If the idea of flocking to a packed beach with the masses makes you shiver with horror, then its clearly not the sort of holiday that you crave. But there are plenty of other options, so why not take a whistle stop tour of ghost towns across Europe?

Ghost towns are places that were once hubs of activity, but that were deserted for one reason or another. Some have become iconic due to how well they are preserved, and thet are interesting places to visit.

Pompeii, Italy – Pompeii is famous as being a roman city that has been uninhabited since the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD, where twenty thousand people were killed. The excavation site depicts people entombed in the lava and molten rock as they went about their daily lives, and its an interesting depiction of natural disaster.

Balestrino, Italy – staying in Italy, you could also visit Balestrino, which is particularly haunting as little is known about it. it was once owned by a Benedictian Abbey, and it is known that a series of earthquakes ravaged the city, but in 1953 the four hundred inhabitants vacated.

Oradour-Sur-Glane, France – once a large town, it was destroyed by the germans in 1944. All the men were taken to a barn and shot in the legs so they couldnt run, and then it was set on fire. The women and children were locked in a church, which was also razed to the ground. After the war a new town was built nearby and this town was kept as a memorial to the people who died.

Chernobyl, Ukraine – in 1986 reactor number four exploded and released around nine tonnes of radioactive material into the atmosphere. The true damage wasn't seen until pregnant women started giving birth, and then the true extent of the radiation was visible. Tourists visit every year to see the remains of what was the worlds worst nuclear disaster, yet it still contains radioactive material. Visit the abandoned cities in the evacuation zone for a true ghost town experience.

If you are travelling this summer then ensure that you have Travel Insurance.