The place to go in Europe in 2026, based on 10 main journey publications

At this level in January, the dreary climate is probably going getting the higher of you. You’ve already given up in your New Year’s resolutions, the Christmas cheese and chocolate are lengthy gone, and also you’re in determined want of one thing to stay up for.

An apparent selection can be to e-book a flight. But when you seek for ‘where to go in Europe in 2026’, you’re going to be bombarded with choices from each journey publication underneath the solar (together with Euronews Travel, with our round-ups of vacation spot dupes and museum openings and meals festivals price travelling for).

While no two lists are the identical, there’s some crossover – together with one Finnish vacation spot that was really helpful by six of the ten main journey publications we consulted.

To enable you lower by the noise, we’ve put collectively the locations that preserve being talked about repeatedly to resolve the locations that basically are a must-visit over the following 12 months.

A cultural break in Oulu

Recommended by: Afar, BBC, CNN, Condé Nast Traveller, National Geographic, Travel + Leisure.

The European vacation spot that mostly got here up for 2026 was Finland’s Oulu.

Found on Norway’s northwestern coast on the Bay of Bothnia, almost 650 kilometres north of Helsinki, town is already a preferred vacation spot for seeing the Northern Lights and embracing the nation’s sauna tradition.

There’s one huge cause for making your journey this 12 months, although: Oulu is the European Capital of Culture for 2026.

The year-long programme contains the debut of Ovllá, an opera concerning the oppression of the Sámi, Europe’s solely Indigenous peoples, the Climate Clock public artwork path, and the Arctic Food Lab which is able to showcase the distinctive meals tradition of the area.

Lonely Planet additionally really helpful visiting Oulu, though it was a part of a wider suggestion for Finland as an entire.

Set-jetting in Greece and Sicily

Recommended by: Condé Nast Traveller and Time Out.

Set-jetting, aka visiting a vacation spot after being impressed by a movie or TV present, hit the large time in 2025, with travellers scrambling to go to locations from viral sensations like The White Lotus and Bridgerton.

So it’s maybe little marvel that one of many largest releases of the 12 months, The Odyssey, is behind a few of the finest locations to go to in Europe in 2026.

The Christopher Nolan adaptation of Homer’s historic Greek epic is ready to be simply that, with a star-studded solid together with Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson, and filming places throughout the globe.

For Condé Nast Traveller’s editorial workforce, it was the Peloponnese peninsula that drew their eye, the place you possibly can go to Nestor’s Cave, the place Odysseus takes on the Cyclops, and Pylos, the place Telemachus visits King Nestor.

Sicily’s Favignana, an island the place Odysseus is claimed to have stopped for provisions forward of his confrontation with the Cyclops, is the place Time Out’s journey workforce have urged visiting as an alternative. Just so long as you get there earlier than the film comes out, and the lots catch on.

Stalking the trail of the eclipse

Recommended by: CNN, National Geographic, Travel + Leisure and The New York Times.

2026 is a giant 12 months for celestial occasions, with the height of the present photo voltaic cycle and three supermoons all year long.

However, it’s the complete photo voltaic eclipse in August that has captured the creativeness of journey writers, with a number of making options primarily based on its path.

For The New York Times, the place to be is Iceland, the place the nation’s Snæfellsnes Peninsula will host a four-day competition with reside music and talks from astronauts and different consultants. It additionally occurs to be close to the purpose the place the eclipse will linger the longest, with darkness set to final round two minutes.

Spain is another choice for eclipse watching, though editors can’t agree on the place to go – CNN says Aragon, National Geographic has put in an excellent phrase for Basque Country, whereas Travel + Leisure has solid its vote for Asturias.

Each appeals for various causes: Aragon’s Zaragoza has greater than 2,000 years of historical past to discover, and isn’t bursting on the seams with vacationers, Basque Country boasts arty Bilbao and park-filled Vitoria-Gasteiz, and Asturias is named ‘Green Spain’.

Going inexperienced in Guimarães

Recommended by: BBC and National Geographic.

Speaking of going inexperienced, Portugal’s Guimarães is a superb selection for these embracing all issues eco-friendly this 12 months, as it’s the European Green Capital.

Taking over the reins from Vilnius in Lithuania, you possibly can anticipate loads of inexperienced areas in addition to bike lanes, making town straightforward to discover.

Aside from being a sustainability haven, Guimarães is understood for being the birthplace of Portugal, and its city centre is UNESCO-listed.

A literary escape within the UK

Recommended by: CNN and The New York Times

2025 could have been all about Jane Austen because the 250th anniversary of the English creator’s start, however in 2026, a literary legend and a kids’s traditional are taking the highlight.

CNN is marking 50 years since Agatha Christie’s loss of life by recommending a go to to her hometown in Devon. In September, Torquay hosts an annual Agatha Christie Festival, and you may go to her vacation residence Greenway House or her author’s retreat at Burgh Island year-round.

The New York Times is as an alternative celebrating A. A. Milne, 100 years on from the publication of Winnie-the-Pooh. Fans of the beloved teddy bear can go to the Ashdown Forest, the inspiration behind the Hundred Acre Wood, and the Cotchford Farm Inn, the place Milne as soon as lived along with his household.

Embracing the Olympic spirit within the Dolomites

Recommended by: National Geographic and Travel + Leisure.

The Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games are headed for Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo within the Dolomites this February and March, with loads of vacationers flocking to the area in the course of the occasions and after.

If you’re feeling impressed to offer a few of the winter sports activities a go your self, Cortina d’Ampezzo is a part of the Dolomiti Superski, a community of 12 ski areas throughout the area which will be accessed with a single ski cross.

Should the attractive landscapes be what gripped you as an alternative, the summer time months are excellent for hut-to-hut mountaineering treks.