An August 2026 report on remote work destinations in Europe found that Palencia, Spain, is the best small town for digital nomads. A new study by the digital entertainment platform BC Game reveals the top 10 hidden gems where remote workers can spend this summer.
- Palencia, Spain, is the best small town for working remotely in Europe, offering fast 267 Mbps Wi-Fi and safe neighborhoods.
- With rent at just $525 a month, Le Havre is the cheapest way to spend summer on the French coast as a digital nomad.
- Akureyri is the best reason to finally make the Iceland trip happen, with close to 30 places to open a laptop and Arctic scenery all around.
The research examined 20 European towns with smaller populations to find which ones work best for remote workers. The report looked at factors like average Internet speeds, monthly rent for a one-bedroom city center apartment, and personal safety ratings. It also considered the number of cafes and coworking spaces, coffee prices, and the cost of a meal at an inexpensive restaurant. Each town received a final score out of 100, with higher scores meaning that the city is more suited for digital nomads.
Here’s a look at the top 10 European small towns for remote workers:
| City | Country | Safety Index | Average Broadband Download Speed (Mbps) | Monthly Rent (1 Bedroom/City Centre) | Coffee |
| Palencia | Spain | 94 | 267 | $698 | $1.8 |
| Soria | Spain | 87 | 277 | $582 | $2.2 |
| Vaduz | Liechtenstein | 92 | 286 | $1,427 | $6.7 |
| Le Havre | France | 43 | 312 | $524 | $2.7 |
| Angers | France | 61 | 257 | $664 | $2.8 |
| Akureyri | Iceland | 80 | 279 | $1,783 | $4.9 |
| Reims | France | 45 | 288 | $705 | $3.7 |
| Dijon | France | 47 | 271 | $646 | $3.9 |
| Tartu | Estonia | 77 | 136 | $659 | $4.2 |
| Matera | Italy | 80 | 87 | $737 | $2.1 |
You can access the complete research findings here.
1. Palencia, Spain
- Safety Index: 94.12/100
- Broadband speed: 267 Mbps
- Monthly rent (1BR, city center): $698
- Coffee price: $1.75
- Meal at an inexpensive restaurant: $11.64
- Score: 100/100
Palencia is the best small town in Europe to work remotely this summer. The destination has a 94/100 safety rating, which matters a lot for anyone arriving in an unfamiliar city for the first time. The Internet is also fast at 267 Mbps, so video calls and file transfers are never going to be an issue. One-bedroom rentals in the city center go for around 700 USD a month, and staying fed and caffeinated while working from a local spot costs very little, with meals under 12 USD and coffee at 1.75 USD.
2. Soria, Spain
Soria is the most affordable hidden gem for remote workers looking to set up a base for a couple of months. Rents here average just 580 USD a month, and Internet speeds reach 277 Mbps, so there’s no trade-off on connectivity. The safety score of 87/100 also means it’s a comfortable place to be, whether walking home late or leaving a laptop at a cafe table. It’s also a small city of around 41K people, quiet and easy to get around, which is exactly what a lot of remote workers are actually looking for.
3. Vaduz, Liechtenstein
Vaduz is for digital nomads who put safety and connectivity above everything else. The city’s safety rating of 91/100 is second only to Palencia, and Internet speeds exceed 285 Mbps, making it one of the best-connected small towns in Europe. The trade-off is cost: rent runs at around 1,440 USD a month, and a coffee is nearly 7 USD, so the daily expenses add up fast. But for anyone earning well and looking for a calm base with fast Internet in the middle of Europe, Vaduz is hard to look past.
4. Le Havre, France
Le Havre has the best Internet of any small town in Europe at 312 Mbps, faster than even the capital, Paris. That alone is a good reason to be here for anyone doing heavy digital work. Rent is also among the cheapest at around 525 USD a month, and a meal at a local restaurant costs under 14 USD. Beyond that, the city has up to 20 cafes and co-working spaces where remote workers can get the job done.
5. Angers, France
Angers rounds out the top five small towns for digital nomads. Typical studios here get listed for under 670 USD a month, while the Internet is fast enough for stand-ups, deadlines, and everything in between, at 257 Mbps. Angers is also quite safe for a city this size, and there are plenty of cafes and coworking spaces (up to 20) to rotate between when working from home gets boring. With around 161K residents, the city also has an active social scene to make longer stays feel less isolating.
The CEO of BC Game commented on the study: “Most remote workers pick their next destination based on photos on Instagram or a Reddit thread someone wrote two years ago. The problem is that those places are usually packed by the time you get there, and the rent has gone up. The smarter move is to look one step outside the obvious choices. If everyone is going to Lisbon, look at a smaller Portuguese city like Faro. If Madrid is getting expensive, look at a town two hours away. The infrastructure is usually the same, the costs are lower, and you actually get to feel like you live somewhere rather than just being another nomad in a queue for a coworking desk.”
