ADVERTISEMENTA travel company has calculated the most popular European cities on social media for 2024 - and revealed the cities most likely to break the internet in 2025.
According to Titan Travel’s Social Travel Index - which ranks destinations according to the number of TikTok and Instagram posts, Google searches, and search increases - the most popular cities to tag in 2024 were all in Europe.
The top three cities included two French destinations - surprisingly, Nice clinched the top spot while Olympics host Paris was awarded bronze. Sandwiched in between at No.2 was London in the UK, which was also the most Instagrammed city worldwide.
But where will travellers be tagging their Instagram posts in 2025?
Titan Travel crunched the data on increases in the number of Instagram posts between 2023 and 2024, identifying the trending cities and country destinations.
The Top 10 comprised two cities each in the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Japan, with the remaining four slots all in Europe - with some surprising results.
Over three million Instagram posts were tagged from Spain’s Palma de Mallorca in 2024, securing the seaside resort in the Balearic Islands a top three spot in the list.
The coastal capital is beloved by Instagrammers for its beautiful beaches and architectural gems, but it has been the subject of protests by local residents against overtourism.
Despite wildfires in recent years, Rhodes in Greece is predicted to be the fifth most popular city in the world to visit next year, seeing an eight per cent increase in Instagram posts over the past 12 months.
The UNESCO-listed medieval city is a photogenic spot known for its whitewashed buildings, craggy coastlines and beautiful old town.
Where else will prove popular with the selfie stick crowd?
Istanbul may see a surge of visitors in 2025, with Titan Travel calculating its ‘social travel score’ at 7.96/10, based on Instagram and TikTok posts and Google searches.
Turkey’s largest city straddles the Bosphorus Strait, and architecture fans photograph its many mosques, palaces, fortresses and castles. But in August this year, the country’s internet regulator temporarily blocked access to Instagram, so your holiday hashtags aren’t guaranteed.
Greece secured an additional spot in the Top 10 cities to snap in 2025, with Athens seeing 12 million Instagram posts over the past year. Some of the most scenic spots to tag in the capital city include the National Garden, the Panathenaic Stadium, and the pretty Plaka neighbourhood of Anafiotika.
The city’s Acropolis was also among the Top 10 most-tagged world landmarks on social media, with more than 1.69 million Instagram and TikTok posts.
The cities and places to avoid if you want your Instagram to stand out
With London being the world’s most Instagrammed city, with over 160 million tags, you might want to book a different UK destination for 2025 if you want to stand out from the crowd. But if you’re set on the capital, your photo of the London Eye will join 3.6 million other pictures of the landmark on social media.
Other popular European landmarks to post about on Instagram and TikTok include the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, and the Colosseum in Rome, Italy.
ADVERTISEMENTIf you’re not keen on crowds, Brussels may also be one to avoid in 2025. The Belgian capital - famed for Flemish art, gothic architecture, and chocolate - has seen a 427 per cent surge in Google holiday searches over the past three years.
And the Netherlands is also soaring in popularity, according to the Social Travel Index. The country has leaped 13 positions in the social rankings since last year, with travellers intent on Instagramming its tulip fields, windmills and canals.