The Covid pandemic has had many negative effects on various aspects of people’s lives. However, one of its positive effects is the growing popularity of off-the-beaten-path destinations, sustainable travel, and natural attractions. Many villages in Europe witnessed an increase in their tourism numbers. Now, we know which of them are the most popular ones.
The influence of social media on tourism worldwide is increasing every day, with people often choosing their destinations based on their popularity on Instagram or other social media platforms.
Uswitch decided to gather all the relevant data on social media and summarize it into a ranking of the most beautiful (or rather most searched) villages in Europe on Instagram and Pinterest.
Oia on Top, Goreme Just Behind
The Greek village Oia was ranked the most beautiful village in Europe (and the world). The village on Santorini is known for its picturesque, white houses and bright blue water. The destination combines a total of over 1.6 million Instagram posts and Pinterest pins.
Turkish village Goreme is just behind Oia with a bit more than 1.1 million posts and pins across the analyzed social media platforms. Goreme is mainly famous for its many churches carved into rocks and famous regular hot air balloon rides.
Hallstatt Third, Two Scottish Villages in top 10
The Austrian village of Hallstatt is in third place with a total of 799,213 social media interactions. This magical village is also a World Heritage Site. It has the highest number of pins out of the top three (4887).
Other European villages in the top 10 include Italy’s Vernazza in fourth place, Furnas on the Azores in the sixth, Greek village Folegrandos in seventh place, Swiss Wengen in eighth and Spain’s Albarracin in tenth place.
Besides Greece, the other European country with two villages in the top 10 is Scotland with Tobermory, located on the Isle of Mull, and Portree on the Isle of Skye.