For their vacation, many travelers in Europe have decided on a staycation or to visit places abroad that are easily reachable by ground transportation. Therefore excursions to explore cities and their surrounding areas have become popular. At GetYourGuide, we have analyzed our data and looked at the top locations Berliners, Parisians, and Romans are visiting this summer. We’ve also recognized the trending ones, meaning locations that have gained growing interests from travelers in 2020 vs last year (2019). This study will give you insights and ideas on how to adapt your product in the best way.
While Berliners and Romans are more into exploring their own country or city, Parisians and Madrilenians are happy with taking a ride by car or train to travel to neighbouring countries.
Berliners: Germany is the place to be in summer 2020
Berliners rediscover their backyard, enjoying city cruises on the Spree River and tours in Potsdam, Dresden, and Hamburg.
| Rank | Point Of Interest |
| 1 | Spree River, Berlin |
| 2 | Cecilienhof Palace, Potsdam |
| 3 | Speicherstadt, Hamburg |
| 4 | Wannsee, Potsdam |
| 5 | Museum Island, Berlin |
| 6 | Semperoper, Dresden |
| 7 | Alexanderplatz, Berlin |
| 8 | Madame Tussauds, Berlin |
| 9 | Elbe River, Dresden |
| 10 | Landwehrkanal, Berlin |
The 3 trendiest places visited by Berliners this summer are the Elbe River in Dresden, Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, and the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam. As the car is one of the main means of transportation, Berliners feel confident doing a short trip to neighbouring cities like Dresden or crossing the borders to visit the Netherlands.
| Rank | Point Of Interest | RANK CHANGE in 2020 vs 2019 |
| 1 | Elbe River, Dresden | +71 ranks |
| 2 | Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin | +64 ranks |
| 3 | Heineken Experience, Amsterdam, The Netherlands | +58 ranks |
| 4 | Dresden Frauenkirche, Dresden | +46 ranks |
| 5 | HafenCity, Hamburg | +43 ranks |
| 6 | Semperoper, Dresden | +39 ranks |
| 7 | Hitler’s Bunker, Berlin | +38 ranks |
| 8 | Hamburg Port, Hamburg | +34 ranks |
| 9 | Berlin Wall, Berlin | +30 ranks |
| 10 | Cecilienhof Palace, Potsdam | +29 ranks |
Parisians: “Paris un jour, Paris toujours” or Paris one day, Paris everyday?
Looking at the most popular booked locations by Parisians, we can see that travelers want to stay local and be tourists in their own city: Versailles and cruises on the Seine River are in the top 3 points of interest. Other destinations easily reachable by car or train are also among the favorites, with Mont Saint Michel ranking 3rd and the theme amusement park “Parc Astérix” in the top 5. Corsica, with its sun and beautiful beach landscapes is also in the ranking, most likely thanks to its accessibility via car and ferry.
Despite the pandemic, Parisians are still curious and willing to travel beyond their borders: visits to Rome and its treasures, such as the Vatican City and its museums are also in the top 10.
| Rank | Point Of Interest |
| 1 | Palace of Versailles, Paris |
| 2 | Seine River, Paris |
| 3 | Mont Saint-Michel, France |
| 4 | Parc Asterix, Plailly |
| 5 | Musée d’Orsay, Paris |
| 6 | Vatican City, Rome |
| 7 | Vatican Museums, Rome |
| 8 | Scandola Nature Reserve, Corsica, France |
| 9 | Arc de Triomphe, Paris |
| 10 | Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris |
Analyzing the locations that gained the most interest in 2020 vs last year, we have some surprising results since many places are located abroad. Parisians are still willing to discover sunny destinations such as Greece, Italy, and Spain as well as hopping on a car or train for a short time to Amsterdam. Greece and its islands are easily accessible by car thanks to the ferries connecting France and Italy. Interestingly, French locations like the Montparnasse Tower in Paris and Lyon, are also in the ranking.
| Rank | Point Of Interest | RANK CHANGE in 2020 vs 2019 |
| 1 | Roman Forum, Rome | +70 ranks |
| 2 | Palea Kameni, Greece | +60 ranks |
| 3 | Montparnasse Tower, Paris | +58 ranks |
| 4 | Santorini Volcano, Greece | +49 ranks |
| 5 | Vieux Lyon, Lyon | +48 ranks |
| 6 | Heineken Experience, Amsterdam | +41 ranks |
| 7 | Palatine Hill, Rome | +40 ranks |
| 8 | FC Barcelona Museum/ Camp Nou, Barcelona | +38 ranks |
| 9 | Caminito del Rey, Málaga | +37 ranks |
| 10 | Mont Saint-Michel, France | +30 ranks |
Romans: it’s all about Rome, it’s all about Italy
Romans are clearly discovering their own city this summer since 8 of the top 10 locations are in Rome, from Vatican City to Palatine Hill. Venice and Pompeii are the only other Italian cities in the top 10: city cruises on the Venetian lagoon as well as tours to discover the ancient city of Pompeii are booked a lot.
| Rank | Point Of Interest |
| 1 | Vatican City, Rome |
| 2 | Vatican Museums, Rome |
| 3 | Sistine Chapel, Rome |
| 4 | Colosseum, Rome |
| 5 | Vatican Gardens, Rome |
| 6 | Roman Forum, Rome |
| 7 | St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome |
| 8 | Palatine Hill, Rome |
| 9 | Venetian Lagoon, Venice |
| 10 | Pompeii, Napoli |
When checking the trending locations, we can see that Romans are more interested in discovering outdoors and enjoying fresh air this year. Indeed, the 3 trendiest places visited by Romans this summer are the Vatican Gardens, Ravello — the departure point for boat trips around the Amalfi Coast —, as well as Mount Vesuvius. The volcano is one of the main points of interest for day trips and enables Romans to discover Pompeii along the way.
| Rank | Point Of Interest | RANK CHANGE in 2020 vs 2019 |
| 1 | Vatican Gardens, Rome | +67 ranks |
| 2 | Ravello, Amalfi Coast/ Salerno | +66 ranks |
| 3 | Mount Vesuvius, Napoli | +64 ranks |
| 4 | Hadrian’s Villa, Rome | +48 ranks |
| 5 | Aquarium of Genoa | +44 ranks |
| 6 | Grand Canal, Venice | +41 ranks |
| 7 | Mount Etna, Sicily | +37 ranks |
| 8 | Maddalena Archipelago, Sardinia | +34 ranks |
| 9 | Doge’s Palace, Venice | +30 ranks |
| 10 | Venetian Lagoon, Venice | +19 ranks |
Madrilenians: the ones who go abroad the most
Even if Andalucia is the most popular region to visit and is in the top 3, travelers also booked cruises and tours in Paris and Florence. It is an interesting pattern and constitutes a unique trend in our analysis, as other travelers stick mainly to their own cities when it comes to activities.
| Rank | Point Of Interest |
| 1 | Alhambra and Generalife, Granada |
| 2 | Caminito del Rey, Málaga |
| 3 | Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, Córdoba |
| 4 | Seine River, Paris |
| 5 | Vatican City, Rome |
| 6 | Montparnasse Tower, Paris |
| 7 | Florence Cathedral, Florence |
| 8 | Nasrid Palaces, Granada |
| 9 | Vatican Museums, Rome |
| 10 | Santorini Volcano, Greece |
Looking at the activities that have gained the most interest in 2020 vs 2019, travelers from Madrid are really curious about visiting the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia. Otherwise, the trending locations are pretty diverse and are mainly in Italy. It’s interesting to see the growth of locations like Lobos Island and Mount Teide in Spain as well as Ponta da Piedade, which are easily accessible by car.
| Rank | Point Of Interest | RANK CHANGE in 2020 vs 2019 |
| 1 | Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Madrid | +71 ranks |
| 2 | Nasrid Palaces, Granada | +67 ranks |
| 3 | Michelangelo’s David, Florence | +58 ranks |
| 4 | Neuschwanstein Castle, Schwangau, Germany | +56 ranks |
| 5 | Doge’s Palace, Venice | +55 ranks |
| 6 | Lobos Island, Spain | +50 ranks |
| 7 | Palatine Hill, Rome | +41 ranks |
| 8 | Mount Teide, Canary Islands, Spain | +32 ranks |
| 9 | Ponta da Piedade, Lagos, Portugal | +30 ranks |
| 10 | Roman Forum, Rome | +29 ranks |
To continue learning about travel trends and adapt your product to the current demand, read our tips to cater to the current traveler’s mindset and check regularly our Demand Recovery Index to know how your market is doing.
