Portugal at the top of world tourism: Porto is Europe’s Best City Destination (and beat Amsterdam and Barcelona)

The ‘Oscars of Tourism’ distinguished Invicta as the Best City Destination in Europe. Portugal was also voted Europe’s Best Destination in 2025.

Known for its centuries-old history, the breathtaking landscape that joins river and sea, and excellent gastronomy, Porto never ceases to fill its inhabitants with pride and visitors with passion. That’s why it’s not surprising that international awards are multiplying . This time, Invicta was named Europe’s Best City Destination.

Porto was recently awarded this title at the World Travel Awards 2025, known as the “Oscars of Tourism”, which took place at the end of October in Sardinia, Italy. The city had already won in this category in 2022, and has now repeated the feat.

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Invicta was ahead of leading tourist destinations such as Amsterdam (Netherlands), Barcelona (Spain), Berlin (Germany), Dubrovnik (Croatia), Rome (Italy) and London (United Kingdom), among others. The award for Best City Destination in Europe is in addition to other recent awards, such as Best Metropolitan Seaside Destination (2024) and Best European Urban Getaway Destination (2023).

The Municipality of Porto considers that this recognition highlights the quality and diversity of the city as a tourist destination, as well as rewarding the excellence of the tourist resources, the experiences available in the city, its scenic beauty and heritage and the hospitality of its people,” reads the Porto City Council news portal.

Portugal shines at the World Travel Awards

However, it’s not just Porto that shines across borders, as Portugal has won more than 30 awards at the World Travel Awards, including, for example:

• “Best City Break Destination in Europe”, a distinction awarded for the sixth time to Lisbon, considered one of the best cities for short getaways
• Portugal was voted “Best Destination in Europe” for 2025
• Madeira was considered the “Best Island Destination in Europe”, among other categories.

Founded in 1993, the World Travel Awards are known as the ‘Oscars of Tourism’ for distinguishing quality and excellence in the tourism sector, among destinations, operators, airlines and other entities.