Europe’s 20 most beautiful walking trails, revealed

Exploring through mountain ranges, cliffsides and dramatic vistas are all part of the thrill of hiking. However, deciding where to explore and what views you simply must see can be a hard task.

Fortunately, the talented team at OnBuy TreadmillsExternal Link (onbuy.com/gb/treadmills~c12249External Link) decided decided to investigate which of Europe’s 40 hiking trails is in fact the most popular, crowning the top 20!

Take a look at the highlights …

  • Italy’s Sentiero Azzurro takes the top spot, with over 2.5 million hashtags!

  • Iceland’s waterfalls prove to be hugely attractive to Instagrammers

  • The longest hike is Chemin de Saint Jacques de Compostelle at 767 kilometres, spanning the whole top coast of Spain—placing 2nd with 2.2million hashtags

  • The UK houses the most hiking hotspots in the top 10 with 6! 

To view all 40 hiking trails reviewed, please see this OnedriveExternal Link link.

Top 20 Hikes in Europe

Position

Hike Name

Country 

Instagram # Quantity

1

Sentiero Azzurro: Vernazza – Monterosso

Italy

2,500,013

2

GR®65: Chemin de Saint Jacques de Compostelle / Via Podiensis / Voie du Puy

France

2,210,441

3

Tre Cime di Lavaredo | Drei Zinnen

Italy

483,400

4

Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock)

Norway

337,444

5

Skógafoss Waterfall

Iceland

280,702

6

Gullfoss Waterfall

Iceland

275,737

7

Trolltunga

Norway

229,921

8

Box Hill, Lodge Hill and Juniper Hill Circular

United Kingdom

184,864

9

Seljalandsfoss – Gljufrafoss Waterfalls

Iceland

184,241

10

Promenade 57 Cascade des Nutons de Solwaster (Solwaster, Statte, Bilisse, Dolmen)

Belgium

127,756

11

Calanques de Port Miou, Port Pin et d’En Vaut

France

121,642

12

Castleton, Mam Tor and The Great Ridge Walk

United Kingdom

117,479

13

Yorkshire Three Peaks

United Kingdom

105,089

14

Janet’s Foss, Gordale Scar and Malham Cove

United Kingdom

90,372

15

Kinder Scout and Kinder Downfall Path

United Kingdom

81,274

16

Laugavegur Trail

Iceland

80,911

17

PR1 – Pico do Arieiro – Pico Ruivo

Portugal

75,793

18

Arnarstapi – Gatklettur – Hellnar

Iceland

73,783

19

Dovestone Reservoir and Chew Reservoir Circular

United Kingdom

73,508

20

Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB)

France

73,122

21

Sentiero degli Dei: Bomerano – Positano

Italy

59,712

The top 3 hikes

Italy heralds the most beautiful hike, as seen via OnBuy Treadmill’s Instagram data. The gorgeous Sentiero Azzurro walk is the first of two in the top 3, which covers part of the Cinque Terre UNESCO National Park, straddling cliffs and scrublands before descending towards the ocean. This remarkable route has a little over 2.5 MILLION hashtags, the most on this list by far! With dramatic inclines and fabulous views of the Mediterranean, it’s not hard to see why this hike is the most beautiful.

The second most Insta-worthy hike to feature is known colloquially as the Camino De Santiago, ‘GR®65: Chemin de Saint Jacques de Compostelle’ is a formidable 767 kilometers long in France and serves as a historic pilgrimage route across Spain and beyond. With 2,210,441 hashtags on Instagram, this hike serves views of the beautiful Spanish countryside and the Bay of Biscay, surely warranting its position as one of Europe’s most beautiful hikes to visit! 

Third place is deservedly awarded to Tre Cime di Lavaredo in Italy – the second hike in Italy to feature in the top 3. With 483,400 hashtags, it’s clear this route is a stunner. A steeply-inclined hike leads you to the staggering Drei Zinnen mountains, three rock formations jutting out over the plateau. Dwarfing its surroundings, the paths to the peaks are served by the Lavaredo fork, leading hikers around the perimeter of these incredible geographical features.

The top countries for hiking trails

Overall in the top 20, the United Kingdom features a remarkable 6 times. Box Hill, Lodge Hill and Juniper Hill Circular are the highest scorers from the United Kingdom, with 184,864 hashtags scored.

Iceland is the next most prevalent country for hiking trails, with 5 in the top 20. 

Methodology

  1. onbuy.com/gb/treadmills~c12249External Link sought to establish which of Europe’s most beautiful hiking trails are the most popular.

  2. To do this, a seed list from various sources was assembled, with popularity ascertained by review site Tripadvisor and other trail review sites.

  3. A seed list of 40 trails was identified and each one individually searched on Instagram.

  4. For accuracy, OnBuy Treadmills took the top 5 scoring hashtags to ascertain a total,  giving the most accurate representation of an area.

  5. Data was ranked from highest to lowest.

  6. Additional descriptive data was acquired from various sources such as National TrustExternal Link and Amazing IcelandExternal Link.

  7. All data was collected on 20/4/2022 and was correct as of then.

Credit: onbuy.com/gb/treadmills~c12249External Link