Best Places To Visit in Europe Travel Guide 2026 4k

Today we're going to show you the 50 best places to visit in Europe. A continent where the history runs deep and you feel it in the old medieval villages of Italy and bask in the sun along the Mediterranean coastline of Spain or the French Riviera. Visit the Alpine peaks like the Matterhorn in Switzerland. A continent with 50 countries and 750 million people. Let's begin. Headed up to the United Kingdom this year is Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Known for the Edinburgh Castle sitting at the top of the extinct volcano known as Castle Rock. You have the Royal Mile which is a beautiful old town walk. Then you have the Palace of Holyrood. Edinburgh is known as the Athens of the North because of the topographical similarities to ancient Athens such as the castle on the hill. Also being known for intellectual vibrancy during the Scottish Enlightenment. Heading up north a bit we're in the Scottish Highlands. This here is one of Europe's most wet regions getting tons of rain. Known for places like Glencoe, Loch Ness, rugged coastlines and mountains. Also one of the most photographed castles in the world, the Leinedonin Castle. As it stands for me right now, Scotland is easily top 5 best places in Europe. Crossing over the sea here we are in the Emerald Isle known as Ireland. Definitely a dramatic and very green country full of history and there's much more here than just Dublin. Try and get a rental car and explore for 7-10 days. Here in the capital of the UK this is London, one of the world's most influential cities with a metro population of 14 million. It is one of Europe's mega cities. The Romans founded the city about 2,000 years ago. It was named Londinium. The London Underground is one of the world's oldest metro systems. Located along the Thames River, London actually has one of Europe's most modern skylines. Headed down to the Mediterranean we're in the Aegean Sea with over 6,000 islands. This here is known as Greek Islands including the Cyclades and the Ionian Islands. They have so much history down here with Santorini, Mykonos, Knoxos, Paros, Rhodes, Crete. You've got to come down here and island hop. It's one of the most efficient island hopping systems you'll have with the ferries so that's a great thing. The Greek Islands are easily in the top 10 best places to visit around the world. Headed up to Central Europe this here is Prague, Czech Republic. Known as the City of 100 Spires, it is 1,000 years old and considered the heart of Europe. It's one of Europe's most preserved medieval historic centers with Prague Castle being the largest ancient castle complex in the world. Also home to the world's oldest astronomical clock. Next up here we are in Lucerne, Switzerland. Located on the shore of Lake Lucerne here in central Switzerland. Originally founded as a medieval monastery in the 8th century, it has now risen to be one of Switzerland's finest destinations. And then from Lucerne you can easily go up into the Swiss Alps and visit places like Zermatt and the Matterhorn. They have a train system that will take you all around Switzerland. It's one of the most advanced train networks that you'll see anywhere in the world. Just because of the impressive engineering that they've done all around the Alps. Check out Grindelwald, Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen. Five to seven days in the Alps is perfect. Five to seven days to explore the Swiss Alps is perfect. If you wanted to head over to Austria you can check out places like Hallstatt which is also in the Alps. It's a beautiful village along the lake. It is one of the oldest inhabited settlements in Europe dating back 7,000 years. The population here is 800 people and they keep it small for a reason. You'll see the wooden alpine houses. Staying in Austria we're headed to Vienna which is considered one of the most livable cities in the world many years running. Founded 2,000 years ago as a Roman settlement, it is the former heart of the Habsburg Empire. Once one of Europe's most powerful dynasties and it's known as the City of Music, home to Mozart, Beethoven and many more. And then if you follow the Danube River down a bit you end up in Budapest, Hungary. One of the most impressive cities in all of Europe. It's nicknamed the City of Spas because there's over 100 natural thermal springs nearby. They have the city of Buda on one side of the river and then they have Pest on the other side. That's where it gets its name, Budapest. It is known for its UNESCO World Heritage Site at Buda Castle. Headed back up to Northern Europe we're in Amsterdam, the city of canals, also known as Amstel Dam because this is where they built the dam along the Amstel River. Amsterdam has over 1,500 bridges making it more than even Venice. Known for the beautiful tulip flowers and bicycles. In fact bicycles outnumber cars here. Going down south we are now in Rome, Italy. This is the capital of Italy and the world's oldest continuously inhabited city, believe it or not, founded 2,700 years ago. That's why it's nicknamed the Eternal City, once the center of the Roman Empire. You'll find the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Vatican City here and masterpieces by Michelangelo, Raphael and many more. Headed over to the Italian Riviera we're at Cinque Terre which means five lands in Italian. These are five cliffside villages that sit along the wine country as the rolling hills meet the ocean. Lots of fishing going on here so expect some seafood. It is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Keep in mind there is no cars. From here you can easily get to Florence by about three hours on a train and once you're in Florence you will be in one of the most romantic cities in all of Italy. Sitting along the river here you have the Duomo. You also have the Ponte Vecchio which is a bridge that goes over the river. This place here is where you're going to go to get some delicious Italian food. On the west side of Italy is the Amalfi Coast extending 50 kilometers which is 31 miles. Famous for its cliffside villages like Positano, Amalfi and Ravello. The road here known as SS163 is one of the world's most scenic coastal roads. It does get a bit congested though so try to get a small car or maybe a motorbike. You can come in from Naples from the north and there will be another island called Capri just off the coast. Speaking of islands here we are at Sardinia which is the second largest island in Italy after Sicily. Located here in the Mediterranean Sea it's known as Europe's clearest turquoise water. Famous for stunning beaches like Costa Smeralda, one of the world's blue zones as well which means that people from here live to be over 100 years old more often than other places around the world. It's a mix of cultures from Phoenician, Roman, Spanish and some Italian influence. It's also very diverse landscapes. The island is bigger than you would think. Still here in Italy we're in Venice now which is 118 small islands in a shallow lagoon here in the Adriatic Sea. It's connected by about 400 bridges and 170 canals. There are no cars in the historic city center. The main street is a canal known as the Grand Canal and this is a place that was lined with many palaces from the Middle Ages all the way through the Renaissance and it was once the most powerful maritime republic that dominated the Mediterranean Sea. Now you can visit St. Mark's Basilica, Doge Palace. There are over 400 licensed gondoliers that can take you around the Venice canals. Headed over to Spain we're in Barcelona. This is the capital of Catalonia which is Spain's second largest city. Founded over 2,000 years ago by the Romans, this location is along the Mediterranean Sea and there's famous works of art here from people like Antoni Gaudi as well as Pablo Picasso. Here you'll find the Sagrada Familia which is the most visited monument in all of Spain and it's been under construction since 1882. Consider visiting Parc Güell and La Rambla and the many beaches in Barceloneta. Now here we are at the capital and largest city. This is Madrid. This is the geographic center of Spain. It's home to the Royal Palace of Madrid, the largest royal palace in Europe. It became Spain's capital in 1561 under King Philip. Visit Plaza Mayor, the Golden Triangle of Art, Prado Museum, El Retiro Park which is actually a UNESCO listed oasis. Don't forget to try some tapas while you're here. Headed out to the Balearic Islands here in the Mediterranean. This is part of Spain. You've got Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca, and Formentera. The capital here is Palma, known for its crystal clear turquoise water. As you know, Ibiza is known as a party place for young uni students in Europe. These are definitely some of my favorite islands in the Med. Now we're actually headed out to the Pyrenees. This here is the border with Spain and France. High elevation. I bet most of you didn't even know there was a mountain range out here aside from the Alps. But if you come out here to the Pyrenees, they even have their own country called Andorra which is actually home to Europe's highest capital. If you come up here, I recommend doing some hiking. Now we're actually headed to Paris, France. This is considered the romantic city, home to the Eiffel Tower, home to the Louvre Museum. They've also got the Sacred Heart Church, also known as Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame Cathedral. I would say it's worth one visit at least in your lifetime. And people usually spend about three to five days here. We are now at the French Riviera, also known as Côte d'Azur. This area is the southeastern part of France along the Mediterranean Sea. It's known because it's got over 300 days of sunshine with a nice Mediterranean climate. You can find places like Nice, you can find Cairns, Monaco, Saint-Tropez, and so many more places. I personally like to go to Nice and then take the train to Monaco and stop over there in a whole other country. The best time of year to visit is probably during the Monaco Grand Prix. It's a Formula One famous race. They also have the Caine Film Festival which is one of the most prestigious movie festivals in the world. It's known for its luxury yachts in the marinas. This is like Europe's most expensive real estate right here. And you can visit and explore the whole coastline. I would suggest booking a hotel in Nice and exploring from there. Now we're in Porto, Portugal. So a lot of people when they think Portugal they think Lisbon and they don't think much else. But there's another large city and it's Porto. And this one is even more spectacular than Lisbon just because of the way it sits along the river right as it enters into the ocean. This place is spectacular, tons of history. And if you go down south to the Algarve this is a little bit more of a beach type community. It's south of Lisbon just north of the Straits of Gibraltar. This whole coastline is really a beautiful coastline and you got beaches and desert kind of climate. You can almost see Morocco from here but the Algarve is famous just because of the coastline. And if you really love Portugal and you want to go out to some of the islands you can go out to Madeira. This is a Portuguese archipelago here in the Atlantic Ocean, a thousand kilometers southwest of mainland Portugal. It's known for its volcanic activity. They call this the Hawaii of the Atlantic. It's got rugged coastlines. And the other nickname is Island of Eternal Spring thanks to its mild year-round climate. The capital here is Funchal. But this place is absolutely spectacular. You can do whale and dolphin watching. They've got natural swimming pools. And if you're going to come all the way out here you might as well head over to the Azores and see another incredibly beautiful volcanic Atlantic island chain still a part of Portugal. You're always in the Schengen region so you're not having to process immigration as you're island hopping around here. The Azores are nine volcanic islands. The famous ones are San Miguel which is Twin Lakes, one blue and one green. That's what's kind of cool from the air you can see that. And it is a UNESCO Global Geopark. Also has whale and dolphin watching. But what a beautiful island chain out here. Best weather is May to September. Headed back to the mainland of Europe we're in Lake Bled, Slovenia. This here is in the Julian Alps just connected to the Swiss Alps a bit. The capital here is Ljubljana if you wanted to go to Slovenia. Bled Island is in the middle and it's the only natural island in Slovenia actually because it's a landlocked country. But if you go there you'll see Bled Castle which is perched up on the cliff about 426 feet above the lake. Just a beautiful place out here. I went there this summer actually. I consider Slovenia to be the most underrated place in all of Europe just in general. Headed one country over we're in Dubrovnik, Croatia here along the Adriatic Sea in southern Croatia. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Old Town. Known for its medieval preservation, massive stone city walls that extend about 2 kilometers around. It was founded in the 7th century. The area is part of the Old Republic of Ragusa. This and Venice were very connected as maritime trade. So this whole area has a lot of history. It's known because of the Game of Thrones here at the King's Landing. Here we are now at Plivac Lakes which is one of the oldest and most famous national parks. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Known for its 90 plus waterfalls with turquoise emerald and blue green water. This place is spectacular all year round even in the snow in autumn. And if you guys are enjoying this video so far if you'd like to give us a like and show us some love that would be amazing and become a subscriber. We love to make videos like this for you guys and gals. But yeah, if you're coming out here to Croatia you're going to definitely want to do the Dalmatian Coast and the Plivac Lakes area. Zagreb is maybe the area you land but you kind of base camp out of there and then head across Croatia. But Croatia is another one of those up and coming areas. The whole Balkans is really amazing. Another place in Croatia is Hvar. I went out to these islands. They're called the Dalmatian Islands. They also have Split out here but Hvar is known as one of the sunniest places in Europe. And the whole hub right here is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Greeks were here. Romans had a presence around here. They had fortresses. This whole place is just beautiful. You can try some of the local wine. They've got some nightlife and beach clubs, beaches, ferries and catamarans going out on this dark blue water. I feel like the whole Balkans really is just up and coming especially the coastline. We'll show you some more of that later but once you go up into the interior a bit you go into places like Serbia and you go to the capital of Belgrade. The interesting thing about Belgrade is it's along the Danube River. You can take that Danube River from Vienna to Budapest through Slovakia all the way down here to Belgrade. Belgrade has a fortress. It's a laid back type city. A lot of the problems that mainland Europe or Western Europe has have not made it over here to Eastern Europe so it's a lot safer and more affordable than Western Europe. That's one of the benefits of being out here in an area like the Eastern Bloc as they would call it or former Yugoslavia. I would like to give an honorable mention to Sarajevo which is another place that's in Bosnia. As we go down towards the coastline we end up in Montenegro, places like Kotor. There's a few different places in Montenegro. It's a small country. It used to be part of Serbia. Again this all used to be part of a country called Yugoslavia not too long ago and that was all part of the Soviet Union but a lot of people still kind of associate it with that but do not take this place lightly. It is spectacular. The mountains and just the cliffs in Montenegro just were amazing when I was there and there's lots of history so that's another good thing about visiting Montenegro. Now we're going to head up to Scandinavia. We're in Helsinki, Finland so I've come up here twice now. Helsinki is a very cool place. Definitely don't underestimate the power of this part of Europe which is around the Baltic. Helsinki's got a lot of history. You can do some island hopping and exploring around the areas off of the coast. They got a cool airport too and it seems to be just a very affluent place. It does get cold in the winter. It's far away from Lapland for those of you who want to go all the way up there. Don't think it's very close to Helsinki. This is towards the south. In fact I actually took a ferry to Tallinn, Estonia from here. Finland is not really considered part of Scandinavia but I would call it Scandinavia just for this video. So it's called kind of like the Nordic anyway. Now we have Stockholm, Sweden which is the capital and largest city in the country. Built across 14 different islands, got 50 plus bridges that connect it. Also lakes meeting the Baltic Sea. They call this the gateway to the Stockholm archipelago made up of 30,000 plus islands. There's lots of islands up here. It was founded in 1252 making it Scandinavia's oldest city. First time I came here was in the winter. The second time I came here was in the summer. The cool thing about coming here in the winter is you know you spend a lot of time indoors and you get to really feel the vibe. People do spend a lot of time indoors just thinking up here I would say. But they've got great public transport. Again another cool airport with like this underground metro system that goes deep deep deep in the ground. And now we're going all the way to the far west. This here is Bergen, Norway. Just in case you're wondering nor or Nordic, Norway is the north. That's basically what it means, north. These are the northern lands and this is the way north. So Norway, home to Bergen. There's so many places in Norway to explore. This one's more towards the south. You've also got Oslo across the way but you can take a nice train from Bergen to Oslo. A lot of people come into Bergen also on a cruise ship. Just depends on how you want to get here. I actually came in on an airplane from Oslo and that whole ride was spectacular flying over mountains and glaciers. I was just literally looking out the window the whole time. So if you do make that flight, get the window seat in a daytime flight and you'll be amazed at what you'll see down below in Norway. That's why the train is also cool. If you go to the far north you have Loften. This place is known for being close to polar bears for those of you who want to see that but also the northern lights. And then it's just got this really cool like bay lagoon with mountains in the backdrop of this cool little village, a fishing village. So Loften, if you can, get all the way up to the top of Norway. I mean at this point you're so far north. I mean it's way up there. For me I feel like a lot of this Scandinavia or going far north is more seasonal unless I was looking for Aurora Borealis. I'm probably coming here around May at the earliest and September at the latest. Anything outside of that is going to be just a bit too cold for me. But then again, if you're looking for Aurora, you gotta arrive in the winter. Now we're out at the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, autonomous territory of Denmark. And it's known because of the volcanic basalt rocks creating these dramatic cliffs. They've got a lake way up on the actual island top. It kind of is like a far drop with a waterfall coming down. So those towering sea cliffs are spectacular. I would try to pronounce much of the names but it's like an old Viking, Scandinavian, Icelandic language that I'm just not so good at pronouncing. But it's like an old Norse anyway. And it's a seabird haven here, also known for its stargazing on clear nights. But again, weather is highly unpredictable. So I would definitely say aim for the summertime and hope for the best because the weather is very unpredictable here. Let's go back down south a bit. We're going to go to Transylvania here in Romania. This summer was my first time in Romania. And Romania is a beautiful country. It's not very expensive. It just became a part of the EU and the Schengen zone in January 2025. So there's convenience now added to this. But Transylvania is the historic region of central Romania known for castles. There was a lot of money and power in Romania at one point in time. But this area is really known for Dracula's castle. Also the myth known as Vlad the Impaler. So there's a lot of history with that. People get all into it. Just depends on how deep you want to go down that story. But really it's just dense forests, alpine meadows, and it's one of Europe's last untouched wildernesses out here. Romania has the largest population of wild brown bears in Europe. So that's kind of cool. But if you actually go over a little bit further to the east, you end up in the Caucasus Mountains. This area here is still considered Europe in a way. Europe's kind of got this weird geographical boundary that kind of bypasses around Turkey. But the Caucasus, everyone to the west of the Caucasus are considered Caucasian. So that's kind of where the term comes from because of these mountains. And that's again around Georgia, kind of Azerbaijan. And now we've got like a wild card here. This one's Cyprus. It is part of the European Union, but it's also part of the Middle East. So some people consider this to be Asia. But it is a part of what is called the European Union. So we're putting it on there. This is a Mediterranean island. I guess it's closer to Israel and Syria than it would be to any other part of Europe, also close to Turkey. But you can see it's got these beautiful blue waters and just a really fun place to go. A lot of people from Europe come down here during the wintertime and just relax. And we got another wild card on the list. This here is Malta. It's just south of Sicily. Sicily is another one of those places that could easily be on the list. But we've only got 50. So we're going to go ahead and put Malta on there. And it's known for the capital. And Maltese is like an English-type place to hang out in the wintertime. And then you have this area being EU's smallest capital, which is Valletta. So it's located right here in central Mediterranean. And it's just another place that's got a Mediterranean island and a climate that people just love. So if you're looking for some European places to hang out in the winter to warm up, come on down here to Malta or Cyprus, maybe. Now we're going back up into Europe. This time we're in Poland. So everyone I talk to who goes to Poland, they say they actually love Poland. It's affordable. They got great prices. And Krakow is one of the most well-preserved cities in all of Europe. It wasn't really too badly damaged during World War II, if you compare it to, say, Warsaw. But Krakow is really a nice place. I went here. I went to the historical town and went along the riverside, did some river cruises. If you get a chance, come on out here to Krakow. You might actually prefer this one as your number one spot in all of Poland. I thought it would be Warsaw, but I prefer this one over Warsaw. That's why it's on the list. Now we've got Berlin. I couldn't really leave a German city off. And this one is probably the most famous in Germany. I'm not a big fan of Berlin just because it doesn't really grab at me. It's mostly for people who like to party. From what I understand, they love the raves in Berlin. They've got some cool history. But again, because of World War II, it was kind of destroyed and really impacted. And it's been rebuilt nicely. If you're really looking to explore Germany, go to Neuschwanstein Castle. That's the Disneyland castle in the south. It's kind of nearby Switzerland. I mean, I would take Switzerland over Germany any day. Now we're going all the way out to Iceland. It is part of Europe, believe it or not. It's almost in North America or maybe even like the North Pole, Arctic areas, you could say. But Iceland is really a famous place. It's got Reykjavik. It's got the geothermal pools, which are actually man-made. I thought they were actually naturally occurring, but they're man-made geothermal pools inside the lava rocks. One of the best things to do is the Ring Road. So if you do come up here, do the Ring Road or at least try to. If you come up during the winter, you know, you're going to get that ultimate darkness, which is like three hours of sunshine. If you come up here during the summertime, you're going to get more sunshine. And they call that the midnight sun. But the Ring Road is a special experience. It takes about seven to ten days to do it correctly. But anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this one from Europe. If you did, consider watching our best places in the USA video. I'll put that link right here. Next click right here.