Choose Your Destination

The nice problem with planing a trip to Europe is that there is so much to see and do one may never be able to see them in a lifetime. Most of us only have two weeks to go there so while you would like to see as much as possible, you’re going to be forced to pick and choose the places you’d like to see. You’ll need to eliminate some because will not have the time to see them all.Never make the mistake of trying to see too much as it will only lead to frustration and fatigue.

Some tours rush you into and out of sites so quickly you never get a chance to soak in the moment and create a lasting memory of Europe. Plan on taking more time at locations to see more of the area. You’ll regret not taking the time to see something when you were so near and not knowing if you’ll ever be back again.

Which countries should you visit? There are some countries that are more popular than other for obvious other than they are just larger than some others. Countries like England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain where countries that established colonies across the globe. Extracting resources from those areas would fuel their economies at home, making them powerful and wealthy. Greece having given birth to western civilization and Italy home of the Roman Empire and birth of the Renaissance, makes them both culturally and historically significant. European countries offer travelers great history, culture, man made wonders and natural beauty. 

The table below show annual number of tourist who arrive in each country and have at least one overnight stay. It would not include day trips into a country from another country or travel through a country without and overnight accommodation.

International Tourists Arrivals in Europe

Overnight visitors (tourists) in the millions 

Country	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
France	83,701	203,302	203,042	207,274	211,998	217,887	117,109
Spain	107,114	109,834	115,561	121,717	124,456	126,170	36,410
Italy	77,694	81,068	84,925	89,931	93,228	95,339	38,419
Turkey	41,627	41,114	30,907	37,970	46,113	51,747	15,951
Germany	32,999	34,970	35,555	37,452	38,881	39,563	12,449
United Kingdom	35,337	36,792	39,129	41,080	40,283	40,857	11,101
Austria	25,291	26,728	28,121	29,460	30,816	31,884	15,091
Greece	24,272	26,114	28,071	30,161	33,072	34,005	7,406
Russia	32,421	33,729	24,571	24,390	24,551	24,419	6,359
Poland	73,750	77,743	80,476	83,804	85,946	88,515	51,076
Netherlands	13,925	15,007	15,828	17,924	18,780	20,129	7,265
Hungary	45,894	48,345	52,890	54,962	57,667	61,397	31,641
Croatia	51,168	55,858	57,857	59,238	57,668	60,021	21,608
Portugal	10,497	11,723	13,359	15,432	16,186	17,293	4,208
Ukraine	13,227	13,025	13,734	14,759	14,342	13,710	3,382
Czechia	27,116	29,604	32,519	34,701	36,268	37,202	2,178
Denmark	28,070	28,209	28,692	30,736	30,801	33,093	15,595
Romania	8,442	9,331	10,223	10,926	11,720	12,815	5,023
Switzerland	9,158	9,305	10,402	11,133	11,715	11,818	405
Ireland	8,813	9,528	10,100	10,338	10,926	10,951	N/A
Bulgaria	9,409	9,317	10,604	11,596	12,368	12,552	4,973
Belgium	7,887	8,355	7,481	8,385	9,119	9,343	2,584
Slovakia	11,556	14,936	17,376	15,406	15,299	N/A	N/A
Sweden	10,552	6,482	6,782	7,054	7,440	7,616	1,957
Norway	4,855	5,361	5,960	6,252	5,688	5,879	1,397
Albania	3,341	3,784	4,070	4,643	5,340	810	2,658
Slovenia	2,675	3,022	3,397	3,991	4,425	4,702	1,216
Cyprus	2,558	2,780	3,286	3,750	3,939	4,117	631
Estonia	5,804	5,696	5,942	6,145	6.033	6,103	1,695
Finland	2,731	2,622	2,789	3,180	3,224	3,290	896
Andorra	7,797	7,850	8,025	8,152	8,328	8,235	5,207
Lithuania	5,217	5,048	5,322	5,590	6,115	6,150	2,284
Malta	2,162	2,383	2,592	2,944	3,232	3,519	718
Iceland	1,102	1,389	1,891	2,353	2,488	2,202	488
Belarus	6,242	5,375	4,386	10,935	11,502	11,832	3,598
Montenegro	1,350	1,560	1,662	1,877	2,077	2,510	351
Latvia	6,246	6,842	6,797	7,726	7,775	8,342	3,204
Serbia	1,029	1,132	1,622	1,497	1,711	1,847	446
Bosnia Herzegovina	536	678	778	923	1,053	1,198	197
Luxembourg	1,038	1,090	1,054	1,046	1,018	1,041	525
North Macedonia	425	486	510	631	707	758	118
Monaco	329	331	336	355	347	363	159
Moldova	94	94	121	145	160	174	29
Liechtenstein	61	57	69	79	85	98	58.4
San Marino	2,004	1,888	2,000	1,937	1,874	1,940	N/A
Holy See-Vatican	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Country	%	Country	%	Country	%	Country	%
United Kingdom	26.4%	Ireland	6.5%	Hungary	2.1%	Iceland	1.6%
France	15.7%	Switzerland	6.1%	Greece	2.1%	Sweden	1.6%
Spain	12%	Netherlands	5.6%	Czechia	1.6%	Norway	1.4%
Germany	11.3%	Portugal	4.0%	Belgium	1.6%	Poland	1.3%
Italy	11.3%	Austria	2.7%	Denmark	1.6%	Russia	1.1%

Some cities, like some countries, can have more to see and do than others because of the roll they played in history. Ruins from ancient Greece and Rome are spread across Europe from England to Turkey. Major cities served as the capitols of kingdoms and empires were their royalty and emperors would rule from. Vestiges of medieval life are found in preserved old town areas of cities as well as rural villages scattered across all of Europe. 

In the top 25 of Condé Nast Traveler, fourteen of the top 10 Readers’ Choice Awards were European cities. Favorites among travelers and gaining honors were Florence, Budapest, Salzburg, Vienna, Rome, Siena, Bruges, Prague, Kraków, and Barcelona. According to the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index, for top destination city by international visitor arrivals in 2014, eight of the top 20 cities are in Europe. They are London, Paris, Istanbul, Barcelona, Milan, Rome, Amsterdam, and Vienna.

*Condé Nast Traveler readers cast hundreds of thousands of votes for the best cities in Europe in the 2018 Readers’ Choice Awards survey

§  Travel + Leisure magazine’s readers survey of the top 15 cities.  Respondents rate an excellent, above average, average, below average, or poor score to several categories. The final scores are indexed averages to those responses. 

Everyone has a European city that is their favorite. People can love them for their natural beauty, culture, history and more. Deciding on what interest you the most will help you to choose a city that will leave you with a memorable experience.

• Beauty – These cities receive high ratings for their natural beauty but, also their architecture that contributes majestic ambiance of the city.
• Culture – These cities are noted because of the role they played in shaping the culture of Europe in the arts, sciences, education and traditions. Here you will find some of the best museums.
• Historic – These cities played pivotal roles in European history.
• Old – These are some of the best preserved cities or sections of the past. While some may be reconstructed after war damage, many are in their original state and well preserved.