An international ranking presents the 100 most attractive cities to visit. Europe clearly performs best here. We present the top 20 of the ranking. There are also two German metropolises among them.
Small but nice – and right on your doorstep: Europe offers the most highlights in the world when it comes to city trips. This is the conclusion reached by the global market research institute Euromonitor International. In its current ranking “Top 100 City Destinations Index 2023” there are 63 cities in Europe.
With seven destinations in the top ten and one at the top, the Old Continent clearly dominated the hit list that the institute determined together with the data company Lighthouse. 55 different criteria were examined in six categories: 1) economic and business performance, 2) tourism performance, 3) tourism infrastructure, 4) tourism policy and attractiveness, 5) health and safety, 6) sustainability.
And these are the frontrunners:
1st place: Paris, France
The city of love is and remains the front runner. In 2022 it led the “Top 100 City Destinations Index” and in 2023 it made it to first place again. Eiffel Tower, Elysée Palace, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Montmartre, Center Pompidou – the city on the Seine is always worth a visit. In its combination of chic and romanticism, it is as timeless as the legacy of its celebrities at the Père Lachaise cemetery – Frédéric Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Colette, Albert Camus, Édith Piaf, Jim Morrison and many others.
For a room price starting at 2,000 euros, visitors can check into the legendary “Ritz Paris” hotel and join the exclusive circle of its guests – including Rudolph Valentino, Ernest Hemingway and Coco Chanel, who lived here for over three decades until her death in 1971. And When Paris didn't have enough to offer, this year it is hosting a double mega event: the Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games.
It's a good thing that there has been a night train from the German to the French capital again since the end of 2023. The ÖBB Nightjet 40424 travels every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from Berlin via Halle/Saale, Erfurt, Frankfurt/Main and Strasbourg to Paris. It will run daily from autumn onwards.
2nd place: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The capital of the emirate Dubai is the only non-European city in the top three – like last year. The glittering metropolis attracts hordes of holidaymakers from all over the world with its gigantic skyscrapers, artificial islands, beach resorts and shopping temples. 16.8 million international arrivals were recorded there in 2023, according to Euromonitor International – 18 percent more compared to 2022.
This puts Dubai in third place in terms of arrival numbers after Istanbul (20.2 million, 26 percent increase) and London (18.8 million, 17 percent). In general, international tourism has continued to noticeably recover since the slump caused by the pandemic: there was a 38 percent increase in tourism worldwide, reports the market research institute.
3rd place: Madrid, Spain
Rich in culture, a cheerful atmosphere, good restaurants and an exciting nightlife: Madrid is so popular that it reached third place in the “Top 100 City Destinations Index 2023”. Spain's capital climbed one place higher compared to the previous year. One reason for this is likely to be the new Madrid City Card, which will be introduced in spring 2023. They also include the tourist ticket for free use of public transport.
The official tourist card also offers discounts at museums and other cultural and leisure facilities. And that Fast passThe license to skip ahead: card holders are allowed to skip the queue at some of the most important sights. For example at the royal palace. Or the Prado Museum, one of the best art museums in the world. Visitors can see originals by numerous Spanish, German, Flemish and Italian masters, including El Greco, Dürer, Rubens, Tiziano, Velázquez and Goya.
4th place: Tokyo, Japan
Surprise in Japanese: Tokyo has made it into the top ten of the new city ranking for the first time. Euromonitor justifies this with the improved tourist infrastructure. In addition, more tourists came after the Corona measures were relaxed and the yen lost value. Holidays in Japan's capital have become much cheaper, so hotel bookings have skyrocketed.
The cosmopolitan city has a lot to offer anyway – from historic temples to sparkling skyscrapers to bizarre oddities like the digital Akita dog at Shibuya train station. Since July he has been jumping around on eight electronic billboards. It is reminiscent of the most famous dog in Japan: Hachiko, who waited at this very train station every evening for his owner to come home from work – even for nine years after the man had already died. There has been a statue of the faithful beast at Shibuya Station since 1934.
5th place: Amsterdam, Netherlands
This year, the capital of the Netherlands is once again in the top five in the ranking of the most attractive city destinations. Characterized by picturesque canals, pretty gabled facades and numerous cyclists, Amsterdam offers a relaxed atmosphere and lots of culture, for example in the museum district with the Van Gogh Museum or the Stedelijk Museum for modern art.
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On the other hand, the city has been a stronghold for party tourists for years, who arrive on low-cost airlines specifically to smoke weed, drink and visit the famous red light district. However, the city had had enough of the harassment from riot tourists. At the beginning of 2023, she launched the online campaign “Stay Away” to deter young men looking for wild nights.
Public consumption of cannabis has been prohibited in the old center since May 2023. In the fall, the city announced that it would increase tourism taxes in 2024, causing hotel room prices to rise. The money should flow into social projects and infrastructure. The “Renew your view of Amsterdam” initiative shows that the city is striving for a change in tourism – more class instead of quantity.
6th place: Berlin, Germany
Two places rise for the German capital: Berlin was the only German city in the top ten of the Euromonitor ranking last year, albeit in eighth place. The fact that it has now been able to climb further is probably due to the metropolis's many efforts to increase and improve tourism. For example, in the area of sustainability: The new “Sustainable Tourism Berlin” initiative was launched in December 2022 – and Berlin also reached sixth place in the current “Global Destination Sustainability Index”.
World-famous for its party scene, Berlin offers numerous highlights: the Museum Island (one of three UNESCO World Heritage Sites), the East Side Gallery (at 1,316 meters the longest surviving piece of the Berlin Wall), international events such as the Berlin Marathon, the Berlinale, the Carnival of cultures or the world's largest travel trade fair ITB Berlin.
For the first half of 2023, Berlin's accommodation providers had 5.7 million guests with 13.8 million overnight stays – 30.2 percent more guests and 23.9 percent more overnight stays than in the previous year. Munich made it into the top 20 of the current ranking with 12th place.
7th place: Rome, Italy
Colosseum, Roman Forum, magnificent churches, romantic squares: the Eternal City is popular worldwide as a city of art and culture. Ancient relics are a natural part of the cityscape, but at the same time the metropolis always offers new highlights. Also with the accommodations; In 2023, the luxurious “Bulgari Hotel Roma” opened in the Campo Marzio district in a pretty building from the 1930s.
With Plan Futuroma, the city developed a tourism strategy in 2019 that is intended to make Rome even more attractive by 2025. One of the ambitious goals is to make Rome one of the most attractive cities in the world, but at the same time Avoiding overtourism, protecting cultural heritage, being sustainably profitable – a living one Smart city with historical backdrops.
Places 8 to 20 of the best destinations for city trips:
8. New York, USA
9. Barcelona, Spain
10. London, UK
11. Singapore
12. Munich, Germany
13. Milan, Italy
14. Seoul, South Korea
15. Dublin, Ireland
16. Osaka, Japan
17. Hong Kong, China
18. Vienna, Austria
19. Los Angeles, USA
20. Lisbon, Portugal
You can find a link to the complete ranking “Top 100 City Destinations Index 2023” (paid download) from the market research institute Euromonitor here: euromonitor.com/top-100-city-destinations-index-2023/report
