Safest Countries in Europe to Visit Right Now

How This European Ranking Is Built

This ranking evaluates European destinations by processing active advisory levels published by the United States Department of State, the UK FCDO, and the Government of Canada. Our automated daily scoring evaluates the United States baseline assessment first, incorporates UK FCDO geographical warnings, and resolves differences using Canada’s security notices. Readers who want to study how this ranking is built can review how we rate safety.

Official travel advisories do not measure crime statistics. When the three governments disagree, we show all three and lean on the strictest for the area you are visiting.

The table above rebuilds every single day. You can view the latest advisory changes to see recent updates.

What Official Advisories Say About Leading Countries

Twenty-eight countries share the top tier of Europe at the time of writing, each maintaining the cleanest advisory profiles across all three monitoring governments. In alphabetical sequence, this leading group contains Andorra, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland. While microstates Monaco and San Marino do not carry dedicated United States advisories, neither the UK nor Canada notes any heightened security alerts for them.

Official travel summaries highlight that even top-rated European destinations require routine street vigilance. The United States travel advisory for Austria states that Austria is generally a safe destination for travelers while advising standard precautions. In similar terms, the official guidance for Croatia affirms that Croatia is generally a safe destination for visitors.

• Austria and Croatia: Both receive explicit United States confirmation as generally safe destinations requiring normal precaution.
• Czechia: The US State Department urges travelers to stay alert to pickpocketing and other minor theft in tourist areas and on public transport.
• Greece: The US advisory says petty crime is common in popular tourist locations and large demonstrations may occur with little notice and disrupt transport.
• Iceland: Natural hazards like earthquakes, active volcanoes, and volatile weather accompany standard petty crime concerns.
• Ireland: The US advisory says most crimes against foreigners are crimes of opportunity, like purse snatching and pickpocketing, and large demonstrations may occur with little notice.

Why Major Western European Nations Rank Lower

At the time of writing, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden sit between ranks 32 and 42. Canada tells its citizens to exercise a high degree of caution in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

The United States also applies elevated caution guidance to this entire block of Western European destinations, alongside Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Moldova. While the UK FCDO advises against travel to parts of Moldova, it posts no localized regional warnings for Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, or Sweden. For the United Kingdom itself, the UK FCDO publishes no travel advice page, while Canada advises a high degree of caution and the US advises increased caution.

Travelers comparing regions worldwide can explore our wider study on the safest countries in the world or check our guide to the safest Caribbean islands.

Severe Travel Warnings at the Bottom of Europe

At the bottom of the European advisory table sit destinations with the strictest advisory levels. At the time of writing, Moldova ranks at position 41, where the UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of the country, while Canada advises a high degree of caution and the US advises increased caution.

The United States applies its strictest advisory warning to Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. Canada advises avoiding all travel to all three. For Ukraine, the UK FCDO advises against all travel to parts of the country and advises against all but essential travel to other parts. For Belarus and Russia, the UK FCDO advises against all travel across the entire territory of both countries. You can review our documentation on the most dangerous countries to compare them with the strictest advisories worldwide.

Using Regional Advisory Details for Real Travel Planning

A national advisory level provides an initial baseline, but regional notices dictate safety on the ground during a real trip. A country might display a clean nationwide rating while harboring distinct localized areas where foreign ministries advise against transit. Open your destination from the ranked table to read its full advisory text, not only its level.

You can test destinations against one another using our tool to compare destinations side by side before booking non-refundable flights and accommodation.

This ranking does not serve a traveler who needs crime figures for one city, since it sorts countries by government advisories and not by crime statistics. The order would change if the US and Canada both lowered their caution for France, Germany, Italy or Spain to normal precautions, which would lift that country into the top tier. Before you leave, download our free travel safety checklist. Recheck the live table on this page before departure to confirm the latest advisory status. To see our overall global ratings, browse our portal covering the safest places to travel right now.