TUI Musement publishes ranking of Europe’s most popular cities for boat tours
Study based on Google search volumes
Urban boat tours are gaining traction beyond coastal areas
Amsterdam, Bruges, and Paris top the list
Boat tours are no longer exclusive to seaside destinations. Increasingly, they’re becoming a popular way to experience some of Europe’s most iconic cities from a new perspective.
Given the growing interest, especially during the summer season, TUI Musement has compiled a ranking of the most popular European cities for boat tours, based on Google search volumes between May 2024 and April 2025.**
This data-driven list highlights ten cities whose rivers and canals offer unique perspectives on world-famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben or Budapest’s Chain Bridge.
Recommended experience: Amsterdam city highlights & hidden gems cruise
Recommended experience: Bruges and Ghent day tour with optional boat ride
Recommended experience: Paris guided city tour with Seine river cruise
Recommended experience: Thames speedboat adventure
Recommended experience: Copenhagen canal tour
Recommended experience: Candlelit dinner cruise
Recommended experience: Berlin Spree river cruise
Recommended experience: Royal Canal tour of Stockholm
Recommended experience: Private gondola ride through Venice’s hidden canals
Recommended experience: Cruise through Prague’s Devil’s Canal
**Methodology: Ranking based on Google search volumes for the term “[city] boat tour” between May 2024 and April 2025. More than 1,000 European cities with navigable rivers or canals were analyzed. Data collected in May 2025.
Ranking:
- Amsterdam boat tour: 257.200 searches
- Bruges boat tour: 175.400 searches
- Paris boat tour: 112.300 searches
- London boat tour: 98.000 searches
- Copenhagen boat tour: 81.200 searches
- Budapest boat tour: 77.700 searches
- Berlin boat tour: 75.800 searches
- Stockholm boat tour: 69.100 searches
- Venice boat tour: 67.200 searches
- Prague boat tour: 60.100 searches
About TUI Musement
TUI Musement is a global Tours & Activities business that combines a highly curated product portfolio, scalable digital platforms and in-destination service by local teams, to source, develop, distribute and deliver products in three categories:
- Experiences: Excursions, activities & attraction tickets
- Transfers: Between airports, hotels and ports
- Tours: Multi-day itineraries encompassing hotels, experiences, guides and transportation
Available in all major beach and city destinations, products are sourced from leading travel businesses or developed in-house by TUI teams, including the TUI Collection, the flagship experiences portfolio of TUI Group, and National Geographic Day Tours, unique and immersive small group guided experiences. Products are distributed to customers, including the 20+ million TUI customers, through TUI websites and apps – such as the Tours & Activities dedicated TUI Musement app, as well as in-destination local teams and B2B partners, including some of the world's leading OTAs, tour operators, airlines, hotels, travel agencies and cruise lines. TUI Musement is one of the major growth areas of the TUI Group and employs approximately 10,000 people worldwide.
About TUI Group
The TUI Group is one of the world's leading tourism groups and operates worldwide. The Group is headquartered in Germany. TUI shares are listed in the MDAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and in the regulated market of the Lower Saxony Stock Exchange in Hanover.
TUI Group offers its 20 million customers integrated services from a single source and forms the entire tourism value chain under one roof. The Group owns over 400 hotels and resorts with premium brands such as RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson and 18 cruise ships, ranging from the MS Europa and MS Europa 2 in the luxury class and expedition ships in the HANSEATIC class to the Mein Schiff fleet of TUI Cruises and cruise ships operated by Marella Cruises in the UK. The Group also includes Europe's leading tour operator brands and online marketing platforms, for example for hotel-only or flight-only offers, five airlines with more than 130 modern medium- and long-haul aircraft and around 1,200 travel agencies. In addition to expanding its core business with hotels and cruises via successful joint ventures and activities in vacation destinations, TUI is increasingly focusing on the expansion of digital platforms. The Group is transforming itself into a global tourism platform company.
Global responsibility for sustainable economic, environmental and social action is at the heart of our corporate culture. With projects in 25 countries, the TUI Care Foundation initiated by TUI focuses on the positive effects of tourism, on education and training and on strengthening environmental and social standards. In this way, it supports the development of vacation destinations. The globally active TUI Care Foundation initiates projects that create new opportunities for the next generation.
