Europe has never been busier. Spain hosted international visitors for nearly 330 million nights in 2025, easily beating Italy, which was next with just under 265 million.[1] Those totals hide the real story, which is how unevenly the crowds spread.
A handful of cities, islands and villages absorb most of the pressure, and residents are increasingly vocal about it. Here are ten places where the strain is easiest to see, with the latest figures and the measures each one has tried.
Venice, Italy: The Day Tripper Fee Experiment
Venice introduced its day tripper access fee in 2024 as the first initiative of its kind in a major historic city.[2] In 2026 it applied on 60 days between April 3 and July 26, and more than 650,000 paid entry vouchers were issued[2]. The fee generated more than €5 million.[2] Visitors pay €5 when booking at least four days ahead and €10 for late bookings[3].
The early results are mixed. Provisional municipal data show an average of 11,326 tickets sold per charging day in 2026, a decline of about a third compared with 2024.[4] Days with at least 20,000 paid entries fell from four in 2024 to just one in 2026.[4] Still, activists, housing advocates and opposition politicians say the fee does too little to ease crowding[5], and officials are discussing a rise to as much as €30, though nothing has been approved[6].
Barcelona, Spain: Record Visitors and a Doubled Tax
Barcelona city welcomed 16 million visitors in 2025, nearly three percent more than in 2024.[7] Count the surrounding region too, and the wider destination ended the year with 26.1 million visitors[7]. The airport also set a mark, handling more than 57 million passengers, a record[8].
The city has responded through its wallet. Tourist taxes doubled from April 1, so travelers can now pay up to €12 per person per night depending on where they stay.[9] The city surcharge is also set to rise every year until 2029.[10] Cruise passengers are in the frame as well, with Barcelona seeking the maximum tax of €24 on cruise visitors who stay under 12 hours[11].
Amsterdam, Netherlands: Far Above Its Own Limit
Few cities have set a cap as openly as Amsterdam. The city recorded 23.7 million tourist overnight stays in 2025, again passing its own limit of 20 million.[12] That was about 800,000 more than in 2024.[12]
The city has not been idle. According to a city presentation from 2025, the tourist tax rose to 12.5 percent per night[13], and the number of river cruises allowed into the city was halved, from 2,300 to 1,150[13]. In 2026, reports say annual private home sharing allowances were cut from 30 nights to 15 across eight central neighbourhoods[14]. Meanwhile, city planners projected in May 2026 that overnight stays could reach between 25 million and 29.4 million by 2028[14], and residents have filed a lawsuit against the city council over overtourism[15].
Dubrovnik, Croatia: A Walled City Under Pressure
Dubrovnik is a UNESCO World Heritage site on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast, and it’s often cited as a textbook case of overtourism. Reports indicate visitors have reached more than 36 tourists per local annually.[16] The medieval walls and Old Town now face heavy footfall all year.[16]
Cruise ships are a big part of the picture. They have contributed to spikes in day trippers who arrive in large numbers but don’t necessarily contribute much to the local economy.[16] The wider country is busy too. Eurostat figures reported by Euronews put Croatia in the top ten of European nations for visitor nights in 2025, with more than 85 million visitors thanks largely to its Adriatic coast[1].
The Canary Islands, Spain: Still on the No List
Fodor’s publishes an annual No List of places to reconsider. Of five European places named in 2025, only one remained for 2026.[17] That was the Canary Islands.[17] The archipelago was the third most popular spot for visitors to Spain[17].
The numbers explain why. Canary Islands Tourism reported 1.23 million visitors in August 2025, 6 percent higher than the year before and the highest figure ever in any month.[17] Ten million foreigners visited in the first half of the year.[17] Tenerife, the largest island, regularly appears on lists of busy summer destinations[18].
Mallorca, Spain: Beaches, Housing and Water
Mallorca sat on Fodor’s 2025 No List of places where locals don’t want you to go[17]. It isn’t on the 2026 edition, but that doesn’t mean the problems have magically gone away[17]. Fodor’s simply shifted its spotlight elsewhere.
A 2026 industry overview of Spain lists Mallorca alongside Barcelona, Ibiza and the Canaries, citing housing affordability, holiday rentals, congestion, water pressure and resident protests[19]. The national backdrop is hard to ignore. Spain peaked at a new record of 96.8 million tourist visits in 2025, according to the National Statistics Institute.[10] That’s a lot of towels on a lot of sand.
Lisbon, Portugal: A Favorite Gets Flagged
Lisbon was another name on Fodor’s 2025 No List[17], alongside Barcelona, Mallorca, the Canary Islands and Venice. It dropped off the 2026 version, though Fodor’s own commentary is clear that leaving the list doesn’t mean the issues have been cured[17].
Portugal as a whole still appears in current assessments. One 2026 overview names it among the countries facing overtourism concerns, along with Spain, Italy, Greece, Croatia, France and the Netherlands[19]. City level visitor counts differ by source, so the clearest signal here is the pressure on neighbourhoods and housing rather than a single headline total.
Santorini, Greece: One Postcard, Millions of Cameras
Santorini is a steady fixture on summer crowding lists. A 2026 roundup pointed to sunny islands like Tenerife and Santorini[18] as places that would be particularly busy. Greece overall is firmly in the top ten, with more than 130 million international visitor nights[1].
Cruise arrivals are a particular concern on the island’s small caldera towns. In 2025, Greece began charging a levy on cruise passengers at Santorini and Mykonos, with higher rates in peak season. Industry coverage also notes that the country is working to protect its natural environment from overuse, as popular islands and coastal zones see increasing pressure[20].
The Amalfi Coast, Italy: One Road, Thousands of Visitors
The Amalfi Coast squeezes a huge appeal into a narrow strip. One 2026 overview estimates more than 10,000 daily visitors along a 50 kilometre stretch[21]. It’s also routinely named with Hallstatt among the picturesque towns that get particularly busy[18].
Italy’s wider numbers help explain the squeeze. The country ranks second in Europe, with just under 265 million international visitor nights in 2025[1]. Industry coverage describes Italy as balancing heritage preservation with tourism demand[20], and analysts often suggest lesser known stretches of coast as alternatives.
Montmartre, Paris, France: A Hilltop Village in a Global City
Fodor’s added a Paris neighbourhood to its latest list. The 2026 No List includes the Montmartre neighbourhood in Paris as a new example of overtourism[18]. The Swiss Jungfrau region was added at the same time.
Paris as a whole is under steady strain. A travel trade outlet reports that the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and central districts see daily overcrowding, long queues and heavy transport congestion[22]. France is among Europe’s heavyweights, with more than 150 million overnight visitors last year[1], and the same outlet argues demand is concentrated in a few iconic zones, which makes overtourism a structural issue rather than a seasonal one[22].
