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Europe is full of historic walkable towns, mostly the smaller / less central ones because capitals and important cities have been heavily changed aftere cars to
by tpm 4y ago
Europe is full of historic walkable towns, mostly the smaller / less central ones because capitals and important cities have been heavily changed aftere cars took over. But many still have at least a walkable central part. Last weekend I spent in Banska Stiavnica, a former important mining town in central Slovakia, and that is an example of such a town, as would be the centre of Cordoba in Spain, which was very important and then ceased to be, and so on. So the issue is, I think, more of marketing: the popular walkable destinations are overcrowded, but there are many like it, maybe without all those palaces but still beautiful and much much more quiet.
- rob74 4y agoCan't speak for other countries, but the actual reason why smaller towns have more of their historic heritage intact in Germany is that the larger/more important ones were sadly bombed to bits during WW2. Of course, after the war, the open spaces created by bombardment were used to enable "car-friendly" cities, but that was a secondary effect...
- coldcode 4y agoMy parents/ancestors small town in Germany wasn't bombed (except a few accidents) but after the war they decide to destroy many of the charming ancient buildings and replace them with 70's style ugly. It still has some character, but you have to look harder.