European summer just hits differently. It’s chic, it’s laid back, and it’s a seaside party second to none. Which makes it a little surprising that its beachside scenes are the stuff of Instagram dreams. But which one is most photogenic of all? The Thinking Traveller, a company that offers access to exclusive villas and stunning luxury homes all over the globe, did the math to find out. By Stacey Leasca
“European beaches offer transformative experiences to holidaymakers from all over the world. From sandy strips to rocky stretches, European seascapes can look vastly different from one another, creating ample opportunities for taking captivating, Instagram-worthy pictures along the way,” The Thinking Traveller shared in a recent blog post.
This beach with emerald-green water is the most Instagrammed beach in Europe
The company looked closely at Instagram hashtag data to find the most popular and picturesque spots across Europe in an attempt to help travellers pick their next picture-perfect beach vacation destination.
To find the most Instagrammed beaches in Europe, the team looked at existing articles on the best beaches in Europe, which are used to create seed lists. It then found the most-posted-about beaches by recording the number of Instagram posts attributed to the beach’s various hashtags.
The No. 1 spot, The Thinking Traveller revealed, is Étretat Beach in Normandy, France, making it the most Instagrammed beach in Europe.
“An extraordinary white pebble beach, Étretat is renowned for its three arches and their adjacent cliffs, which tower over emerald green waters like nowhere else on the planet,” the company shared. Étretat Beach had 4,06,321 posts under the hashtag #etretat.
Once a fishing village, the area became an artist haven around the late 19th century, when artists flocked to the shoreline thanks to its overwhelming beauty. It’s so beautiful that visitors kept taking the pebbles off the beach to bring a little slice of heaven home with them. But that led to millions of cubic meters of pebbles disappearing from the shoreline. Thus, it’s now illegal to snatch a single pebble from the beach. (You know what they say, take only memories, leave only footprints, right?)
The rest of the top 10 list includes Durdle Door Beach in the United Kingdom with 2,65,276 Instagram posts; La Pelosa Beach in Sardinia, Italy with 1,09,135 posts; Torre Lapillo in Puglia, Italy with 95,083 posts; Navagio Beach (Shipwreck Beach) in Zakynthos, Greece with 80,824 posts; and Cala Luna in Sardinia, Italy with 75,012 posts.
Other top beaches found in The Thinking Traveller’s survey included Salento, Italy’s Punta Prosciutto, Playa de Muro Beach in Mallorca, Spain, and Porto Katsiki Beach in Lefkada, Greece.
See all the beaches that made the list, and find the perfect place to stay at each, on The Thinking Traveller’s website.
(This story first appeared on www.travelandleisure.com)
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