City breaks are no longer limited only to major cities, as an increasing number of travellers choose to combine the urban experience with short getaways to nearby destinations, archaeological sites, coastal areas, or natural landscapes.
This interest is reflected in the latest study by TUI Musement, a leading provider of tours and activities, which analysed Google search volumes to identify the European cities from which travellers most frequently search for day trips.
At the top of the list is London With more than 260,000 searches related to day trips, followed by Paris (207,600) and Rome (206,800). Athens also appears in the top ten, ranking 10th with 95,700 searches. The list is completed by Barcelona, Florence, Edinburgh, Milan, Dublin, and Lisbon, confirming the strong appeal of cities that offer easy access to iconic nearby destinations.
According to the research, the Greek capital serves as an ideal base for combining cultural tourism with short getaways. Among the most popular day trips from Athens are Delphi, which was considered in ancient times the “center of the world,” as well as Meteora, with its monasteries built atop the imposing rock formations of Thessaly. At the same time, many travellers opt for one-day sea excursions to islands in the Saronic Gulf, such as Hydra and Aegina.
TUI Musement notes that the travel time from Athens to Delphi is approximately 2.5 hours, while a trip to Meteora requires around 4 hours of travel.
At the top of the ranking is London, with the most popular excursions including Stonehenge, Bath, and Windsor Castle.
Paris stands out for excursions to Versailles, Giverny (Claude Monet’s home), and Mont Saint-Michel.
From Rome, travellers mainly choose day trips to Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast, and Tuscany, while from Barcelona popular getaways include the Costa Brava, Montserrat, and Andorra. Florence serves as a gateway to Tuscany, with excursions to Pisa, Siena, San Gimignano, and Chianti.
From Edinburgh, the dominant trips are to the Scottish Highlands and Loch Ness. Milan remains a key starting point for trips to Lake Como, St. Moritz, and the Bernina Express. From Dublin, travellers mainly head to the Cliffs of Moher, the Giant’s Causeway, and the Wicklow Mountains.
The second tier of the ranking includes cities such as Amsterdam, Madrid, Prague, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, and Berlin.
From Amsterdam, particularly popular excursions include the traditional villages of Zaanse Schans and Volendam, as well as the famous tulip gardens of Keukenhof.
Madrid serves as a base for visits to Toledo and Segovia, while from Prague the most common day trips include Kutná Hora and Karlovy Vary.
In Germany, Munich stands out for excursions to the fairytale castle Neuschwanstein Castle and to Salzburg, while from Berlin particularly popular day trips include Potsdam, the Sachsenhausen Memorial, and Dresden.
The ranking is completed with cities such as Seville, Copenhagen, Nice, Porto, Malaga, Venice, Stockholm, Geneva, Naples, Glasgow, Valencia, Bologna, and Manchester.
Among the most popular choices in positions 21–30 are the Douro Valley from Porto, the Caminito del Rey from Malaga, excursions to Murano and Burano from Venice, as well as trips to Mont Blanc from Geneva.
TUI Musement notes that the study examined all European cities with a population of over 150,000, analysing relevant Google search queries in both local languages and English.
