The Cities

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. 

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:

City, Country	2016	2017	2018	2019	World Rank
London, England, UK	19,059	19,828	19,233	19,559	3
Paris, France	13,926	15,834	17,560	19,087	6
Istanbul, Turkey	9,218	10,730	13,433	14,715	10
Rome, Italy	9,353	9,531	10,065	10,317	16
Prague, Czechia	8,200	8,806	8,948	9,150	22
Amsterdam, Netherlands	6,898	7,848	8,354	8,835	25
Barcelona, Spain	6,515	6,288	6,714	7,016	33
Milan, Italy	6,175	6,347	6,481	6,604	35
Vienna, Austria	5,867	6,186	6,410	6,634	37
Berlin, Germany	5,559	5,627	5,959	6,195	41
Athens, Greece	4,526	4,797	5,728	6,301	43
Moscow, Russia	4,571	4,800	5,510	5,969	45
Venice, Italy	5,212	5,316	5,502	5,590	46
Madrid, Spain	5,131	5,273	5,440	5,597	47
Dublin, Ireland	4,810	4,986	5,213	5,462	50
Florence, Italy	4,844	4,941	5,059	5,125	51
Munich, Germany	3,389	3,829	4,066	4,205	56
St. Petersburg, Russia	2,840	3,600	3,996	4,457	59
Brussels, Belgium	2,511	3,430	3,942	4,276	60
Budapest, Hungary	3,511	3,654	3,822	4,025	62
Lisbon, Portugal	3,136	3,522	3,539	3,639	63
Heraklion, Greece	2,885	3,147	3,371	3,034	66
Copenhagen, Denmark	2,887	2,963	3,069	3,185	71
Kraków, Poland	2,650	2,800	2,850	2,910	74
Warsaw, Poland	2,733	2,630	2,732	2,980	83
Frankfurt am Main, Germany	2,406	2,496	2,636	2,728	87
Stockholm, Sweden	2,327	2,473	2,604	2,721	88
Nice, France	2,164	2,327	2,466	2,582	92
Porto, Portugal	1,969	2,232	2,341	2,491	96
Rhodes, Greece	2,091	2,178	2,337	2,414	97

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.

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