Budapest has been voted the #1 European destination for 2019 from 20 “must-see” locations that made the finalists’ list of contenders for the coveted title organized by European Best Destinations (EBD).
For its tenth edition, the competition collected a record of more than 500,000 votes for the trendiest destinations in Europe that will be promoted throughout the year to millions of travelers – and will be authorized to display the title “European Best Destination” in their marketing.
The list this year includes a range of winners, from the unsurprising Athens, Florence and Paris to more offbeat choices such as Portugal’s Braga, Slovakia’s Bratislava, Belgium’s Dinan, France’s Metz, Poland’s Poznan, Croatia’s Cavtat, Montenegro’s Kotor, as well as the first sustainable destination to make it to the list – Italy’s Monte Isola, which took third place.
Based in Brussels, EBD promotes the continent as the best destination in the world while rewarding and spotlighting the most-visited places.
Working with the European Commission to promote sustainable tourism, EBD organizes some of the main tourism competitions in Europe, including Best European Christmas Markets, Best European Beaches, Most Romantic destinations and Best European Ski Resorts.
The results of the competitions translate into “significant growth of tourists for our rewarded destinations,” according to a EBD statement. “With + 16% in growth of tourism for Porto awarded in 2017, + 13% for Bordeaux awarded in 2015, + 25% for Zadar awarded in 2016, +11% for Wroclaw awarded the title of Best European Destination 2018.”
Among the highlights in this year’s results, the organizers included the fact that “for the first time since the creation of this event, a sustainable destination has been ranked among the three best destinations to visit in Europe; that Metz, in France is one of the most creative and dynamic cities in the country; and that Braga in Portugal, which made it to #2 in the list, offers the best quality of life in the country and the third one in Europe.
“The 15 most-voted destinations will be promoted to millions of travelers as the trendiest to visit in 2019 and will be featured on Best European Destinations’s website which is the most-visited website dedicated to tourism in Europe, reaching an audience of more than 5,5 million travelers,” European Best Destinations announced.
Here are the finalists to help with your bucket list of travel in Europe:
- Budapest, Hungary
- Braga, Portugal
- Monte Isola, Italy
- Metz, France
- Poznan, Poland
- Malaga, Spain
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Cavtat, Croatia
- Bratislava, Slovakia
- Sainte-Maxime, France
- Dinant, Belgium
- Athens, Greece
- Kotor, Montenegro
- Riga, Latvia
- Florence, Italy
- Paris
- Berlin
- Vienna
- London
- Brussels
