Picture a summer holiday and days spent lounging about under the beating sun might spring to mind, but with Europe getting worryingly hotter, more and more travellers are opting for cooler climes over the last couple of years.
According to hiking holiday website Inghams Walking, searches for ‘coolcations’ have spiked by a staggering 3,500 percent since the beginning of 2024. That surge in interest led them to conduct an analysis of more than 200 cool-climate destinations to work out the planet’s top places to head to escape the heat this summer.
Topping the ranking is Nuuk in Greenland, which has seen a 48.39 percent increase in searches over the last year. Remote and beautiful, the island nation has seen a spike in interest thanks to the destination becoming a whole lot more accessible.
In ’s ranking of the best new things to do in the world for 2025, we included visiting Greenland thanks to a brand-new international airport opening on the outskirts of Nuuk, now allowing for multiple services from Europe, every single week.
But that’s not the only destination spotlit for its ‘coolcation’ appeal – Les Contamines-Montjoie, an Alpine commune in France, saw searches leap by 39.79 percent, and the Beara Peninsula in Ireland followed in third place with an increase of 23.11 percent. Scroll on for a look at the rest of the top 20.
The 20 best places for a coolcation this summer
- Nuuk, Greenland
- Les Contamines-Montjoie, France
- Beara Peninsula, Ireland
- Jotunheimen National Park, Norway
- Tasiilaq, Greenland
- Voss, Norway
- Lake Bohinj, Slovenia
- Lech, Austria
- Dolomites, Italy
- Arinsal, Andorra
- Tröllaskagi Peninsula, Iceland
- Wilderswil, Switzerland
- Kandersteg, Switzerland
- Balestrand, Norway
- Murren, Switzerland
- Fiordland, New Zealand
- Sils Maria, Switzerland
- Hornstrandir Nature Reserve, Iceland
- Torridon, Scotland
- Cape Breton Highlands, Canada
🧊 Have a read of the best ‘coolcations’ in Europe, according to .
Did you see that these are officially Europe’s best airports for customer service?
Plus: Europe has a brand-new hiking trail – with gold-sand beaches, charming towns and prehistoric ruins.
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