A pretty town tucked away in one of Europe’s hottest destinations is consistently overlooked by tourists who instead flock to two nearby massive resorts. Experts have ruled that Villajoyosa, a town in Valencia, Spain, is Europe’s best hidden gem.

The community is locally known for its cosy streets flanked with colourful buildings and overhanging balconies and its idyllic placement on the Balearic Sea near parallel to the islands of the same name.

Nevertheless, it is often overlooked by tourists, with just 95,000 people having visited in 2017, years before the pandemic caused a drastic global downturn.

The reason why may be because town is down the road from some of Spain’s most active tourist destinations.

Villajoyosa is just a 30-minute drive north of Alicante, which receives approximately 5.4 million foreign tourists per year.

And it is just a 14-minute drive from Benidorm, another favourite spot for holidaymaking Britons, approximately 832,115 of whom travel to the resort per year.

But it is well worth a visit, perhaps more so than its neighbours, given it provides a much different experience to its highly active neighbours.

Villajoyosa is home to just 33,969 people and a vibrant fishing community that is credited with colouring the properties – so they could find their homes after returning from a day at sea.

The Spanish name translates to “happy town” in English, and in 2019, Conde Nast Traveler dubbed the community “exactly what we would want it to one”.

Despite its small size, Villajoyosa has more than a dozen beaches and a number of cosy coves.

The longest of the beaches is the 1,830-metre Playa Centro, which is surprisingly not the most popular.

The two most visited beaches are Playa del Torres and Playa de la Caleta, the white sandy stretch of coast looking out onto azure waters.

Standing on the shores and looking back into the mainland, people can see a unique view of the colourful homes appearing as if they’ve been stacked upon one another.

The natural coastline and stunning homes are the town’s biggest draws, and its legion of local restaurants and cafes make it the perfect destination for a quieter vacation.