I recently wanted to find out what were the most visited European countries, and when I couldn’t find a definitive list, I decided to make my own. I put a shout out on my socials, and over 2,500 of you responded!
Here’s the final rankings so you can discover just how ‘basic’ a traveller we all are.
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The Top 10 Most Visited European Countries
After listing all the countries in Europe, we asked our respondents to simply share which destinations they had ticked off already – and here are the top 10 most popular countries in Europe.
- #1 - United Kingdom (97.7%)
- #2 - France (96.8%)
- #3 - Spain (95.8%)
- #4 - Italy (90.3%)
- #5 - Germany (81.8%)
- #6 - Greece (78.1%)
- #7 - Ireland (77.3%)
- #8 - Portugal (76.7%)
- #9 - Netherlands (76.3%)
- #10 - Belgium (72.8%)
How many of the top 10 have the Holiday Expert team visited?
Chelsea: All 10 – it’s a full house for me so far!
James: Same here – a perfect 10.
Katie: I’m at 9 – anyone’s Irish mammy want to invite me over?
Anna: I’m at 9 as well – just need to go to Belgium!
Jack: 9 for me – I need to go to Germany!
Unsurprisingly, the UK comes in first place since most of you are based in the UK. But if we sidestep that, it’s also unsurprising to find that France is the next most visited. Why? Well, it is often recognised as the most visited country in the world!
And with Spain leading closely with 95.8% of respondents having visited, it’s fair to say we’re living up to our British traveller stereotypes so far!!
Interestingly, most of these destinations are geographically close, in western and northern Europe – so you can fly there in a few hours. They’re well set up for tourists, with good infrastructure and have many opportunities for a cheap flight.
A good number are known for decent summer weather (although you can’t be too sure these days!) and these are places where you’re more likely to know a few words in the local language – which can be a big reassurance when you’re abroad.
So, perhaps no huge surprises in the top 10 but what’s interesting is how the percentages start to drop off as we reel off the next batch of countries…
The Top 11-25 Most Visited European Countries
Next up, we wanted to find out which countries were still popular, but outside the top 10.
- #11 - Vatican City (58.2%)
- #12 - Austria (56.6%)
- #13 - Switzerland (53%)
- #14 - Croatia (51.3%)
- #15 - Denmark (49.5%)
- #16 - Turkey (European Part) (49.5%)
- #17 - Poland (48.8%)
- #18 - Hungary (48.3%)
- #19 - Czechia (45.7%)
- #20 - Cyprus (41.6%)
- #21 - Malta (39.4%)
- #22 - Sweden (38.2%)
- #23 - Norway (33.2%)
- #24 - Iceland (29.8%)
- #25 - Monaco (29%)
How many of the top 11-25 have the Holiday Expert team visited?
Chelsea: I’ve visited all 15 – so that’s 25/25l! It is my job after all.
James: I’ve been to 13 of these, so I’m at 23.
Katie: I’ve visited 13 of these, so my total so far is 22.
Anna: I’ve been to 6 on this list, so that’s 15 for me.
Jack: I’ve done 6 of these too, so I’m also on 15.
Now this is where things start to get interesting!!
Starting with our apparent obsession with visiting… Vatican City?!! Who knew!
Austria, Switzerland and Croatia all just about make the 50% cutoff, but then we’re into the list of countries that more people haven’t been to, than have. Does this mean we’re officially ‘well travelled’ if we’ve ticked any of these off?!!
These lesser-visited countries are mostly in central and northern Europe, a bit further away than the more popular countries higher up the list. However, a good number of these countries contain popular city break destinations like Budapest and Prague, ski resorts and cruise stop-offs.
I’d say if you’re ticking off countries on this list you’re someone who likes variety and something a bit more quirky when it comes to your holidays.
Let’s take a look at the next batch.
The Top 26-35 Most Visited European Countries
Time for the hidden gems, and to find out which countries sit just outside the top 25.
- #26 - Finland (26%)
- #27 - Bulgaria (21.7%)
- #28 - Luxembourg (20.4%)
- #29 - Slovakia (20.3%)
- #30 - Slovenia (20.3%)
- #31 - Montenegro (20.1%)
- #32 - Estonia (18.5%)
- #33 - Latvia (17.9%)
- #34 - Romania (17.5%)
- #35 - Bosnia and Herzegovina (12.7%)
How many of the top 26-35 have the Holiday Expert team visited?
Chelsea: I’ve checked off 7 off these, so that’s me sitting at 32.
James: I’ve visited 4 of these, so I’m at 27 now.
Katie: I’ve been to 3 of these, which takes me to 25.
Anna: I haven’t been to any of these, need to change that ASAP! I’m still on 15.
Jack: I’ve been to 1 of these, which takes me to 16.
Okay, it feels like if you’ve been to any of these, you’re probably known amongst your family and friends for being a bit of a ‘traveller’.
These destinations hold a huge opportunity for discovering a place that is less known, and perhaps has fewer crowds. My favourite combination!!
Many of these countries are also places where your money can go a lot further – you can get luxury or five-star vibes without having to break the bank (apart from you, Finland!).
Honestly, these are the real hidden gems of Europe because they’re less known without being difficult to travel to.
Now let’s look at the least visited countries from the survey!
The Least Visited European Countries: 36-47
Finally, we wanted to know which are the least visited countries in Europe.
- #36 - Albania (12.6%)
- #37 - Lithuania (12.3%)
- #38 - Andorra (11.9%)
- #39 - Russia (European Part) (8.9%)
- #40 - Liechtenstein (7.5%)
- #41 - Serbia (6.9%)
- #42 - North Macedonia (6.1%)
- #43 - San Marino (5.7%)
- #44 - Ukraine (4.9%)
- #45 - Kosovo (3.4%)
- #46 - Moldova (2.5%)
- #47 - Belarus (1.5%)
How many of the least visited have the Holiday Expert team visited?
Chelsea: I’m not doing as well with these – just 3 – bringing my grand total to 35. I’m pretty chuffed with that, but there’s room for improvement!
James: I’ve been to 1 of these, so I’m tapping out at 28.
Katie: Big fat zero! 25 and out.
Anna: ZERO! My total is 15.
Jack: 2 of these for me, so my total is 18.
If you’ve been to any of these, I’m officially giving you the title of intrepid traveller!
There’s a mixture of reasons why these spots are less popular, from a lack of direct flights from the UK to conflict and government warnings against travel – either now or in the recent past.
They’re also a lot smaller than the most popular destinations, so it tracks that there are fewer visitors. But there are amazing spots on this list just waiting to be discovered – the issue is that people tend to stick to what they know (or where everyone else goes!). So if you strike out on a less travelled path, you’ll get to discover Europe’s real hidden gems!
The one country I’m surprised to see here is Albania, as it’s got a lot of positive press in the last few years with more and more people booking a trip there. So, it’s my prediction that we’ll see Albania rise through the ranks in the next few years – so now may be a great time to get on it before it gets more busy.
My Final Thoughts
I hope you found this breakdown as fascinating as I did! While there are no huge shocks at the top, seeing the dramatic drop-off in the volume of visitors as you go down the list is a real reminder of just how many amazing places there are out there that aren’t overrun and overdone.
Eastern Europe and the Balkans feature heavily lower down the list – it’s a great reminder that there are plenty of affordable destinations out there that you don’t feel like you’ve seen all the highlights of already.
So, if you’re looking for somewhere new to discover this year, why not use this list as your 2026 bucket list inspiration?!
