Florence has been named Europe’s high metropolis in Journey + Leisure’s 2025 World’s Greatest Awards, a reader-voted survey that highlights travellers’ favorite locations across the globe.
The Tuscan capital got here in eleventh total, the highest-ranking European metropolis on this yr’s record. The highest spot globally went to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, adopted by Oaxaca and Tokyo.
Whereas the general high 10 was dominated by cities in Latin America and Asia, a number of European cities rounded out the record, all favoured by readers on the lookout for tradition, meals and historic appeal.
Italy stands out with three cities on the record
The rankings are primarily based on almost 180,000 reader responses. Cities had been rated throughout six classes: sights and landmarks, tradition, meals, friendliness, buying and worth.
Italy was the one European nation with three cities within the high 25: Florence (11), Rome (18) and Siena (23). All earned reward for his or her timeless magnificence, nice meals and tradition, from centuries-old cathedrals and trattorias to cobblestoned streets stuffed with native life.
The outcomes observe with tourism information: Italy was the fourth most-visited nation on the earth in 2024, drawing greater than 71 million worldwide guests.
Florence continues to enchant travellers with its intimate scale, world-renowned artwork and sunlit piazzas. From the Uffizi Gallery’s Botticellis to Florence Cathedral’s terracotta dome, the Tuscan capital provides a walking-distance feast of masterpieces. Its rustic eating places – many family-run for generations – add to the timeless environment.
Rome, in the meantime, provides one thing few cities can match: layers of dwelling historical past. The Everlasting Metropolis’s mix of historic ruins and street-level spontaneity earned excessive marks from readers. This yr’s Jubilee, an event that brings collectively Catholics from all over the world each 25 years, can also be happening within the wake of Pope Francis’ passing in April.
After which there’s the well-preserved Tuscan metropolis of Siena. A UNESCO World Heritage website since 1995, the Twelfth-century metropolis rises from rolling hills, with its medieval brick buildings and Gothic towers a right away draw. Its energetic eating places and famed Piazza del Campo, the place the Palio horse race unfolds twice every summer time, set the tempo for a metropolis that appears like a welcome step again to a bygone period.
Spain and Türkiye additionally make sturdy showings
Spain noticed two of its Andalusian cities land simply behind Florence: Seville in Twelfth place and Granada in thirteenth. Each had been recognised for his or her historic heritage and atmospheric previous cities. Istanbul, bridging Europe and Asia, adopted in 14th place.
Seville is pure southern Spanish appeal, full with flamenco echoing out by winding cobblestoned streets, vibrant nightlife and grand heritage websites.
Granada, mendacity on the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, casts a quieter picture, however it’s no much less magical. The Alhambra – the hilltop fortress crammed with fountains, gardens and complicated Islamic structure – stays certainly one of Europe’s most awe-inspiring websites. However the metropolis’s attraction additionally lies in its slim alleys and generations-old tapas bars.
In the meantime, Istanbul’s full-flavoured meals, unbelievable historical past and placement on the assembly level of two continents make it one of many world’s most fun cities.
France misses out
One nation was noticeably absent from the record.
Regardless of being the world’s most visited nation – drawing over 100 million vacationers yearly – France didn’t have a single metropolis on this yr’s high 25.
Whereas France stays perennially fashionable, the absence might replicate shifting preferences among the many journal’s predominantly American readership.
Smaller, slower cities with higher perceived worth – and maybe fewer points with overtourism – seem to have gained floor over bigger locations resembling Paris. The ultimate European vacation spot to make the lower – Portugal’s Porto in twenty fourth – displays this variation, too, even when its tourism business is beginning to surge.
The takeaway is perhaps that in a post-pandemic period formed by worth, authenticity and ease, even journey’s perennial favourites aren’t assured a spot on the high.
