Rīga was named Europe’s second-best destination for the year by an organization called European Best Destinations. It is a Brussels-based travel website that promotes high-end tourism in collaboration with member local tourism authorities and then seeks widespread media coverage for its affiliated destinations.
Rīga was named behind the tax-exile playground Monaco which secured first place. Rounding out the top three is Dubrovnik. You can find the full list here and a downloadable document giving some details here.
European Best Destinations was effusive in its praise for Rīga, calling it “Europe’s Hottest City Break of 2025 – Where History, Culture and Modern Vibes Collide.”
According to European Best Destintions, “this prestigious ranking reflects the votes of over 1.2 million travelers from 158 countries, highlighting the most captivating places for unforgettable European travel experiences.” It also said “Riga has been voted the 2nd Best Destination in Europe for 2025 by worldwide travelers!”
According to its press materials, 52% of votes come from Europe and 48% from international travellers – mainly the USA (28%) and the UK (21%). Monaco managed to secure top spot with 115,891 votes and Rīga attracted 104,022 votes – though precisely how these votes were gathered and from whom they came is not specified.
LSM asked European Best Destinations to explain who actually voted, when and how. They replied with this explanation.
“In total, our survey covers more than 60 different thematic rankings, which are published throughout the year. We typically begin the year by revealing the Best Destinations in Europe ranking, where Riga was voted 2nd Best Destination for 2025.
To ensure fairness and highlight international travel preferences, travelers cannot vote for a destination within their own country. This rule allows us to reflect genuine global travel trends rather than local popularity contests. Basically travelers vote to a place they want to visit, not sure that they have visited but mostly that they want to visit, this also explain why we can have more popular place less well ranked, but Lisbon, Budapest or Ljubljana, Marbella or Porto won this title and are very popular too and have been top voted since 2009.
“Regarding voter demographics, our panel consists of a majority of travelers from the United States and the United Kingdom On certain competitions, we also see high engagement from specific regions depending on the theme of the ranking.
“Travelers choose which thematic rankings they participate in, voting in some categories while skipping others… Additionally, to engage our audience and encourage participation, we often organize travel giveaways to the winning destinations. Naturally, this means that travelers tend to vote for destinations where they would genuinely like to go on vacation.
“These surveys are conducted with a panel of travelers whose preferences we have been gathering for over 15 years, allowing us to reflect global travel trends and highlight destinations that truly resonate with international audiences. Surveys are conduced by a private company. This is a pro and public recognition as the first selection is made by tourist professionals even and the final decision is that of travelers.”
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