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:

London

Paris

Istanbul

Rome

Prague

Amsterdam

Barcelona

Milan

Vienna

Berlin

Athens

Moscow

Venice

Madrid

Dublin

Florence

Munich

Saint Petersburg

Brussels

Budapest

Lisbon

Kraków

Warsaw

Copenhagen

Frankfurt

Stockholm

Nice

Porto
City, Country | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | World Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() ![]() | 19,059 | 19,828 | 19,233 | 19,559 | 3 |
![]() | 13,926 | 15,834 | 17,560 | 19,087 | 6 |
![]() | 9,218 | 10,730 | 13,433 | 14,715 | 10 |
![]() | 9,353 | 9,531 | 10,065 | 10,317 | 16 |
![]() | 8,200 | 8,806 | 8,948 | 9,150 | 22 |
![]() | 6,898 | 7,848 | 8,354 | 8,835 | 25 |
![]() | 6,515 | 6,288 | 6,714 | 7,016 | 33 |
![]() | 6,175 | 6,347 | 6,481 | 6,604 | 35 |
![]() | 5,867 | 6,186 | 6,410 | 6,634 | 37 |
![]() | 5,559 | 5,627 | 5,959 | 6,195 | 41 |
![]() | 4,526 | 4,797 | 5,728 | 6,301 | 43 |
![]() | 4,571 | 4,800 | 5,510 | 5,969 | 45 |
![]() | 5,212 | 5,316 | 5,502 | 5,590 | 46 |
![]() | 5,131 | 5,273 | 5,440 | 5,597 | 47 |
![]() | 4,810 | 4,986 | 5,213 | 5,462 | 50 |
![]() | 4,844 | 4,941 | 5,059 | 5,125 | 51 |
![]() | 3,389 | 3,829 | 4,066 | 4,205 | 56 |
![]() | 2,840 | 3,600 | 3,996 | 4,457 | 59 |
![]() | 2,511 | 3,430 | 3,942 | 4,276 | 60 |
![]() | 3,511 | 3,654 | 3,822 | 4,025 | 62 |
![]() | 3,136 | 3,522 | 3,539 | 3,639 | 63 |
![]() | 2,885 | 3,147 | 3,371 | 3,034 | 66 |
![]() | 2,887 | 2,963 | 3,069 | 3,185 | 71 |
![]() | 2,650 | 2,800 | 2,850 | 2,910 | 74 |
![]() | 2,733 | 2,630 | 2,732 | 2,980 | 83 |
![]() | 2,406 | 2,496 | 2,636 | 2,728 | 87 |
![]() | 2,327 | 2,473 | 2,604 | 2,721 | 88 |
![]() | 2,164 | 2,327 | 2,466 | 2,582 | 92 |
![]() | 1,969 | 2,232 | 2,341 | 2,491 | 96 |
![]() | 2,091 | 2,178 | 2,337 | 2,414 | 97 |

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.