“Information for Your Destination”

The Cities

Vienna

So, you ask, what cities should I visit? Maybe you have talked with people and heard the stories of their visits, and this has stirred your curiosity and imagination. Through the years you have read or heard about historical events and want to see and experience the actual place where these events occurred. You may be curious about your family’s ancestors and where they came from before immigrating to America. Depending on your interests, some cities may become more attractive for you to visit.

When one thinks of cities in Europe, these are most likely the names that roll off a person’s lips first. These are some of Europe’s most visited as well as, interesting and famous cities. They are absolutely a must to see when visiting a particular country. They typically are the largest and in most instances the capitol of a country. Most at one time or even now, served as the centers of commerce, education and cultural of their regions or countries. In some cases, some were the political home of great empires that held dominion across Europe and the world. Their rich history, culture and attractions make them the reason why they are visited more than any of the others. 

Europe’s Top City Destinations…

These are Europe’s top cities to visit for many reasons and should always be at the top of anyone’s to see list. There are many more worth visiting and in fact like other travelers may find ones more interesting for multiple reasons. Go to our ➾ More Classical Cities page for a comprehensive list and suggestions.

Find your city of interests on the list and click on the information links. The cities listed here have their own city page with detailed information:

 Amsterdam
Amsterdam
  Barcelona
Barcelona
 Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
 Brussels
Brussels
 Budapest
Budapest
 Kraków
Kraków
 Copenhagen
Copenhagen
 Frankfurt
Frankfurt
 Stockholm
Stockholm
 Nice
Nice
 Porto
Porto
City, Country2016201720182019World
Rank
London, England, UK19,05919,82819,23319,5593
Paris, France13,92615,83417,56019,0876
Istanbul, Turkey9,21810,73013,43314,71510
Rome, Italy9,3539,53110,06510,31716
Prague, Czechia8,2008,8068,9489,15022
Amsterdam, Netherlands6,8987,8488,3548,83525
Barcelona, Spain6,5156,2886,7147,01633
Milan, Italy6,1756,3476,4816,60435
Vienna, Austria5,8676,1866,4106,63437
Berlin, Germany5,5595,6275,9596,19541
Athens, Greece4,5264,7975,7286,30143
Moscow, Russia4,5714,8005,5105,96945
Venice, Italy5,2125,3165,5025,59046
Madrid, Spain5,1315,2735,4405,59747
Dublin, Ireland4,8104,9865,2135,46250
Florence, Italy4,8444,9415,0595,12551
Munich, Germany3,3893,8294,0664,20556
St. Petersburg, Russia2,8403,6003,9964,45759
Brussels, Belgium2,5113,4303,9424,27660
Budapest, Hungary3,5113,6543,8224,02562
Lisbon, Portugal3,1363,5223,5393,63963
Heraklion, Greece2,8853,1473,3713,03466
Copenhagen, Denmark2,8872,9633,0693,18571
Kraków, Poland2,6502,8002,8502,91074
Warsaw, Poland2,7332,6302,7322,98083
Frankfurt am Main, Germany2,4062,4962,6362,72887
Stockholm, Sweden2,3272,4732,6042,72188
Nice, France2,1642,3272,4662,58292
Porto, Portugal1,9692,2322,3412,49196
Rhodes, Greece2,0912,1782,3372,41497
      
Cities in Europe by international arrivals for 2017, 2018 & 2019 in the millions. Sources are consulting firm Euromonitor for the top 100 cities in the world.

More Classical Cities

With so many wonderful cities spread across Europe it is very difficult to decide which to visit and which ones to miss. While these European cities may not always rank high on a travels wish list, they should to be given some serious consideration for a number of reasons .

Great City Neighborhoods

While there are many world famous sites to see when visiting European cities, there is another side worth visiting. Over the centuries, neighborhoods within these cities, have developed their own unique identities. A visit to these areas will reflect a culture and ambiance of the city you won’t experience by just visiting the famous tourists sites.

Rating the Best Cities to Visit ..

Euromonitor’s Tourism City Ratings

For some time now we have looked at how many tourists visit a city to determine which ones are the most popular. This is not always a good barometer for American’s as many Europeans flock to resort destinations like Antalya in Turkey, Mallorca in Spain or Rimini in Italy for vacations. This is not unlike American’s escaping the cold winter months for warm vacations in the Caribbean or Mexico. While these maybe be great get aways for Europeans to relax they shouldn’t be on top of an America’s priority list.

However, one must now keep in mind other factors that make cities more favorable than others besides their tourist attractions. These factors should be taken into consideration as they can result in a better experience for the traveler. The following explains Euromonitor’s Top 100 City Destination index to rate the most favorable cities for tourism. Shown are only European cities and their world rank.

Tourism Performance

Tourism Performance aims to encompass the overall tourism demand in the city by international and domestic tourists from the country as well as value generated by these visitors. While, traditionally, many leading cities have remained focused on boosting international travel, the pandemic has highlighted the need to focus on and develop the domestic travel sector.

1  Paris
7  Berlin
11  Rome
13  Amsterdam
14 Florence
16  Venice
17  Brussels
19  Munich
20  Barcelona
23 Prague

27  Madrid
30  Lisbon
32 Antalya
34 Nice
36  Milan
39 Istanbul
40   Zürich
41 Heraklion
44  London
47 Athens


48 Frankfurt
50 Rhodes
55 Dublin
58 Moscow
59 Stockholm
60  Vienna
61 Marne-la-Vallée
63 Verona
64 Porto
78 Budapest

79 Palma de Mallorca
80 Thessaloniki
81 Copenhagen
87 Edinburgh
89 Kraków
92 Warsaw
94 Tallinn
96 Saint Petersburg
105 Kyiv

Tourism Policy and Attractiveness

The role of favourable tourism policy is critical to the development and enhancement of the travel sector for cities. The importance of this is reflected by the emergence of city tourism boards in the last two decades. The pillar explores regulatory aspects such as ease of travel, price stability of a destination and social media presence as these contribute to the attractiveness of a city destination given changing consumer lifestyles.

1 Dublin
2  Paris
3  Madrid
5  Barcelona
6  Berlin
7  London
8  Rome
9   Zürich
10  Amsterdam
11 Edinburgh

12  Munich
13 Palma de Mallorca
14 Athens
15 Nice
17  Milan
18  Venice
19  Lisbon
20  Vienna
21 Marne-la-Vallée
24 Florence


25 Istanbul
26 Frankfurt
27 Rhodes
28 Stockholm
29 Copenhagen
32 Prague
35 Verona
37 Heraklion
38 Tallinn
42 Antalya

44 Thessaloniki
48 Porto
53  Brussels
54 Budapest
57 Kraków
62 Warsaw
66 Kyiv
80 Moscow
87 Saint Petersburg

Tourism Infrastructure

Tourism Infrastructure measures the presence of physical infrastructure and attractions needed to support visitor growth in a city. Transportation, lodging, avenues of entertainment such as cultural sites and educational facilities have been key decision factors for city visitors. Thus, diversifying traveller experiences through public-private partnerships is becoming prominent in tourism strategies.

1  London
3 Moscow
4  Rome
7  Paris
8  Madrid
9   Zürich
10 Istanbul
15 Saint Petersburg
16  Milan
18  Berlin

21  Barcelona
22 Prague
24  Amsterdam
28  Vienna
31  Lisbon
33 Athens
37 Frankfurt
41 Warsaw
42  Munich
47 Florence

53 Dublin
55  Brussels
57 Edinburgh
58 Kraków
59 Antalya
60 Budapest
63  Venice
65 Kyiv
68 Stockholm
71 Porto

72 Copenhagen
73 Rhodes
81 Nice
85 Palma de Mallorca
89 Tallinn
91 Verona
98 Marne-la-Vallée
105 Heraklion
106 Thessaloniki

Health & Safety

The importance of health and safety for cities has been further underscored by the covid-19 pandemic where not only are political stability and social safety relevant but so is safety against diseases and epidemics. These factors define many of the tourism policy directives including visa policies and traveller immunisation with many of the protocols expected to be integrated more explicitly post-pandemic.

7 Copenhagen
8 Rhodes
9 Heraklion
10  Vienna
13  Venice
15 Thessaloniki
16   Zürich
20 Verona
21  Brussels
23 Kraków

30 Athens
32 Dublin
33 Warsaw
34 Budapest
36 Nice
37  Munich
38 Frankfurt
43 Porto
45  Rome
46  Lisbon

48 Palma de Mallorca
50 Tallinn
51  Amsterdam
52  Berlin
54 Florence
55 Marne-la-Vallée
56  Milan
58  Madrid
59 Prague
60 Stockholm

61  Barcelona
64 Edinburgh
67 Antalya
69 Istanbul
71  Paris
73  London
88 Saint Petersburg
97 Kyiv
100 Moscow

Economic & Business Performance

Economic and Business Performance measures city performance and development across key macroeconomic and demographic parameters. The pillar aims to capture the impact of economic development on tourism performance and the economic ability of cities to support tourism growth. The demographic factors are also accounted for under the pillar given that trends such as migration levels and labour market indicators also impact broader economic growth and labour force participation in the tourism sector.

6  Amsterdam
10  London
15  Munich
18   Zürich
19  Vienna
20  Milan
21  Paris
22 Dublin
26 Frankfurt
27 Moscow

28 Stockholm
30  Barcelona
33  Madrid
34 Prague
35 Istanbul
38 Florence
39 Edinburgh
41  Rome
45 Palma de Mallorca
47 Copenhagen

49 Saint Petersburg
50 Warsaw
52  Berlin
54 Budapest
55 Tallinn
57  Brussels
59 Athens
60  Lisbon
62 Verona
63 Kyiv

65 Nice
70 Marne-la-Vallée
73  Venice
78 Antalya
79 Heraklion
80 Rhodes
85 Thessaloniki
89 Kraków
91 Porto

Sustainability

With the increased impact of climate change and wider ramifications on the environment and society, not only are governments putting sustainability on their policy agendas but private sector players in the tourism industry are also investing in sustainable business practices. The pillar looks at city performance on aspects such as pollution and levels of overtourism as these reshape tourist preference for destinations.

1  Madrid
2 Stockholm
3 Dublin
4  Brussels
5  Berlin
6 Frankfurt
7 Tallinn
8  Vienna
9 Prague
10  London

11  Munich
12  Lisbon
13   Zürich
16  Amsterdam
17  Paris
20 Copenhagen
21 Nice
24 Palma de Mallorca
25 Saint Petersburg
26 Budapest







27 Edinburgh
29  Venice
30 Marne-la-Vallée
31 Thessaloniki
32 Warsaw
33  Barcelona
34 Kyiv
36  Rome
37 Rhodes
39 Kraków

42 Florence
43 Heraklion
46 Moscow
49  Milan
50 Porto
51 Verona
53 Athens
59 Antalya
62 Istanbul

Go To Euromonitor International “Top 100 City Destinations” To find how all the cities of the world scored in all categories of the index.