France
102.0M arrivals
Top 10 most visited countries in Europe in 2025
France was the most visited country in Europe in 2025, with 102.0 million international arrivals, ahead of Spain and Italy. Below: all ten, ranked and mapped, with what each one is known for.
793M
international arrivals in Europe
52%
of all international trips
11/20
of the world’s top 20 are European
Spain
96.8M arrivals
Italy
65.8M arrivals
Map of the most visited countries in Europe
The ten, shaded by arrivals: the darker the green, the more international visitors. Each wears the same green it has on the world ranking.
International arrivals, 2025
Europe’s top 10 by international arrivals, 2025
Ranked by international tourist arrivals. Each bar is the green the map gives that country, and its length is a share of France’s 102.0 million.
- France102.0M
- Spain96.8M
- Italy65.8M
United Kingdom43.6M
Greece38.0M
Germany37.1M
Austria33.5M
Portugal29.9M
Netherlands22.3M
Poland21.4M
Trips, not people
Drive from Germany to Italy through Austria and each of the three counts you once. Europe’s borders are close together, which is why so many of its countries rank so high.
Counted differently
Not every country counts the same way. France and Spain count people at the border; Germany, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands count hotel guests; Greece leaves cruise passengers out.
Read it in steps
So don’t read too much into small gaps. A million more can come from how a country counts, not from more people going there.
Sources: UN Tourism (January 2026) and each destination’s own 2025 statistics. Compiled August 2026.
How many of the top 10 have you seen?
Tap the countries you’ve been to on an interactive map of Europe and watch your count grow. Free, no sign-up.
Why go: what Europe’s top 10 are known for
The ranking measures traffic. Here is what draws the crowds to each country, when to go, and what it is known for.
No. 1
France
Alps to Riviera
Paris brings most first-time visitors, but France holds the top spot through variety: ski resorts in the Alps, the beaches and lavender of Provence, and the vineyards of Bordeaux and Burgundy, all a few hours apart by fast train.
- Best time
- May to June, September
- Known for
- Paris, the Côte d’Azur, the Loire châteaux
No. 2
Spain
Sun and Moorish south
Sun is the main draw: the Costa del Sol, the Balearics and the Canaries, which stay warm all winter. Barcelona, Madrid and the Moorish south around Seville and Granada fill the rest of the trip.
- Best time
- April to June, September to October
- Known for
- Barcelona, the Alhambra, Mallorca
No. 3
Italy
Most World Heritage sites
No country has more UNESCO World Heritage sites. Rome, Florence and Venice anchor most first trips; the Amalfi Coast, the Dolomites and Sicily are why people come back.
- Best time
- April to June, September to October
- Known for
- Rome, Venice, the Amalfi Coast
No. 4
United Kingdom
Cities close together
London draws most visitors, with free national museums and West End theatre. Trains reach Bath, York and Edinburgh in a few hours, and the Scottish Highlands begin where the cities stop.
- Best time
- May to September
- Known for
- London, Edinburgh, the Scottish Highlands
No. 5
Greece
Six thousand islands
Most visitors come for the islands: about 200 of some 6,000 are inhabited, and Santorini, Mykonos and Crete take the largest share. On the mainland, the Acropolis in Athens and the ruins of Delphi.
- Best time
- May to June, September to October
- Known for
- Santorini, Crete, the Acropolis
No. 6
Germany
Castles and Christmas markets
Berlin, Munich and the castles of Bavaria draw most visitors, with the Rhine valley and the Black Forest close behind. From late November, Christmas markets fill the old towns.
- Best time
- May to September, December for the markets
- Known for
- Berlin, Neuschwanstein, the Christmas markets
No. 7
Austria
Slopes and concert halls
Vienna’s palaces, coffee houses and concert halls fill the year. In winter, the Alps of Tyrol and Salzburg hold some of Europe’s best-served ski areas, and Salzburg’s old town adds Mozart.
- Best time
- December to March for skiing, May to September
- Known for
- Vienna, Salzburg, the Tyrolean Alps
No. 8
Portugal
Atlantic edge
Lisbon and Porto are small enough to walk, and the Douro valley that makes port is a short trip upriver. The Algarve has the beaches, Madeira the mild winters.
- Best time
- April to June, September to October
- Known for
- Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve
No. 9
Netherlands
Bikes, canals, tulips
Amsterdam’s canals and museums come first, and the rest of the country is a short train or bike ride away: Rotterdam’s architecture, Utrecht, the windmills of Kinderdijk. In spring, the tulip fields.
- Best time
- April to May, June to September
- Known for
- Amsterdam, the tulip fields, Kinderdijk
No. 10
Poland
Old towns, low prices
Kraków’s medieval square survived the war, and Gdańsk was rebuilt to match. Warsaw, the Tatra mountains in the south and prices well below western Europe’s complete the trip.
- Best time
- May to September
- Known for
- Kraków, Gdańsk, the Tatra mountains
Track the European countries you have visited
Tap the countries you’ve been to on an interactive map of Europe, watch your count grow, and share the map. Free, with no sign-up.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions people ask most.
What is the most visited country in Europe?
France, with 102 million international arrivals in 2025 according to Atout France, ahead of Spain with 96.8 million. France is also the most visited country in the world, a place it has held for more than thirty years.
How many international tourists did Europe receive in 2025?
About 793 million, according to UN Tourism’s World Tourism Barometer of January 2026: more than half of the 1.52 billion international trips made worldwide that year.
Why is Turkey not in the top 10?
With 63.9 million visitors in 2025 it would be fourth. But most of Turkey lies in Asia, and the map of Europe this ranking is drawn from shows it as a neighbour, not a European country. On the world ranking it is fifth.
Which country just misses the top 10?
Croatia, with 17.6 million arrivals in 2025: the eleventh European country in the world’s top 20. Every other country in Europe received fewer.
Can I mark the countries I have visited here?
Not on this page: it is a reference ranking. The interactive map of Europe is the one that keeps a tally of where you have been, and suggests where to travel in Europe next.