In the ranking, Warsaw placed ahead of cities including Vienna, Madrid, Monaco, Geneva, Brighton and Porto, based on criteria such as atmosphere, walkability, cultural life, dining, safety and overall visitor experience.
"Warsaw inspires by proving that a European capital can be ambitious without being exhausting," European Best Destinations said on its website, describing the city as offering visitors "something increasingly rare: ease."
The organisation, which aims to promote culture and tourism in Europe, highlighted Warsaw's green spaces, singling out Łazienki Park as a place that "feels less like a tourist landmark than a shared living room, where locals jog, read or pause beneath classical pavilions while peacocks wander freely."
Warsaw's iconic Royal Łazienki Park is a major tourist attraction and a popular cultural venue in the centre of the Polish capital. Image by Henryk Niestrój from Pixabay
It also pointed to "the meticulously rebuilt Old Town, the contemporary skyline around Varso Place, and neighbourhoods like Powiśle and Praga, where former industrial spaces now house galleries, cafés and intimate cultural venues."
"What makes Warsaw so compelling is its balance," the website said, calling the city "walkable, remarkably safe, and refreshingly affordable for a European capital."
European Best Destinations also noted Warsaw’s growing cultural confidence, with museums, theatres and contemporary art spaces "woven into everyday life," alongside "a younger generation of designers, chefs and creatives" shaping the city’s identity and giving it "a distinctly forward-looking tone."
The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw. Photo: Julian Horodyski/Polish Radio
Warsaw "inspires because it no longer tries to impress,” the organisation said. "It simply works—and that makes it one of Europe's most quietly convincing capitals in 2026."
The Polish capital's landmark Warsaw Mermaid statue on the western bank of the Vistula River.
"Warsaw inspires by proving that a European capital can be ambitious without being exhausting," European Best Destinations said on its website, describing the city as offering visitors "something increasingly rare: ease."
The Vistula River bisects the Polish capital, dividing it east and west. Photos: Julian Horodyski/Polish Radio
European Best Destinations said Warsaw and the other cities on its list offer travellers a rare sense of balance between heritage and creativity, energy and calm, and local life and openness to the world.
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Source: biznes.interia.pl, europeanbestdestinations.com