The Portuguese city of Braga has been voted as the 2021 European Best Destination by travellers from around the world, pipping Paris, Florence and Vienna to the top prize.
European Best Destinations, an annual competition established in 2009, promotes culture and tourism in Europe to millions of travellers and tourism professionals around the world.
This year organisers asked one simple question to identify the winner: ‘Where would you like to go on holiday in Europe as soon as it is safe to travel?’. This question was answered by more than 600,000 travellers from 192 countries around the world, including votes from UK, Brazil, USA, China and the Vatican, with Braga sealing the top prize following 109,902 of the total votes.
‘I voted twice, both times for Braga. Sameiro and Bom Jesus are unique places in the world. Anyone who has seen this once will remember it all their life. I’m sure it hasn’t changed and I will go back once we get vaccinated. It’s scheduled for March (the vaccination) for me and my husband.’ Elizabeth M, Wales
Located in the north of Portugal, Braga continues to grow as one of Europe’s leading tourist destination, having previously landed second place in 2019.
European Best Destinations also recognised Braga to be one of the continent’s ‘happiest places’ as well as being an ideal location for investment.
