Whether you’re looking to follow the trends or avoid the crowds, these are the cities, countries and regions of Europe that everyone’s talking about visiting in 2020.

I scoured 13 “best of” lists hunting for every mention of a European destination. I chose a mix of travel websites, guidebook publishers, niche and mainstream websites and bloggers. Now, there are many bloggers out there. Instead of going through every blog, I chose Travel Lemming’s “Emerging Destinations” list both for its originality and because it surveyed 30 bloggers and influencers which makes it a quasi-blogger index. Overall, these 13 lists represent a decent sample of the places in Europe travel media is hyping up.

The methodologies used by these publications vary widely, yet all share something in common: They’re entirely unscientific and totally subjective. Many are compiled by editors and writers, some are crowd sourced and a few are a combination of both. Regardless of how they chose, I plucked all the European destinations from each list, put them into a spreadsheet blender and here’s what came out:

Key Findings

• Spain and Italy are the hype kings with eight mentions each.
• Tiny Montenegro makes a surprise appearance in the seven-way tie for fifth place.
• Concern for overtourism is leading a concerted effort to highlight less-visited places.
• Cultural attractions and culinary offerings top the to-do lists.
• Hiking will again be the most popular outdoor activity.
• Science-infused travel (nature, climate change) will surge in 2020.
• Europe in 2020 will remain as popular as ever with 78 total mentions across all lists representing 43 cities, 16 regions and 13 countries.
• Noticeably absent from all lists: Paris, Florence, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague.

Top 10 European Countries in 2020

Total references to countries compiled from the cities, regions and countries recommendations.

1. Spain – 8

2. Italy – 8

3. Croatia – 5

4. England – 4

5. (tie) Austria – 3

5. (tie) Denmark – 3

5. (tie) France – 3

5. (tie) Germany – 3

5. (tie) Montenegro – 3

5. (tie) Netherlands – 3

5. (tie) Poland – 3

Most Recommended European Countries in 2020

Specific recommendations of entire European countries.

• Albania
  • Recommended by: Fodor’s
• Armenia
  • Recommended by: National Geographic
• Austria
  • Recommended by: Travel & Leisure
• England
  • Recommended by: Lonely Planet
• Estonia
  • Recommended by: Travel Lemming
• Georgia
  • Recommended by: Travel Lemming
• Luxembourg
  • Recommended by: Airbnb
• Montenegro
  • Recommended by: Travel Pulse
• North Macedonia
  • Recommended by: Travel & Leisure, Lonely Planet
• Romania
  • Recommended by: Airbnb
• Serbia
  • Recommended by: Lonely Planet
• Slovenia
  • Recommended by: CN Traveler
• The Netherlands
  • Recommended by: Lonely Planet

Most Recommended European Regions in 2020

• Aeolian Islands, Italy
  • Recommended by: Fodor’s
• Andalusia, Spain
  • Recommended by: Fodor’s
• Asturias, Spain
  • Recommended by: National Geographic
• Białowieża Forest, Belarus / Poland
  • Recommended by: National Geographic
• Brittany, France
  • Recommended by: Fodor’s
• Canary Islands, Spain
  • Recommended by: National Geographic, CN Traveler
• Douro River, Portugal
  • Recommended by: Travel & Leisure
• Emilia – Romagna, Italy
  • Recommended by: Frommer’s
• Extremadura, Spain
  • Recommended by: Frommer’s
• Faroe Islands
  • Recommended by: Fodor’s
• Grossglockner High Alpine Road, Austria
  • Recommended by: National Geographic
• Kvarner Gulf, Croatia
  • Recommended by: Lonely Planet
• Le Marche, Italy
  • Recommended by: Lonely Planet
• National Blue Trail, Hungary
  • Recommended by: National Geographic
• Struve Geodetic Arc, Estonia
  • Recommended by: Fodor’s
• Wales Way, United Kingdom
  • Recommended by: National Geographic

Most Recommended European Cities in 2020

• Aarhus, Denmark
  • Recommended by: Travel Lemming
• Athens, Greece
  • Recommended by: Fodor’s
• Barcelona, Spain
  • Recommended by: Insider
• Belfast, Northern Ireland
  • Recommended by: Insider
• Bilbao, Spain
  • Recommended by: Airbnb
• Bonn, Germany
  • Recommended by: Lonely Planet, Frommer’s
• Bucharest, Romania
  • Recommended by: Fodor’s
• Budapest, Hungary
  • Recommended by: Lonely Planet
• Cadiz, Spain
  • Recommended by: Lonely Planet
• Chernobyl, Ukraine
  • Recommended by: Travel Pulse
• Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Recommended by: CN Traveler
• Dessau, Germany
  • Recommended by: Architectural Digest, Travel & Leisure
• Dubrovnik, Croatia
  • Recommended by: Forbes, Architectural Digest
• Galway, Ireland
  • Recommended by: Fodor’s, Lonely Planet
• Glastonbury, England
  • Recommended by: Frommer’s
• Glencoe, Scotland
  • Recommended by: Travel Pulse
• Gothenburg, Sweden
  • Recommended by: Travel Lemming
• Gzira, Malta
  • Recommended by: Refinery29
• Istanbul, Turkey
  • Recommended by: Travel & Leisure
• Klitmøller, Denmark
  • Recommended by: Travel & Leisure
• Kotor, Montenegro
  • Recommended by: Forbes
• Lausanne, Switzerland
  • Recommended by: Travel Lemming
• Lille, France
  • Recommended by: Architectural Digest
• Maastricht, The Netherlands
  • Recommended by: Airbnb
• Manchester, England
  • Recommended by: Travel & Leisure
• Metz, France
  • Recommended by: CN Traveler
• Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Recommended by: National Geographic
• Palermo, Italy
  • Recommended by: Forbes
• Parma, Italy
  • Recommended by: National Geographic
• Paros, Greece
  • Recommended by: Travel & Leisure
• Plymouth, England
  • Recommended by: Frommer’s
• Porto, Portugal
  • Recommended by: Forbes
• Poznań, Poland
  • Recommended by: Travel Lemming
• Rome, Italy
  • Recommended by: Architectural Digest
• Rijeka, Croatia
  • Recommended by: Travel & Leisure
• Rovinj, Croatia
  • Recommended by: Travel Lemming
• Salzburg, Austria
  • Recommended by: Lonely Planet
• Swinoujscie, Poland
  • Recommended by: Refinery29
• Tbilisi, Georgia
  • Recommended by: Travel & Leisure
• Telč, Czechia
  • Recommended by: National Geographic
• Venice, Italy
  • Recommended by: Insider
• Yerevan, Armenia
  • Recommended by: Refinery29
• Zabljak, Montenegro
  • Recommended by: Refinery29

Sources

1. Fodor’s: 2020 Go List Europe
2. Lonely Planet: Best in Travel 2020
3. Frommer’s: Best Places to Go in 2020
4. National Geographic: Best Trips in 2020
5. CN Traveler: 20 Best Places to Go in 2020
6. Forbes: 20 Best Places To Visit In 2020
7. Architectural Digest: Top 20 Places to Travel in 2020
8. Travel Lemming: 30 Top Emerging Travel Destinations for 2020
9. Airbnb: 20 for 2020
10. Travel Pulse: Top Trending Destinations for 2020
11. Travel & Leisure: The 50 Best Places to Travel in 2020
12. Refinery29: Top 10 Trending Destinations For 2020
13. Insider: 12 places you should visit in 2020