London is officially the world’s hottest-trending travel destination to visit in 2026

Everybody wants to come to London. And can you blame them? We’ve got first-class museums, culture, restaurants, architecture, nightclubs and obviously much, much more. 

Now it’s official: London was the most-searched for city on the planet for tourists over the past 12 months, according to the Year in Travel 2025 Report created by travel search website Opodo. The report analysed booking data from travellers in parts of Europe and the USA.

Opodo found that in 2025 travellers were searching for holidays in the UK capital more than any other place in the world. It beat Paris and New York City which came in second and third for search, respectively. The data also revealed which countries were searching for London the most. The Big Smoke ranked second in searches for the French, Italians, Portuguese and Spanish, fourth for Germans and sixth for Americans. 

In terms of booking actually coming to fruition, London was the fifth most-booked destination on the planet according to Opodo’s data. It was beaten by Barcelona, Paris, Palma de Mallorca and Madrid in first, second, third and fourth, respectively. 

One of the largest groups planning a getaway in the land of red double-deckers, fish and chips and pubs was Germans, which made up 19 percent of London bookings. Eighteen percent of bookings came from Spain, and 14 percent were from France. Other popular locations in the UK from overseas visitors were Edinburgh and Manchester.  

On the flip-side, Brits were all about culture-packed city breaks in 2025: Amsterdam, Barcelona and Paris were our top three booked destinations, followed by Malaga and Istanbul. 

The V&A’s new museum in east London finally has an official opening date. 

London riverside music festival Labyrinth on the Thames could almost double in size in 2026.

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