Your best guide to ' hidden gems' is to listen to the locals! Too many people follow what I call the "lonely planet' style of touring/vacationing, which so often focuses on man made features such as theatres/arts/museums/national parks/recreation areas, instead of allowing yourself to just ENJOY the area(s) where you are for their own sake. Furthermore it leads to the 'been there done that' school of travel, which means that 'once you have seen one fort [museum/cafe/minaret/glacier/mud volcano...] you have seen them all. Plus it gets you into the 'go there and take a picture' mentality, instead of the 'be there and let your mind soak it in.'
By the way listening to the locals encourages good feeling toward cyclists in general.
roughstuff