Author: Rita Pētersone
Source: liveriga.com
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.
Reklāma
“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.
“This is a historic achievement for Riga — for the first time, we are among Europe’s top three Christmas destinations. The number of votes shows that Riga’s name is becoming increasingly recognised and attractive internationally, while competition this year was exceptionally strong. According to the competition’s data, Riga received its strongest support from travellers in the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Finland, and Lithuania. These countries correspond to Riga’s priority tourism markets,” says Fredis Bikovs, Director of the Riga Investment and Tourism Agency.
In addition to reaching the top three Christmas markets in Europe, Riga has also received the title of “Best Christmas Lights in Europe” for the third year in a row.
More information is available at europeanbestdestinations.com.
To publish this article please contact BalticTravelnews.eu editorial board
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