Riga has achieved its highest position to date in one of Europe’s most influential winter tourism rankings — European Best Christmas Markets 2025–2026, securing 3rd place and strengthening its status as the Christmas capital of the Baltics. A total of 803,258 travellers from 179 countries participated in the competition.
“European Best Christmas Markets” is Europe’s most popular Christmas travel ranking, attracting more than 8 million annual visitors, and its voting results are widely featured by Forbes, Condé Nast Traveler, National Geographic, and other global media outlets.
The top ten cities receive dedicated international promotion reaching more than 420 million travellers.
This year, Riga received 72,804 votes — more than 20,000 votes above last year — allowing it to surpass major European cities such as Vienna, Paris, Madrid, and Edinburgh. Riga ranked just behind Zurich, while the first place went to the Romanian city of Craiova.
More information is available at europeanbestdestinations.com.
