Top European Travel Stories From 2023

Boasting 12 full months without any travel restrictions, 2023 was the year that European travel got its full groove back. But things were far from boring, as the year was full of headlines about heat waves, the continuing struggle with overtourism and plenty of new developments in the world of European travel.

Click on the slideshow to see the biggest stories of the year and register for the TravelPulse newsletter to keep up to date in 2024. 

The biggest takeaway from 2023? Europe is more popular than ever with North American travelers. Pent-up demand from the pandemic, a new season of set-jetting locations and a record number of summer transatlantic flights combined to make it feel like "everybody" was in Europe at some point this year.

The official numbers have yet to be released, but the continent will likely reach or exceed 2019 tourism levels. Europe's teeming hotspots led to renewed calls for crowd management solutions all over Europe, with some featuring later in this slideshow. 

In its ongoing quest to change its reputation and the type of travelers it attracts, Amsterdam made significant changes to its world-famous Red Light District this year. Smoking marijuana on the street was banned, alcohol sales were restricted and neighborhood sex workers saw business hours rolled back.

The city also made headlines for proposals to relocate its cruise ship terminal away from the city center and to move part of Red Light District to an entirely different neighborhood. 

Momentum had been building for a while, but this was the year that many in the travel industry embraced the concept of "Central Europe". Prominent on the list is Europe travel guru Rick Steves, who renamed his "Eastern Europe" guidebook to "Central Europe."

Many had lumped Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Slovakia into Eastern Europe for a long time, but the residents of these countries never truly identified with this or the slightly negative connotations that came with it. When you look at a map, it's easy to see their case (Prague sits west of Vienna, after all). 

Fresh off a report that tourists now officially outnumber locals, the Lagoon City escaped receiving UNESCO “World Heritage Sites in Danger” status. In a September meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, UNESCO left Venice off the list of sites at risk, partially due to its plan for a new day-tripper fee.

Later in the year, the announcement that the new fee for those who visit only for the day during peak periods will start in April of 2024 received much attention, and the logistics of this roll-out will no doubt be a top story to follow next year. 

Following a trend we saw in 2022, strikes among transportation workers (from air traffic controllers and railway workers to baggage handlers) took place all over the continent this year, adding a dash of chaos to many people's travel plans.

France faced numerous work stoppages, but strikes took place from Sweden to Italy and Germany to Spain. As the year ends, sporadic industrial action is still taking place and will be an issue to be aware of well into 2024. 

After several years of talk and civic wrangling, Barcelona's long-awaited prohibition on cruise ships docking at the city's centrally located World Trade Center pier took effect on October 22.

To combat overtourism and environmental concerns in Europe's largest cruise port city, Barcelona will now force cruise ships to dock at Moll d'Adossat pier, situated a short drive south of the city center. 

Despite ascending to the throne in late 2022, King Charles III's coronation was in London on May 6. And what a celebration it was. Visitors came from around the world to see history in person and wish the new monarch well throughout a weekend packed with special events.

Outside of London, street parties and get-togethers attracted revelers all over the United Kingdom.

The year began with much hype and plenty of stories about the night train revival and finished with plenty of evidence that things are tracking in the right direction. European Sleeper—a new night train startup—debuted in June with a single initial route from Brussels to Berlin, which will extend to Prague in March 2024.

December saw the debut of a new Berlin-Paris service and, arguably the most exciting news of all, the rollout of new state-of-the-art Nightjet night trains by Austrian Railways.

After months of rumors, the European Union made things official in October: the long-discussed introduction of ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) won't happen until 2025. Once in effect, non-EU travelers will be required to pay a fee of €7 ($7.71) to receive approval to visit. Once operational, the system will be very similar to the U.S.'s ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) program. 

The summer of 2023 was another hot and sweaty one in Europe, with multiple heat waves harassing the continent, making temperatures unbearable. The so-called Cerberus Heatwave was the worst of them all, striking in July—at the peak of the travel season—and bringing triple digit temperatures to much of Southern Europe.

Images of tourists struggling in the heat of cities like Rome and Athens grabbed headlines, leading some to ask if annual heat waves could potentially lead to new travel patterns.

In July—and in the middle of an oppressive heat wave—the European Union's largest-ever recorded wildfires struck Greece. Over two dozen people lost their lives and many more suffered injuries in the tragic blazes. The wildfires caused evacuations of travelers and locals alike from Rhodes, Corfu and other destinations throughout the country.   

In 2023, the European Parliament made strides toward making the European Union a "Bags Fly Free" zone. Members of the European Parliament voted this year to support a resolution that would guarantee airline passengers are allowed to carry reasonably-sized cabin baggage without incurring a fee. 

For a minute this autumn, people were losing their minds on the internet about bed bugs in Paris. Were there a few sightings that went viral? Sure. Was much of the talk about a "crisis" blown out of proportion for clicks?

Quite possibly.

The bad news is that, apparently, there is an increase in bed bugs everywhere in the world, so this probably won't be the last story like this to strike our news feeds in the coming years.

The on-again, off-again story of the attempt to reduce flights at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport took many turns in 2023 but ended with a surprise twist. After announcing the reduction on the grounds it would help with excessive noise & emissions, the plan met opposition from multiple corners, including Washington.

The Dutch government announced in November that the reductions are off the cards for now, and then in a surprise move in December, the airport said that 2024 will actually see an increase in flights.