My wife and I did a trip through Western Europe a few years ago - meeting and visiting with our "hosts", talking about what they liked about living there, etc.,

My wife and I did a trip through Western Europe a few years ago - meeting and visiting with our "hosts", talking about what they liked about living there, etc., was a fun enhancement to the trip. The couple of hotel stays were much less welcoming and more generic. My wife made the Airbnb reservations, and she really likes meeting local people, so she may have selected for that experience. It worked out really well for us.