilicas.

The Best of the Best Hidden Gems

When we break it down by type of attraction, we can see that museums are the most popular hidden gems, with 24 out of the 25 cities having a museum as their top-rated unknown attraction. The museums with 5-star ratings were: