Second Best in Europe? Motovun Earned It.
- 23 hours ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 17 minutes ago
European Best Destinations has named Motovun the second-best hidden gem in Europe for 2026. It's a rare kind of recognition: no marketing push, no viral moment, just a small hilltop town that has spent centuries doing its own thing well.
Every year, the same handful of European cities eat up the travel headlines. And every year, somewhere quieter, a handful of places keep doing what they've always done — no campaigns, no influencer trips, just centuries of getting it right — until someone finally notices. This year, that someone is European Best Destinations, and the place is a 600-year-old hilltop town in the heart of inland Istria.
Europe's Best Hidden Gems for 2026
The full ranking spans the continent, from French medieval squares to Greek monasteries balanced on cliffs. According to European Best Destinations' 2026 list, in order:
Tübingen, Germany
Motovun, Croatia
Isola San Giulio, Italy
Alberobello, Italy
Meteora, Greece
Fiskardo, Greece
Kravice Waterfalls, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Monsaraz, Portugal
Lago di Resia, Italy
Pérouges, France
Second place, continent-wide, out of hundreds of contenders. For a town of roughly 500 residents perched on a hill above the Mirna River valley, that's not a fluke — it's decades of quiet consistency finally getting its due.
Why Motovun, Why Now
European Best Destinations describes Istria as the "new Tuscany" and Motovun as the region's proof of concept: a fortified medieval town where Roman foundations meet Venetian walls, wrapped around a bell tower that has watched over the valley for centuries. What sets it apart isn't just the postcard silhouette — it's what surrounds it. Motovun sits at the edge of a forest considered one of the world's finest habitats for white truffles, the same forest that turns the town into Istria's culinary epicenter every autumn.
There's more to the story than the guidebooks capture, too. Locally, Motovun is known as the meeting point of three "dragon furrows" — a legend claiming the hill sits on paths of positive earth energy, breathing quietly beneath the cobblestones. Historians will point you toward the Venetian city gates and the Romanesque church tower; storytellers will point you toward the dragon. Either way, you end up in the same place: a town that rewards slowing down.
Visiting Motovun the Right Way
Most visitors arrive, walk the walls, buy a jar of truffle spread, and leave within the hour. It's a reasonable way to see Motovun. It is not the best way.
At Bel'Istria, Motovun has long been one of our signature destinations — not because it's trending, but because it rewards exactly the kind of unhurried, well-guided visit we design for. A few ways to go deeper:
A private guided walk through the old town
Beyond the obvious viewpoints, a knowledgeable local guide opens up the parts of Motovun most visitors miss entirely — the layered history from Roman settlement to Venetian stronghold, the symbolism behind the fortress walls, and yes, the dragon furrows too. It ends, as it should, with coffee on a terrace overlooking the valley — explore the full walking tour here.
For guests who want to make it truly unforgettable, we can bring the old town's history to life through a costumed local guide — a Venetian nobleman straight out of the 18th century, walking Motovun's own streets and telling its stories in character. It's less a history lesson than a small piece of time travel, reserved for the moments when a good story deserves a better stage.
Truffle hunting in the forests below
This is not a staged demonstration with truffles buried in advance for the cameras. We work with real, local truffle hunters and their dogs, in the same oak and hazelnut woodlands they've worked for years, searching for whatever the forest actually gives up that morning. Some days that means white truffles, some days black, some days a quieter walk than expected — because that's what genuine hunting looks like. Here's how our truffle hunts work.
A fresco workshop with a master painter
A short drive from Motovun, Professor Hari Vidović teaches the technique behind Istria's 11th- to 16th-century church frescoes — including the region's famous Dance of Death — before guests paint their own piece on fresh plaster to take home. It's a rare, hands-on way to understand the art that shaped this region long before anyone called it beautiful. Take a closer look at the fresco workshop.
Paragliding over the valley
For those who want the view Motovun is famous for from an angle no terrace can offer, the hills around the Mirna valley are among Istria's best launch points — the walled town, the vineyards and the forest laid out below in one uninterrupted panorama. See what paragliding over Istria looks like.
A private hot air balloon flight at sunrise or sunset
For a gentler way to see it all from above, a private balloon launch over the Istrian countryside offers the same panorama at an entirely different pace — silent, slow, with the whole peninsula glowing gold beneath you. Few things capture Istria quite like it — see the balloon flight experience.
Getting There Without Thinking About It
Motovun rewards the unhurried, but getting there shouldn't cost you any of that calm. Whether you're coming from Pula, Rovinj, or straight off a flight into Venice or Trieste, Bel'Istria's private trips and tours handle the winding inland roads so the only view that matters is the one out the window — arriving relaxed, on time, and ready for whatever the day holds.
Motovun didn't need a ranking to prove what it is.
But it's good to see the rest of Europe finally catching up.
Photo credits to NuNu production
