What's the most underrated (non-North American) city to live in?

Looking for ideas on where to spend the 2018 Northern Hemisphere summer. Ideally 3-4 cities (1 month in each), preferably on the same continent. Just no Asia, no NorthAmerica, no countries that bar US Passport holders). Originally had Uganda/Tanzania gorilla trekking planned, but new chick I met is incredibly against going to sub-Saharan Africa because it's "not clean" (wtf?). Will re-visit alone (or with next girl) towards year end. Thankfully the deposit was (partially) refundable.

Have lived in most of the major cities in Western Europe, so something smaller and "off the beaten path" and undisturbed by tourists would be cool. A few random cities I'm scouting rentals (in no particular order) for are Nantes, Baku, Seville, Kotor, Heraklion, Hvar, Tallinn, Faro, Malta, Tartu, Santander, Varna, Madeira, [Doha/Muscat, Amman, Beirut, Marrakesh] - too hot?), Ponta Delgada etc etc.

Else it'd be back to the Riviera (Antibes) or somewhere in Switzerland again. Just wish I was born a few centuries later so space travel would be a viable option. Oh well.

So yea, if you've lived somewhere and was like "definitely want to spend more time here", feel free to share with me and the other (nomadic) monkeys lurking about. Thanks.