Europeans give their top picks for where to go in Europe in 2026

You’ve probably heard from American friends about where they want to go in Europe. France, to see the Louvre and Paris Metro, perhaps, or Italy, to eat pasta with a knife.

But where do actual Europeans want to travel in their own domain?

An April report from the European Travel Commission, a nonprofit that represents the continent’s national-travel organizations, sheds some light on the subject. It shows that more than three-quarters of Europeans plan to travel this spring and summer, predominantly within Europe. But their trips will be fewer and shorter, thanks to budget considerations.

Where exactly do they hope to go? Well, the biggest reason Europeans surveyed for this report gave for traveling was "sun and beach holidays." So warm countries on the water definitely are represented. Here are their top destinations, ranked – considering they might know something we don’t, Americans should take note.

The European countries that Europeans want to visit in 2026

1 Spain

2 Italy

3 France

4 Greece

5 Portugal

6 Germany

7 U.K.

8 Turkey

9 Croatia

10 Austria

Source: etc-corporate.org/reports/monitoring-sentiment-for-intra-european-travel-spring-summer-2026/

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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 8:03 AM.