Beautiful but Underrated Cities to Visit Before They Become Tourist Hotspots

City Thirty-Five: The Cliffside Stillness of Monemvasia, Greece

Jutting from the Peloponnesian coast like a stone ship adrift in time, Monemvasia is a medieval fortress town carved into a rock. Hidden from view until you cross its causeway, the town unfurls into a warren of Byzantine lanes, crumbling churches, and bougainvillea-draped archways. Life here moves in whispers: the clink of glasses at a cliffside taverna, the brush of sea wind through olive trees, the echo of footsteps on cobblestone. Once a Byzantine trading hub, it’s now a place of spiritual stillness and slow living. Monemvasia isn’t just off the beaten path—it’s in another century entirely.