Escape the crowds with a trip to one of Europe’s forgotten former capitals – faded charm guaranteed.

Coimbra, Portugal

This central Portuguese gem exhibits the sort of melancholy beauty you would expect of a city with a history stretching back 2,000 years but whose golden age was several centuries ago. Hilltop Coimbra served as the capital of Portugal from 1131 until 1255, when the honour was handed to the equally venerable Lisbon, and while the latter is now inundated with tourists, few make it to the former.

It attractions, besides the lack of crowds, include one of the world’s oldest universities, founded in 1290 (just 81 years after Cambridge) and headquartered since the 16th century in the city’s Royal Palace. It lends the place a certain vitality – expect to see idealistic young scholars filling its cafés and fado bars.

There’s also an impressive 18th-century library, where more than 300,000 books line richly gilded walls, a 12th-century cathedral, a couple of handsome monasteries and a botanical garden. Some of Portugal’s best preserved Roman ruins can be seen in Condeixa-a-Nova, around 10 miles to the south.

How to get there

A clutch of budget airlines serve both Porto and Lisbon airports; Coimbra is halfway between the two. Quinta das Lágrimas is the city’s most luxurious hotel, offering gardens, a spa and a fine dining restaurant, Arcadas.

Coimbra Credit: getty

Nafplio, Greece

This Peloponnese port has held strategic importance for millennia, with its historic core, the Acronauplia, possessing pre-classical, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman fortifications. Its crowning glory, the castle of Palamidi, was built in the late 17th century, when the city was the capital of Venice’s Kingdom of the Morea. After it shook off Turkish rule in 1829, Nafplio became the seat of the provisional government of Greece before King Otto moved it to Athens in 1834.

“We should all be grateful to him, for Nafplio’s fetching combination of Venetian charm and Ottoman seductiveness remained unscathed,” says John Malathronas, Telegraph Travel’s Greece expert. “Its narrow network of streets, overflowing with jasmine and bougainvillea creepers, are a flaneur’s delight; not one but two imposing forts look down protectively at the old town; and Bourtzi, an island castle, rises picture-perfect in the harbour bay.”

Views from the castle of Palamidi Credit: GETTY

Relax at a waterside restaurant (Savouras is recommended), with a trip to the quirky worry beads (komboloï) museum, or on a tour of the Karonis ouzo distillery, and then visit one of the fine attractions on its doorstep, such as the beaches of Tolon or the World Heritage Sites of Mycenae, Tiryns and Epidaurus.

How to get there

The closest major airport is in Athens, from where you can catch a bus or hire a car. The Hotel Grande Bretagne offers chic rooms, a swanky terrace restaurant, and is right in the heart of the city.

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Bulgaria’s modern capital, Sofia, is hardly a mainstay of travel wish-lists – so one can be forgiven for assuming its former capital is even sleepier. But this year has seen Plovdiv, once the hub of the ancient region of Thrace (and capital of now defunct Eastern Rumelia), thrust into the spotlight. It is one of two European Capitals of Culture for 2019 (the other is Matera, Italy), and has been enjoying an eclectic programme of events, ranging from a festival of jazz to something called “psychological theatre”.

Robert Nurden, a former resident of Bulgaria, urges everyone to go. He says: “The main draw is the Old Town, which nestles on top of, and cascades down, three hills. There are Thracian, Greek and Roman remains [including a 7,000-capacity theatre] and they in turn lie next to, and beneath, 400 recently-restored 19th-century wooden-frame houses.”

Plovdiv's Roman theatre Credit: GETTY

The city is also the perfect launching point for forays into Bulgaria’s stunning southwest corner. The peak of Musala, around 50 miles to the west, is “as close to the abode of angels as you will find between the Alps and the Caucasus,” reckons travel writer Paul Bloomfield. It sits in Rila National Park, which spans 200,000 acres of mountains, forest and high pasture, has a network of well‑marked walking trails and comfortable refuges, and is home to a Unesco-listed monastery.

How to get there

Ryanair offers flights from Stansted. There are plenty of utilitarian places to stay; far better to make tracks for the characterful Hebros Hotel.

Aachen, Germany

The capital of the mighty Carolingian Empire, which reached its peak in 800 AD with the crowning of Charlemagne, Aachen was also, from 936 to 1531, where 31 Holy Roman Emperors were crowned Kings of the Germans. It is the westernmost city in Germany, located close to the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, and also referred to as Aix-la-Chapelle.

The Dom, where Charlemagne is buried and the centrepiece of a beautiful medieval core, was one of the first World Heritage Sites recognised by Unesco in 1978 – but don’t expect to be fending off thousands of other tourists as you do in Berlin’s palaces and museums.

Max Davidson, after a visit for Telegraph Travel, wrote: “How many English cities – even our great cathedral cities – have such an architecturally satisfying city centre? In Worcester or Norwich, there would probably be a McDonald’s where Aachen has a second-hand bookshop, a medieval Bierkeller or a lovely old church: weather-worn; timeless; its spire pointing crookedly skywards.

Aachen Credit: GETTY

“In between the great, monumental buildings, you come across little statues and fountains – some centuries old, some contemporary – that would be downright frivolous if they were anywhere else. A naked boy holding a fish. A puppet knight on a puppet horse. Three ridiculously skinny women clutching umbrellas. A poacher with a cockerel sticking out of his rucksack. A girl with pigtails holding what looks like a surfboard. They are not all great works of art, but they have an exuberant, ludic quality that seems to sum up a friendly city, comfortable in its own skin.”

How to get there

Thanks to its western location, this overlooked gem is also easy to reach – trains from St Pancras (via Brussels) take just three-and-a-half hours.

Ohrid, North Macedonia

The First Bulgarian Empire had a string of capitals during its 500-year existence, including lakeside Ohrid, the eighth largest city in what is now North Macedonia.

The eighth biggest city in North Macedonia must be a pretty small place, right? Yes indeed – it is home to just 42,000 people, not enough to fill even half of Wembley Stadium. But then, what it lacks in stature it more than makes up for in beauty. Sometimes referred to as “the Jerusalem of the Balkans” thanks to its wealth of churches, it also sits pristinely on the edge of Lake Ohrid. Together, city and lake have Unesco World Heritage status.

One of Lake Ohrid's numerous churches Credit: GETTY

There are hidden gems scattered all around these parts. At the southern tip of Lake Ohrid, the St Naum Monastery, which dates back to 910AD, has the unexpected bonus of a pride of peacocks roaming the grounds. The village of Vevčani, high in the hills, is famous for its springs and its appeal to artists. The wildflower-spangled slopes of Mount Pelister, to the east, and Mavrovo National Park, to the north, suit hikers.

How to get there

Walks Worldwide (01962 302085; walksworldwide.com) offers itineraries in Macedonia; WizzAir (wizzair.com) flies from London Luton to Skopje, the country’s modern capital.

Varazdin, Croatia

The Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia had its capital, from 1756 until 1776, in this overlooked city just 50 miles north of Zagreb. Croatia has soared in popularity in recent years, with Dubrovnik and Split among the most oversubscribed urban highlights, but Varazdin has only registered on the most discerning travel radars.

“Though travellers visiting Zagreb do occasionally take a day trip, for the most part Varazdin remains untouched by mass tourism,” explains travel writer Sandra MacGregor. “The lack of tourists means the city doesn’t have the theme park atmosphere one often experiences in well-trodden historical towns. Which is surprising given what the city has to offer: quaint (and incredibly inexpensive) cafés, unique museums, a majestic medieval castle – and one of Europe’s best collections of intact Baroque buildings.”

Varazdin Credit: xbrchx

Known as ‘Little Vienna’ among Croatians, Varazdin owes its Baroque bonanza to that brief period as the country’s capital. During those two decades, religious orders, noble families and wealthy tradesmen brought in some of the country’s best architects and painters to construct mansions and palaces.

How to get there

BA flies to Zagreb, from where you can take a bus or train to Varazdin. The four-star Park Boutique Hotel occupies a prime location.

Syracuse, Italy

This 2,700-year-old wonder, once home to as many as 300,000 people, was described by Cicero as “the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all”, and served as capital of the Byzantine Empire for six years (663-669). Yet it attracts fewer visitors today than the likes of Taormina and Palermo.

The highlight is its enchanting old town, Ortygia, surrounded by the sea on three sides and home to the Duomo, a cathedral made by filling in the gaps between the columns of the Greek temple of Minerva – eloquent testimony to the city’s depth of history.

Don’t miss too the Parco Archeologico, with its fifth-century BC theatre where plays are still performed in summer.

Syracuse Credit: getty

How to get there

EasyJet flies to Catania Fontanarossa Airport. See our guide to the city’s best hotels.

Edirne, Turkey

Before Constantinople (now Istanbul) there was Edirne, formerly known as Adrianople (after the Roman emperor Hadrian), and capital of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453. John Keegan’s A History of Warfare reckons it is the most “contested” place on the planet. It was the focal point for battles or sieges in 313, 324, 378, 718, 813, 914, 1003, 1094, 1205, 1254, 1255, 1355, 1362, 1829 and 1912, and has been ruled by Romans, Goths, Bulgarians, Byzantines, Ottomans, Greeks and Russians. Why? Simply put, its location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia has put it in the crosshairs of marauding armies time after time.

Close to the Greece-Bulgaria border, it possesses the sort of splendid architectural heritage you’d expect, with the jewel in the crown being the Unesco-listed Selimiye Mosque, masterpiece of the greatest Ottoman architect, Sinan. Its dome is bigger than Istanbul’s Aya Sofya – by 10 inches.

For something completely different, the city is also famed as the venue for Turkey’s annual oil-wrestling championships.

Selimiye Mosque Credit: GETTY

How to get there

Ace Cultural Tours is one of the few operators to visit Erdine. It has no more departures scheduled for 2019, however. To closest airport with direct flights to the UK is Istanbul.

Poznan, Poland

A former capital (Krakow, Płock and Warsaw would follow), Poznan is considered by many to be the birthplace of Poland – and is the only city mentioned in its national anthem. Yet foreign tourists are few and far between.

Travel writer Ray Kershaw explains: “On an island on the River Warta, 1,200 years ago, three legendary brothers, Lech, Czech and Rus, united their tribes into a nation. Two centuries later Poland's first king, Boleslaw the Brave, declared his infant kingdom Christian, and built a cathedral here that remains a national shrine, filled with the glittering tombs and effigies of the country's first kings.”

Poznan Credit: istock

He adds: “Poznan still feels like a capital. Along Paris-like boulevards there are galleries, museums and neoclassical theatres. The university and opera house are sumptuously grand. But all explorations irresistibly return you to Stary Rynek. The square, which the locals deprecate, does not match Kraków’s, but you soon recognise false modesty. Littered with fountains and neoclassical statues, the atmospheric quadrangle of Renaissance mansions and medieval houses seems too perfect to be true.”

How to get there

Ryanair and Wizz both fly direct. Cheap accommodation is ubiquitous; the City Solei Boutique Hotel is one of the quirkier options.

Bonn, Germany

Sleepy riverside Bonn, only the ninth largest city in the German state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, was, for 41 years, an unlikely global capital, standing with London, Paris and Washington DC in the Cold War struggle – a replacement for a Berlin which had been split into two by the Iron Curtain. Berlin regained its crown in 1990, thrusting Bonn back into the shadows. But it has plenty to recommend it.

Sleepy Bonn Credit: GETTY

“Bonn has shrunk back into being the medieval citadel it long was – a bastion on the Rhine that built its walls in the 13th century, and lived inside them,” says Telegraph Travel’s Chris Leadbeater. “Münsterplatz, its central square, is a case in point, its titular church dating back further, to the 11th century. Pertinently, the Bonner Münster – tapering steeple outside; gold, gilt and marble within – is another shard of lost prestige, once the cathedral for the Archbishopric of Cologne, now a lesser mortal in the shadow of the giant Kölner Dom, upriver. It holds itself aloft all the same. As does the Sterntor on Vivatsgasse – a replica of one of the old city gates which looks more 13th century original than 1898 reimagining. Markt, the main market plaza, is prouder still – its 18th century Altes Rathaus perhaps as lovely a town hall as you can see anywhere in Europe, its Rococo facade glowing in pink.”

How to get there

Ryanair and Eurowings fly non-stop to Bonn. The Kameha Grand is a space-age hotel in one of Germany’s oldest cities.