Braga elected “best European Destination” to visit in 2021
Braga was voted the "best European Destination" this year and leaves behind cities like Rome, Florence and Paris.
The city of Braga was elected the “Best European Destination to visit in 2021”, collecting 109,902 votes from internet users, 72% of which from participants outside Portugal, announced the municipality on Wednesday.
This is an initiative of “European Best Destinations”, a Brussels-based organisation that promotes culture and tourism in Europe and has, since 2010, distinguished the most modern and attractive cities to visit in the European Union.
In 2019, Braga was already considered the second-Best European Destination.
It has now won first place, over 31,000 votes away from the runner-up city of Rome, Italy.
For the Mayor of Braga, Ricardo Rio, this vote is “the crowning achievement of an unquestionable international affirmation of the Braga brand.”
The mayor highlighted the support of many Portuguese around the world for this candidacy, in addition to the commitment of the city itself, the institutions and the people of Braga.
“It’s a result that fills us with pride and that will certainly have extremely positive effects on tourism and the local, regional and national economy during the next few years,” he underlined.
Braga’s candidature had the support of the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Secretary of State for Tourism, Rita Marques, the Regional Entity of Tourism of Porto and North of Portugal and the Association of Tourism of Porto and North (ATP), as well as several municipalities, entities and citizens.
In this edition, Braga was the favourite destination for travellers from the United Kingdom and Brazil and one of the main choices for travellers from the United States of America and France.
Every year the organisation receives a vote from the Vatican, which this year was also deposited in the candidacy of Braga.
“From now on, Braga will be even more present in the most reputable publications in the field of tourism from around the world, which will make the city an increasingly popular destination for travellers,” said Ricardo Rio.
Of the 20 destinations to be voted for, the first 15 will appear on the ‘European Best Destination’ webpage, thus being able to be visited by travellers who use that information to choose their tourist destinations.
The Braga City Council stresses that this page is the most visited in terms of tourism in Europe, with an audience of over 5.5 million travellers.
As in 2019, also this year Braga was the only Portuguese destination nominated to receive this distinction.
