At this point in January, the dreary weather is likely getting the better of you. You\u2019ve already given up on your New Year\u2019s resolutions, the Christmas cheese and chocolate are long gone, and you\u2019re in desperate need of something to look forward to.<\/p>\n
An obvious choice would be to book a flight. But if you search for \u2018where to go in Europe in 2026\u2019, you\u2019re going to be bombarded with options from every travel publication under the sun (including Euronews Travel, with our round-ups of destination dupes<\/strong><\/a> and museum openings and food festivals worth travelling for<\/strong><\/a>).<\/p>\n While no two lists are the same, there is some crossover \u2013 including one Finnish destination that was recommended by six of the 10 major travel publications we consulted.<\/p>\n To help you cut through the noise, we\u2019ve put together the destinations that keep being mentioned again and again to decide the places that really are a must-visit over the next 12 months. <\/p>\n A cultural break in Oulu<\/p>\n Recommended by:<\/strong> Afar, BBC, CNN, Cond\u00e9 Nast Traveller, National Geographic, Travel + Leisure. <\/p>\n The European destination that most commonly came up for 2026 was Finland\u2019s Oulu. <\/p>\n Found on Norway\u2019s northwestern coast on the Bay of Bothnia, nearly 650 kilometres north of Helsinki, the city is already a popular destination for seeing the Northern Lights and embracing the country\u2019s sauna culture<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n There\u2019s one big reason for making your trip this year, though: Oulu is the European Capital of Culture for 2026. <\/p>\n The year-long programme<\/strong> <\/a>includes the debut of Ovll\u00e1, an opera about the oppression of the S\u00e1mi<\/strong><\/a>, Europe\u2019s only Indigenous peoples, the Climate Clock public art trail, and the Arctic Food Lab which will showcase the unique food culture of the region.<\/p>\n Lonely Planet also recommended visiting Oulu, although it was part of a wider recommendation for Finland as a whole. <\/p>\n Set-jetting in Greece and Sicily<\/p>\n Recommended by:<\/strong> Cond\u00e9 Nast Traveller and Time Out. <\/p>\n Set-jetting<\/strong><\/a>, aka visiting a destination after being inspired by a film or TV show, hit the big time in 2025, with travellers scrambling to visit places from viral sensations like The White Lotus and Bridgerton.<\/p>\n So it\u2019s perhaps little wonder that one of the biggest releases of the year, The Odyssey, is behind some of the best places to visit in Europe in 2026.<\/p>\n The Christopher Nolan adaptation of Homer\u2019s ancient Greek epic is set to be just that, with a star-studded cast including Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson, and filming locations across the globe.<\/p>\n For Cond\u00e9 Nast Traveller\u2019s editorial team, it was the Peloponnese peninsula that drew their eye, where you can visit Nestor\u2019s Cave, where Odysseus takes on the Cyclops, and Pylos, where Telemachus visits King Nestor.<\/p>\n Sicily\u2019s Favignana, an island where Odysseus is said to have stopped for provisions ahead of his confrontation with the Cyclops, is where Time Out\u2019s travel team have suggested visiting instead. Just as long as you get there before the movie comes out, and the masses catch on.<\/p>\n Stalking the path of the eclipse<\/p>\n