The Peninsula Paris hotel named Europe’s best luxury city hotel at the 2026 World Travel Awards

The Peninsula Paris has been named Europe’s best luxury city hotel at the 2026 World Travel Awards, whose European winners were unveiled on 17 October in Kotor, Montenegro. Istanbul’s Çırağan Palace takes the title of the continent’s best luxury hotel, Sardinia’s Forte Village that of best resort, and Greece sweeps sixteen European trophies.

☰Contents

1. Paris, Istanbul, Estoril: the headline awards
2. Forte Village takes four trophies in Sardinia
3. Sixteen European titles for Greece
4. Venice and London, hotels with character
5. Which hotels won in France?
6. Italy, Spain, Switzerland: the champions
7. How are the winners chosen?

Paris, Istanbul, Estoril: the headline awards

In Paris, The Peninsula occupies a century-old building on avenue Kléber, renovated in 2014, with 200 rooms including 93 suites and the two-Michelin-star restaurant L’Oiseau Blanc on the rooftop. In Istanbul, the Çırağan Palace bills itself as the only Ottoman imperial palace on the Bosphorus to have become a hotel; its general manager, Ralph Radtke, also receives a lifetime achievement award. Among the brands, Four Seasons is voted best luxury hotel brand on the continent, and One&Only best luxury resort brand.

Forte Village takes four trophies in Sardinia

On Sardinia’s south coast, at Pula, Forte Village collects four titles: Europe’s best resort, Europe’s best luxury beach resort, Europe’s best sports academy and Italy’s best resort. The estate brings together several five-star hotels, beachfront villas and a thalassotherapy spa. Italy also places Venice’s San Clemente Palace, Europe’s best wedding hotel, and Palazzo Fiuggi, best wellness hotel.

Sixteen European titles for Greece

Greece dominates the resort categories, with fifteen European titles for its hotels and the city break award for Athens. In Corfu, Domes Miramare, set in a building once owned by the Onassis family and renovated under the Luxury Collection banner, is voted Europe’s best luxury resort. In Crete, Elounda Beach Hotel & Villas wins best beach resort and Domes Noruz Chania best honeymoon resort; Ikos Odisia is the best all-inclusive, Halkidiki’s Sani Resort the best family resort, and Avali, from the Mar-Bella Collection, the best new boutique hotel.

Venice and London, hotels with character

The Gritti Palace is voted Europe’s most romantic hotel. This palazzo dating from 1475, a hotel since 1895, opens its terrace onto the Grand Canal, opposite the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute. In London, The Chancery Rosewood, housed in the former US embassy on Grosvenor Square, becomes Europe’s best new hotel. Edinburgh’s Fingal is crowned Europe’s best boutique hotel and the 1908 Lisboa Hotel best design hotel.

Which hotels won in France?

Paris wins two European hotel titles, with The Peninsula and the La Clef Champs-Élysées apartments, while Disneyland Paris is voted best theme park resort and Cannes best festival destination. In the national rankings, the InterContinental Paris Le Grand collects three titles (luxury, business, conference) and the Hôtel de Crillon that of heritage hotel. In Monaco, the Hôtel de Paris, built in 1864 on place du Casino, is voted the principality’s best hotel. Find these addresses in our list of France’s palace hotels.

Italy, Spain, Switzerland: the champions

In Switzerland, Lausanne’s Beau-Rivage Palace is voted the country’s best hotel and its Imperial Suite the best suite. In Spain, the Majestic Hotel & Spa Barcelona is crowned Europe’s best luxury spa hotel; in Portugal, Madeira’s Reid’s Palace is voted the country’s best hotel.

How are the winners chosen?

Founded in 1993, the World Travel Awards choose their winners through an online vote open to travel professionals and the public; a verified professional’s vote counts double. Regional winners, including Europe’s, qualify for the season’s world final. For a view based on our own stays, see our ranking of the world’s 50 best hotels.