Can you make a list of most visited countries in the world at this time of year? Yes, more than anything because they are usually the same. Still no country has given, as they say, the bump, surprising us.
Today, technologies do their thing and the popularity of destinations no longer falls only on specialized magazines or agencies, but on travelers and tasters, true flaneures of the XNUMXst century. Let's see then, the most visited countries in the world.
France
As always, France tops the list of the most visited countries in the world with almost 48 and a half million visitors per year. Who can deny this European country the crown and the scepter? In terms of tastes in history and western cuisine, France seems to beat Italy or Spain.
Paris It is the capital of fashion, of love, of good food. It's always elegant, it always has something to do, and if you don't rent a public bike and go pedaling through its little streets and parks. The Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysees, the beautiful Sacré-Coer basilica, the Louvre Museum, the Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Orsay Museum, the modern Montparnasse Tower, the Pantheon, the Parisian catacombs, the Tuileries Gardens , Versailles, the Latin Quarter, a cruise on the Seine...
I think Notre Dame, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower are unquestionably on the list. You can't go to Paris and not go through here. On the outskirts you can include Versailles, obviously. The castles of the Loire, the French Riviera, Marseille...
Mexico
In North America, Mexico leads the list of most visited Latin American countries with 31.9 million visitors per year. Mexico City it is the entrance door and you must visit it, its museums, the Zócalo and its restaurants (always boiling the water because otherwise your trip will be ruined with a good diarrhea). The Xochimilco Gardens are also a World Heritage Site and it is great to spend a couple of hours on colorful boats.
La Yucatan peninsula is a museum under the sky with the cobá ruins, the Chichen Itza pyramid and the city of Valladolid. Chichen Itza It is a World Heritage Site since 1988: there is the Kukulkan Pyramid, with 24 meters high, the Temple of the Warriors, El Caracol, Uxmal, the cenotes...
Also Tulum, just 128 kilometers from Cancun, in Quintana Roo, the town of Chiapas, with Palenque and its landscapes, the Cacahuamilpa Caves with more than two kilometers deep full of stalactitats and stalgtites... It is also Calakmul, in the middle of the jungle on the border with Guatemala, Izamal, the city of three cultures, the Tolatongo Caves and the beautiful island of Holbox.
Regarding the city, it is San Cristobal de las Casas and San Miguel de Allende. The colonial treasure par excellence? Guanajato, with a historic center that is World Heritage.
Spain
Spain fights head to head with Mexico as it is visited by 31.2 million people a year. Here we have ancient and medieval history, art and a lot of gastronomy, so any list will be tainted with subjectivism.
But well, I think you will agree that the Royal Alcazares of Seville they are a beautiful treasure. The construction was carried out under the caliphate of Abd al-Rahman III and after the Christian reconquest the style changed a bit.
They have held up wonderfully without losing beauty. Of the Reales Alcazares you cannot miss the Mudejar Palace, the gardens with their galleries and ponds, and the Puerta del León. Also in Seville is the Maris Luisa Park, with the brick and ceramic semicircle 200 meters in diameter with its towers, galleries and ponds to walk around.
En Palma, MajorcaThe cathedral is an elegant and beautiful building, in the Gothic style. It is built on the walls of the old town and over time has had a few modifications. Gaudà made a very large one at the beginning of the XNUMXth century and already in the XNUMXst century they carried the signature of Miquel Barceló. You walk through the terraces of the cathedral and you can sign up for a guided tour.
In the capital, Madrid, you can not miss a walk through the Paseo del Prado and the Retiro, the Landscape of Light. There are 190 green hectares where you can also see some of the largest art galleries in the city, monuments, hotels and palaces. To say, the The Prado Museum, the Reina SofÃa, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the Plaza de Cibeles, the Carlos V roundabout, the Casa de América, the Naval Museum...
El Madrid's Royal Palace It is also a charming place, the largest palace in Western Europe, the residence of kings from Carlos III to Alfonso XIII. You can attend the changing of the guard, walk through the Throne Room or see what workshops are on offer to do with family or friends.
En Barcelona, one of the most popular and visited cities in Spain, the gaudi legacy It is one of its great attractions. He Passeig de Gracia It is one of his most beautiful and most recognized works, a World Heritage Site. You must go and see it, the same as Casa Batlló or the new spaces that bear the signature of the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma.
La Sagrada Familia Cathedral It is one of the most visited temples in Europe, under construction for more than 140 years. There are guided tours and you can climb one of the towers, 18 in total. there is also the Monastery of Montserrat, Just 50 kilometers away, with the church and its natural park full of granite masses, ideal for going on excursions.
Another temple is the beautiful Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, a mecca for pilgrims from all over the world. There are day and night visits, you can walk through its roofs, enter the museum or see the botafumeiro fly. Do you like mosques? You can get closer to know the Mosque of Cordoba, a wonder of Islamic architecture, a World Heritage Site. It is the second largest mosque in the world behind Mecca. It is best to visit at night and walk calmly through the great el Courtyard of the orange treess ...
Our list continues with The Alhambra, in Granada, the Burgos Cathedral, the Segovia Aqueduct, the Pilar Basilica, in Zaragoza or the landscapes of Teide, in Tenerife.
Türkiye
Today Turkey is in fashion and the number of tours offered around the world to get to know this country between Europe and Asia is incredible. Here you can not ignore the wonders of Istanbul, with its Grand Bazaar, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace.
It follows Cappadocia and a balloon ride pamakkale, a World Heritage Site, with white pools 160 meters high, the Mount nemrut At 21500 meters of altitude, with its giant heads, burial mound of King Antiochus I from the year 62 BC.
It follows Ephesus, a World Heritage Site, with its splendid Greek ruins; the Lycian tombs of Myra, XNUMXth century BC; aspendon and its ancient theater, Antalya, coastal city with beautiful beaches, Pergamon, ancient greek city, Aphrodisias and Greek ruins listed as a World Heritage Site.
Italy
Last but sure. Italy cannot be missing in any way from this list of most visited countries in the world. What to visit in Italy? Well Rome and all its treasures, ancient and medieval. The so-called Eternal City has everything to offer at any time of the year.
Cinque Terre It is the small group of charming coastal towns, between olive trees and cliffs. La Toscana, in the center of Italy, is a must with destinations such as Siena or Florence. to the north is Venice, World Heritage. Sicilia It is located in the south of the country and has great archaeological wealth in Syracuse, Mount Etna or Taormina.
La Amalfi Coast, on the Tyrrhenian Sea, is another charming destination that is ideal for driving. He Lake Como it is elegant and stately, with the towns of Bellagio or Varenna on its shores. Milan It is not far behind as the capital of Italian fashion and industrial center.
For an unforgettable summer is Sardinia. For the fun chaos is Nápoles, in the shadow of Vesuvius, with the fantasies Herculaneum and Pompeii ruins near.
In this list of most visited countries in the world We have run out of space, but the list continues with the United States, Greece, Austria, Germany and the United Arab Emirates. This list belongs to World Tourism Organization, in his publication World Tourism Barometer, based on 917 million international tourists who traveled the world in 2022.