Whenever you are searching for the "Best" or "Top" city breaks, weekend breaks or just best cities in Europe, you will find a huge amount of subjective lists with different destinations.
It's not clear how they decided what is best, because to know what's best they would have to visit each of these cities and the rest of the cities in Europe..
Instead of giving you another subjective list, in this article we are just going to make a summary of all the lists. Every destination will receive points based on the position in the list, Eurovision style:
- 1st destination - 12 points
- 2nd destination - 10 points
- 3rd destination - 8 points
- 4th destination - 7 points
- and etc.
In the end we will sum up all the points and see who is the winner!
These are the results based on 17 websites and here is the full list of results per website checked:
| Destination | Total Points |
|---|---|
| https://handluggageonly.co.uk/2016/02/29/25-places-in-europe-that-are-perfect-for-a-weekend-getaway/ | 58 |
| London | 12 |
| Cinque Terre | 10 |
| Paris | 8 |
| Split | 7 |
| Gothenburg | 6 |
| Budapest | 5 |
| Florence | 4 |
| Venice | 3 |
| Edinburgh | 2 |
| Copenhagen | 1 |
| https://thetravelexpert.ie/city-breaks/best-city-break-destinations/ | 58 |
| Matera | 12 |
| Copenhagen | 10 |
| Riga | 8 |
| Gothenburg | 7 |
| Heidelberg | 6 |
| London | 5 |
| Nice | 4 |
| Porto | 3 |
| Poznan | 2 |
| Edinburgh | 1 |
| https://wandereroftheworld.co.uk/10-of-the-best-european-city-breaks-for-couples/ | 58 |
| Paris | 12 |
| Bruges | 10 |
| Vienna | 8 |
| Verona | 7 |
| Amsterdam | 6 |
| Bristol | 5 |
| Dublin | 4 |
| Venice | 3 |
| Reykjavik | 2 |
| Brussels | 1 |
| https://whereangiewanders.com/european-city-breaks-from-the-uk/ | 58 |
| Venice | 12 |
| Seville | 10 |
| Ljubljana | 8 |
| Prague | 7 |
| Dubrovnik | 6 |
| Bruges | 5 |
| Monaco | 4 |
| Porto | 3 |
| Nice | 2 |
| Budapest | 1 |
| https://www.allcleartravel.co.uk/blog/top-10-up-and-coming-city-breaks-europe/ | 58 |
| Gdańsk | 12 |
| Riga | 10 |
| Rovinj | 8 |
| Nerja | 7 |
| Catania | 6 |
| Zagreb | 5 |
| Ljubljana | 4 |
| Cadiz | 3 |
| Valletta | 2 |
| Nuremburg | 1 |
| https://www.bonusprint.co.uk/blog/best-european-city-breaks | 58 |
| Rome | 12 |
| Madrid | 10 |
| Paris | 8 |
| Bucharest | 7 |
| London | 6 |
| Lisbon | 5 |
| Hamburg | 4 |
| Gothenburg | 3 |
| Budapest | 2 |
| Amsterdam | 1 |
| https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/best-city-breaks-europe | 58 |
| Copenhagen | 12 |
| Florence | 10 |
| Amsterdam | 8 |
| Stockholm | 7 |
| Berlin | 6 |
| Venice | 5 |
| Warsaw | 4 |
| Paris | 3 |
| Lisbon | 2 |
| Athens | 1 |
| https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/european-best-destinations-2020/ | 58 |
| Colmar | 12 |
| Athens | 10 |
| Tbilisi | 8 |
| Vienna | 7 |
| Cascais | 6 |
| Sibiu | 5 |
| Namur | 4 |
| Rijeka | 3 |
| Paris | 2 |
| Bydgoszcz | 1 |
| https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/lifestyle/travel/g538692/7-european-city-breaks/ | 58 |
| Venice | 12 |
| Bern | 10 |
| Amsterdam | 8 |
| Tbilisi | 7 |
| Bath | 6 |
| Budapest | 5 |
| Funchal | 4 |
| Lyon | 3 |
| York | 2 |
| Reims | 1 |
| https://www.joe.ie/life-style/european-city-break-595268 | 58 |
| Venice | 12 |
| Reykjavik | 10 |
| Dubrovnik | 8 |
| Edinburgh | 7 |
| San Sebastian | 6 |
| Berlin | 5 |
| Amsterdam | 4 |
| Copenhagen | 3 |
| Lisbon | 2 |
| Krakow | 1 |
| https://www.momondo.com/discover/the-best-european-city-breaks | 58 |
| Hamburg | 12 |
| Braga | 10 |
| Cluj-Napoca | 8 |
| Valencia | 7 |
| Zagreb | 6 |
| Salzburg | 5 |
| Toulouse | 4 |
| Budapest | 3 |
| Gothenburg | 2 |
| Liverpool | 1 |
| https://www.skyscanner.net/news/inspiration/the-10-best-family-city-breaks-in-europe | 58 |
| Paris | 12 |
| Rome | 10 |
| Copenhagen | 8 |
| Amsterdam | 7 |
| Barcelona | 6 |
| Berlin | 5 |
| Lisbon | 4 |
| Brussels | 3 |
| Gothenburg | 2 |
| Dubrovnik | 1 |
| https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/articles/best-european-city-breaks-and-hotels/ | 58 |
| Rome | 12 |
| Venice | 10 |
| Florence | 8 |
| Milan | 7 |
| Madrid | 6 |
| Barcelona | 5 |
| Seville | 4 |
| Valencia | 3 |
| Paris | 2 |
| Marseille | 1 |
| https://www.thecaribou.com/luxury-holidays/best-european-city-breaks-334414 | 58 |
| Dublin | 12 |
| Antwerp | 10 |
| Amsterdam | 8 |
| Paris | 7 |
| Berlin | 6 |
| Brussels | 5 |
| Lille | 4 |
| Salzburg | 3 |
| Geneva | 2 |
| Prague | 1 |
| https://www.timeout.com/europe/things-to-do/best-city-breaks-in-europe | 58 |
| Lisbon | 12 |
| San Sebastian | 10 |
| Vilnius | 8 |
| Copenhagen | 7 |
| Ohrid | 6 |
| Berlin | 5 |
| Tallinn | 4 |
| Palma | 3 |
| Budapest | 2 |
| Marseille | 1 |
| https://www.travelanddestinations.com/10-top-cities-europe-visit-for-a-city-break/ | 58 |
| Amsterdam | 12 |
| Prague | 10 |
| Paris | 8 |
| Barcelona | 7 |
| Vienna | 6 |
| Berlin | 5 |
| Venice | 4 |
| Budapest | 3 |
| London | 2 |
| Ghent | 1 |
| https://www.travelrepublic.co.uk/blog/the-best-european-city-breaks | 58 |
| London | 12 |
| Milan | 10 |
| Paris | 8 |
| Amsterdam | 7 |
| Berlin | 6 |
| Barcelona | 5 |
| Prague | 4 |
| Copenhagen | 3 |
| Dublin | 2 |
| Rome | 1 |
| Grand Total | 986 |
Top 10 European city breaks WINNERS are:
- Paris with 70 points
- Venice - 61 points
- Amsterdam - 61 points
- Copenhagen - 44 points
- Berlin - 38 points
- London - 37 points
- Rome - 35 points
- Lisbon - 25 points
- Barcelona - 23 points
- Prague - 22 points
| Destination | Total Points | Arrivals in 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Paris | 70 | 17,560,200 |
| Venice | 61 | 5,502,500 |
| Amsterdam | 61 | 8,354,200 |
| Copenhagen | 44 | 3,069,700 |
| Berlin | 38 | 5,959,400 |
| London | 37 | 19,233,000 |
| Rome | 35 | 10,065,400 |
| Lisbon | 25 | 3,539,400 |
| Barcelona | 23 | 6,714,500 |
| Prague | 22 | 8,948,600 |
We can clearly see that the most touristic cities are the one's that are also considered "Top cities to visit" in most lists. There are many other beautiful places in EUrope, they are just not as popular and therefore get less attention.
Top 10 countries to visit in Europe
This time we took another approach, by summing up all the cities points and grouping them by countries:
| Country | Total Points |
|---|---|
| Italy | 170 |
| France | 102 |
| Spain | 92 |
| Netherlands | 61 |
| Germany | 61 |
| United Kingdom | 61 |
| Portugal | 51 |
| Croatia | 44 |
| Denmark | 44 |
| Belgium | 39 |
| Austria | 29 |
| Sweden | 27 |
| Czechia | 22 |
| Hungary | 21 |
| Romania | 20 |
| Poland | 20 |
| Ireland | 18 |
| Latvia | 18 |
| Georgia | 15 |
| Iceland | 12 |
| Switzerland | 12 |
| Slovenia | 12 |
| Greece | 11 |
| Lithuania | 8 |
| North Macedonia | 6 |
| Monaco | 4 |
| Estonia | 4 |
| Malta | 2 |
| Grand Total | 986 |