The Picos de Europa mountain range in northern Spain has become the absolute leader, beating tropical beaches, wine valleys and famous museums around the world, reports the Russian travel portal TURPROM.
The top three also included Indonesia's Komodo National Park and the John Morgan Library in New York.
Why Picos de Europa?
As experts explain, this ridge is considered one of the most compact in the world: its peaks, over 2,600 meters high, are located just 20 kilometers from the coast of the Cantabrian Sea. This proximity creates a unique contrast, when you can quickly descend from the harsh rocky peaks to the beaches overlooking the Bay of Biscay. The magazine also calls this place the birthplace of one of the most expensive cheeses in the world – Cabrales, which matures in local caves.
For active travelers, the main attraction is the Ruta de Cares, a 23-kilometer trail along rocky canyons and picturesque waterfalls.
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Russian participants in the tourism market are already recording increased interest in the north of Spain. If previously the main destinations in this country for our compatriots were the Costa Brava and Costa del Sol, now requests for active tours to Cantabria and Asturias are increasingly heard. On tourism forums, travelers note that this region is an excellent opportunity to combine a beach holiday at famous resorts (“like Bilbao and San Sebastian”) with pristine nature and gastronomic discoveries of the national park.
The rating of beautiful places is not limited to nature
The top 20 also included Portugal's famed Douro Valley, the world's oldest UNESCO-protected wine region, and California's rugged Big Sur coastline. Architecture did not go unnoticed: the Morgan Library and Museum in New York, which was the financier's private collection, opened its doors to the public for the first time in 2026, and travelers appreciated it, placing it in third place.
Previously, we wrote about top Russian resorts that may interest you.
