Forget France And Italy, This European Destination Is More Popular In 2026 So Far

In 2024, when Paris hosted the Summer Olympics for the first time in a hundred years, France also received about a hundred million visitors, making it the world's most-visited country. Italy was almost as popular as France among U.S. travelers, who made over half a million departures there in the first quarter of 2025 alone, according to the International Trade Administration. For Americans, these may be the top two destinations in the European Union, but for the rest of the world, Spain surpasses Italy as the second most-visited country. It logged a record 96.8 million foreign visitors in 2025, and a recent travel report indicates that it's the top trending summer destination globally in 2026 so far.

The 42-page report, released in June 2026, comes from the international travel eSIM provider, Holafly. It's not the first time Spain has ranked as the #1 destination among countries worldwide, since it held the top spot in the company's summer 2025 travel report, too. Meanwhile, Spain's two biggest cities, Barcelona and Madrid, came in at #10 and #16, respectively, on the list of city mentions this year. The former was a big draw for Europeans on city breaks (short urban holidays), and the latter was a strong pull for Latin Americans thanks to "linguistic and cultural ties," per the report.

These determinations were made based on people's travel intent, with Holafly gauging that through a "preseason survey of 3,048 travellers across multiple markets, conducted in May 2026." Instead of relying on its own user data, the company outsourced the recruitment of survey respondents to the independent research platform, Prolific. This was done, it says, to reach a consensus that "eliminates self-selection bias and produces findings representative of the broader travelling population rather than any provider's existing user base."

On Spain's Mediterranean coast, beach towns like Benidorm in the Alicante province can find themselves accommodating five times the local population when summer hits. Apart from the usual influx of summer tourists across coastal destinations, the completion of Sagrada Familia's main church tower in Barcelona may be one reason why travel interest in Spain remains high this year. Barcelona is already Spain's most popular destination for international visitors, with the city bringing in 13.4 million of them in 2025. For its part, Holafly's 2026 report doesn't delve much into the specifics of Spain's appeal, but its 2025 report mentions, "Barcelona's blend of [Antoni] Gaudí's architecture, Mediterranean beaches, and cosmopolitan energy stood out."

After taking over as architect and infusing it with a mix of styles, including Gothic and Byzantine, Gaudí only lived to see the first of Sagrada Familia's 18 towers completed. On the 100th anniversary of his death in June 2026, Pope Leo XIV was on hand in Barcelona to bless the basilica, which is now the world's tallest church. It's been under construction since 1882, but it was only in 2010 that it opened to the public. This, coupled with the construction progress, might give it a fresh fascination for some visitors, though it's just one of seven Gaudí works to achieve UNESCO World Heritage status.

That said, limiting yourself to Gaudí landmarks is one of the things tourists should never do when visiting Barcelona. You can also explore the cobblestone alleys of the city's medieval Gothic Quarter, or immerse yourself in stained-glass windows and mosaic columns at another World Heritage site, the Palace of Catalan Music. For the 1992 Summer Olympics, Barcelona imported 2 miles' worth of Egyptian sand, creating beaches like Playa de la Barceloneta, where you can soak up some of that Mediterranean sun.

Over 100,000 travelers voted to make Madrid number one on the European Best Destinations 2026 list. Spain's vibrant capital received recognition for its museum corridor, the Landscape of Light, where the Museo Prado, Reina Sofía, and Thyssen-Bornemisza meet. To experience Madrid as "the birthplace of the tablao flamenco," as the list calls it, head to venues like the 1911, which bills its flamenco show as the world's oldest. With Essential Flamenco, you can see the dancing and music performed up close in a brick cave.

In Tripadvisor's Summer Travel Index 2026, Spain also dominated the top 10 trending European destinations for British travelers, based on year-over-year growth. The port cities of Alicante and Malaga, the beach resort area Playa de Palma, and the coastal town of Sitges all ranked on that list. Something to consider before a trip to any of these places, however, is that Spain's popularity has been a double-edged sword, leading to overtourism problems. In recent years, it's sparked anti-tourism demonstrations, with protesters putting up "Tourist Go Home" signs and using water guns to squirt visitors. Cooling off, with or without water guns, might be a necessity while Spain endures a record-breaking summer heatwave in 2026.

Against this backdrop, the Spanish government has stepped in to help ease the burden of overtourism on locals, who are seeing it exacerbate their own housing crisis. In 2025, Barcelona's city council began developing a planned "selfie zone" outside the church to prevent wayward tourists from participating in a dangerous TikTok trend when visiting Sagrada Familia. The city doubled its tourist tax in April 2026, meaning hotel guests will now have to pay as much as $17.60 more per night. In addition, Barcelona, Madrid, Alicante, and Malaga have all placed restrictions on holiday lets, the kind of short-term vacation property rentals provided by Airbnb. Going forward, this could make it harder to find accommodations when visiting Spain.