Best of · Europe
The 16 Most Beautiful Places in Europe
16 places · every one real, mapped, and worth the trip
Europe packs an astonishing range of natural beauty into a small, well-connected continent — deep fjords and glacier lagoons in the north, jagged alpine peaks in the middle, and sun-warmed volcanic coasts in the south, most of them reachable on public transport or a short drive.
This is our editors' pick of the most beautiful natural places on the continent, loosely ordered by the strength of the spectacle rather than any single measure. Every one is a real, mapped place with an honest guide to reaching it and the season it looks its best.
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Geirangerfjord The great fjord
Sunnmøre, Western Norway
The most photographed of Norway's fjords — sheer green walls, waterfalls spilling straight into deep blue water, and farmsteads clinging impossibly to the cliffs.
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The Matterhorn The perfect peak
Zermatt, Valais — Swiss/Italian border
A lone, near-perfect pyramid of rock above Zermatt, so iconic it became the symbol of the Alps themselves.
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Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon Glacier lagoon
Vatnajökull National Park, Southeast Iceland
Icebergs calved from a glacier drift across a still lagoon toward a black-sand beach where they wash up like scattered diamonds.
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Plitvice Lakes
Lika, central Croatia
A staircase of sixteen terraced lakes in Croatia, linked by waterfalls and boardwalks, the water an almost unreal turquoise over pale travertine.
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Durmitor & the Tara Canyon Europe's deepest canyon
Durmitor National Park, northern Montenegro
The Tara has cut roughly 1,300 metres down through the limestone plateau of northern Montenegro over some 80 kilometres.
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The Dolomites
South Tyrol / Trentino / Veneto, Northern Italy
Pale limestone towers across northern Italy that glow pink and gold at sunset — the most sculptural mountains in Europe.
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Lofoten Islands
Nordland, Arctic Norway
Sharp granite peaks rising straight from the Arctic sea above red fishing cabins and white-sand beaches, lit by the midnight sun or the aurora.
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Lake Bled
Upper Carniola, Slovenia
A glacial lake with a church on a tiny island and a clifftop castle above, ringed by the Julian Alps — the postcard of Slovenia.
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Cliffs of Moher
County Clare, western Ireland
A wall of dark sea cliffs falling 200 metres into the Atlantic on Ireland's west coast, alive with seabirds and Atlantic weather.
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Santorini Caldera
Cyclades, Aegean Sea, Greece
White villages spilling down the rim of a drowned volcanic crater in the Aegean, above cliffs banded red, black, and white.
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Meteora
Thessaly, central Greece
Byzantine monasteries perched atop sheer sandstone pillars in central Greece, seeming to float above the plain at dawn.
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Aletsch Glacier
Valais, Switzerland
The largest glacier in the Alps, a vast river of ice curving between Swiss peaks and best seen from the viewpoints above it.
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Trolltunga
Vestland, western Norway
A thin tongue of rock jutting out over a Norwegian fjord-lake, the reward at the end of one of the country's great day hikes.
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Skógafoss
Skógar, South Iceland
A broad, thundering curtain of water on Iceland's south coast that you can walk right up to — and climb the stairs beside for the view from the top.
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Lake Como
Lombardy, northern Italy
A slender, mountain-walled lake in northern Italy, its shores lined with villas, gardens, and old lakeside towns beneath the Alps.
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Isle of Skye
Inner Hebrides, Scotland
The most dramatic of Scotland's islands — pinnacled ridges, sea cliffs, and green glens under fast-moving Highland light.
Europe's beauty is famously seasonal: the north is at its best in the long light of summer (or clear winter nights for the aurora), while the alpine and Mediterranean spots reward the shoulder months when the crowds thin. Each guide notes the best window and how to reach it.
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