There’s plenty of travel advice for 2024 out there, whether you’re after somewhere trendy, somewhere affordable or somewhere sustainable. But this one’s a biggie: European Best Destinations’ annual ranking of locations surveys more than a million travellers (does it get more comprehensive than that?) and the rankings for 2024 are in.
So, where was voted as the best travel destination in Europe? Well, according to all the travellers who had their say, it’s Marbella. The coastal city in southern Spain was particularly popular with golfers and shoppers, and its sun-drenched shorelines make it a notoriously popular beach destination. It’s popular with foodies too – it has three Michelin-starred restaurants, after all.
And travelling around that patch of the Costa Del Sol could soon get a lot easier, as plans for a train between Marbella and Malaga have been proposed – read more about that here.
Monaco came in second place, and Malta came in third, but the top 20 destinations had plenty of variety.
Riga, the Latvian capital city, came in sixth place. The Old Town is a designated Unesco World Heritage Site, and there’s also a dazzling Art Nouveau district. Aside from its lovely buildings, the city has a host of street food festivals and creative events which bring the pretty streets to life.
The Faroe Islands came in sixteenth place, and were particularly popular with travellers craving some preserved nature and cracking landscapes. But there’s plenty more on the list, so take a look below.
The 20 best destinations in Europe for 2024
- Marbella, Spain
- Monaco
- Malta
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Batumi, Georgia
- Riga, Latvia
- Madeira, Portugal
- Florence, Italy
- London, UK
- Reykjavik, Iceland
- Lège-Cap-Ferret, France
- Siena, Italy
- Ponza Island, Italy
- Porto-Vecchio, Corsica, France
- Champagne Wine Region, France
- Faroe Islands
- Sirmione, Lombardy, Italy
- Piran, Slovenia
- Newquay, Cornwall
- Thassos, Greece
For more travel inspiration, check out our definitive ranking of the best cities in the world for 2024.
Did you see that this European airline is now weighing passengers before flights?
Plus: these are the Airbnbs that have hosted the most proposals.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out Travel newsletter for all the latest travel news.