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Portugal was voted “Best Destination in Europe” at this year’s World Travel Awards. The country regained the honour it lost to Greece last year, which it has won six times since 2017.
This year, Portugal stood out from a list of nominees that included 12 European territories: Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey.
Pedro Machado, Secretary of State for Tourism, Trade and Services, said this distinction “reflects the work, dedication and quality of all the professionals who, on a daily basis, make tourism one of the main pillars of our economy”, in a note published on the Turismo de Portugal website.
In the same statement, the president of Turismo de Portugal, Carlos Abade, also said that “this award demonstrates Portugal’s great capacity to assert itself as one of the best tourist destinations in Europe”, adding that it represents “the consolidation of a prominent position that the country has been building up in a sustained manner”.
This was the 32nd edition of the World Travel Awards, with the awards ceremony taking place on Wednesday in Sardinia, Italy.
Madeira, Lisbon and Porto were also in the spotlight
Several national regions were also recognised at the2025 World Travel Awards.This included Madeira, which won the title of “Best Island Destination in Europe”, Porto, which topped the category of best urban destinations on the continent, and Lisbon, designated as the place to consider for city breaks.
Also in southern Europe, Huesca La Magia, in Spain, won in the category of best destination for adventure tourism, “dethroning” the Azores, which won the award last year. Costa Navarino, in Greece, was nominated as the place not to forget for beach holidays on the continent.
The coastal town of Batumi, one of Georgia’s pearls, was considered the best place to visit in “all seasons” of the year. In Croatia, Dubrovnik was once again named “leading cruise destination”, as in the previous two editions.
France, meanwhile, won the award for Europe’s”Best Cultural Destination” for 2025, with the Greek capital, Athens, emerging as the best city in this category.
The title of the continent’s most outstanding “emerging tourist destination” went to the region of East Macedonia and Thrace in Greece.
