Pinterest is one of the most popular ways people like to plan; mapping out their dreams on inspiration boards, whether it’s a new home, a new wardrobe or the perfect holiday. In a post-pandemic world our travel plans remain uncertain, however it doesn’t stop us dreaming and planning where we would love to explore around the globe next. We were curious to find out which city break locations are being dreamed of the most on Pinterest, and so we took a look!
By analysing the number of boards created for over 500 cities across the world which mentioned ‘holiday’ or ‘vacation’ (see full methodology below) we found the most Pinned city break destinations in the UK and across the world.
The most popular city breaks on Pinterest
UK towns and cities
Naturally London comes out on top as the most Pinned city in the UK (interestingly London comes out on top for all major global cities!) However, after that Pinterest reveals that people are dreaming about the extreme ends of the UK with Edinburgh in Scotland and St. Ives in Cornwall coming out as the most popular. Seaside towns are more popular than cosmopolitan cities, with Whitby, Newquay and Brighton making the top ten, and Padstow, Salcombe, Bude, Hastings and Margate in the top 20. The most popular city break locations that people are pinning include Oxford, Glasgow, Bristol and Cambridge.
Edinburgh
St. Ives, Cornwall
Brighton
Towns / cities in the UK and the number of boards
1. London 1992 boards
2. Edinburgh 228 boards
3. St Ives, Cornwall 140 boards
4. Brighton 111 boards
5. Oxford 85 boards
6. Glasgow 77 boards
7. Manchester 69 boards
8. Bristol 66 boards
9. Whitby 48 boards
10. Newquay 43 boards
11. Weymouth 42 boards
12. Cambridge 41 boards
13. Padstow 39 boards
14. Birmingham 39 boards
15. Falmouth 38 boards
16. Liverpool 38 boards
17. Bude 36 boards
18. Cardiff 30 boards
19. Margate 27 boards
20. Hastings 26 boards
21. Salcombe 26 boards
22. Bournemouth 26 boards
Cambridge
Liverpool
Bournemouth
Global top 20
London is the most popular city on the travel inspiration boards created on Pinterest, followed by Paris and Dubai. North American cities feature prominently, but outside of the States the other frequently Pinned city breaks include Rome, Barcelona and Amsterdam.
1. London 1992 boards
2. Paris 1981 boards
3. Dubai 1911 boards
4. Rome 1606 boards
5. Barcelona 1053 boards
6. Orlando 1001 boards
7. New York 999 boards
8. Venice 998 boards
9. Boston 998 boards
10. San Diego 998 boards
11. New Orleans 998 boards
12. Seattle 998 boards
13. Las Vegas 997 boards
14. Miami 997 boards
15. Chicago 994 boards
16. San Antonio 982 boards
17. San Franciso 974 boards
18. Charleston 969 boards
19. Washington DC 912 boards
20. Amsterdam 852 boards
Cardiff, Wales
Torquay, Devon
Norwich, Norfolk
1. Cornwall 988 boards
2. Wales 912 boards
3. Devon 679 boards
4. Norfolk 381 boards
5. Yorkshire 364 boards
6. Lake District 275 boards
7. Dorset 231 boards
8. The Cotswolds 180 boards
9. Suffolk 145 boards
10. Somerset 137 boards
11. Pembrokshire 126 boards
12. Isle of WIght 125 boards
13. Peak District 123 boards
14. Northumberland 120 boards
15. Kent 108 boards
16. Sussex 96 boards
- Cornwall: After St. Ives, the most popular holiday towns in Cornwall on Pinterest in descending order are: Newquay, Padstow, Bude, Looe, Fowey, Port Isaac, Penzance, Sennen and Bodmin.
- Wales: Pembrokeshire takes top spot for holiday boards on Pinterest, followed by Snowdonia, Anglesey, Tenby, Brecon Beacons, Cardiff, St. David’s, Swansea, Cardigan Bay, Newport and Saundersfoot.
- Devon: Torquay is the most pinned town in Devon, followed by Salcombe, Dartmouth, Woolacombe, Brixham, Croyde, Exeter, Dawlish, Paignton, Totnes and Appledore.
- Norfolk: Great Yarmouth is the most popular Norfolk town according to Pinterest Boards, followed by Hunstanton, Cromer, Norwich, Burnham Market, Blakeney, Sheringham, Wells-Next-The-Sea, Mundesley and Holkham.
- Yorkshire: Whitby is Yorkshire’s most popular holiday town on Pinterest, followed by Harrogate, Filey, Richmond, Hull, York, Sheffield, Wakefield, Thirsk and Bradford.
European cities
After London, the European city that Pinterest-ers are pinning the most on their travel inspiration boards is Paris, followed by Rome, Barcelona and Venice. Find out more about Premier Inn at Gatwick
1. London 1992 boards
2. Paris 1981 boards
3. Rome 1606 boards
4. Barcelona 1053 boards
5. Venice 998 boards
6. Amsterdam 852 boards
7. Prague 471 boards
8. Berlin 352 boards
9. Madrid 356 boards
10. Lisbon 342 boards
11. Budapest 332 boards
12. Istanbul 330 boards
13. Athens 319 boards
14. Dublin 313 boards
15. Florence 301 boards
16. Vienna 293 boards
17. Milan 282 boards
18. Malaga 215 boards
19. Copenhagen 192 boards
20. Dubrovnik 173 boards
Cities in New Zealand and Australia
When looking at cities in Australia and New Zealand, the most popular destinations for travellers according to Pinterest are Sydney, followed by Melbourne, the Gold Coast and Cairns.
1. Sydney 596 boards
2. Melbournes 480 boards
3. Gold Coast 334 boards
4. Cairns 248 boards
5. Sunshine Coast 235 boards
6. Perth 216 boards
7. Wellington 211 boards
8. Brisbane 184 boards
9. Hobart 118 boards
10. Auckland 111 boards
11. Adelaide 94 boards
12. Nelson 75 boards
13. Darwin 50 boards
14. Rotorua 46 boards
15. Canberra 40 boards
Cities in the Middle East
Of the cities in the Middle East, Dubai is by far the most pinned holiday destination on Pinterest, followed by Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv.
1. Dubai 1911 boards
2. Abu Dhabi 156 boards
3. Tel Aviv 65 boards
4. Amman 31 boards
5. Muscat 26 boards
6. Doha 22 boards
Cities in Asia
Tokyo is the city giving Pinterest-ers the most wanderlust. Followed by Hong Kong, Bangkok and Jaipur.
1. Tokyo 530 boards
2. Hong Kong 505 boards
3. Bangkok 476 boards
4. Jaipur 164 boards
5. Mumbai 142 boards
6. Kuala Lumpur 134 boards
7. Kyoto 130 boards
8. Seoul 129 boards
9. Shanghai 125 boards
10. Ubud 104 boards
11. Hanoi 99 boards
12. Osaka 96 boards
13. Chiang Mai 87 boards
14. Macau 62 boards
15. Chennai 51 boards
South American cities
Brazil comes out top for the cities people want to visit in South America, with Salvador and Rio de Janeiro take first and second spot, followed by Cartagena in Colombia and Buenos Aires in Argentina.
1. Salvador 118 boards
2. Rio de Janeiro 94 boards
3. Cartagena 74 boards
4. Buenos Aires 60 boards
5. Lima 56 boards
6. Cusco 54 boards
7. Santiago 48 boards
8. La Paz 32 boards
9. Sao Paolo 23 boards
10. Medellin 22 boards
Cities in Africa
Egypt’s Cairo is the African city most Pinned on Pinterest, with Cape Town and Marrakech also proving very popular.
1. Cairo 795 boards
2. Cape Town 410 boards
3. Marrakesh / Marrakech 320 boards
4. Casablanca 63 boards
5. Durban 60 boards
6. Johannesburg 59 boards
7. Nairobi 35 boards
Cities in the USA
New York was pipped to the post by the city of Orlando (and its Disneyland Resort). The other most Pinned cities in the USA that people are dreaming about visiting include Boston, San Diego, New Orleans and Seattle.
1. Orlando 1001 boards
2. New York 999 boards
3. Boston 998 boards
4. San Diego 998 boards
5. New Orleans 998 boards
6. Seattle 998 boards
7. Las Vegas 997 boards
8. Miami 997 boards
9. Chicago 994 boards
10. San Antonio 982 boards
11. San Francisco 974 boards
12. Charleston 969 boards
13. Washington DC 912 boards
14. Portland 700 boards
15. Los Angeles 638 boards
Methodology
We counted the number of Pinterest boards which used the words ‘holiday’ or ‘vacation’ in their title description, in addition with a city name, for over 500 cities across the globe. We discounted boards that were obviously not related to travel inspiration. Cities in the USA only show ‘vacation’ board numbers due to the linguistic crossover of ‘holidays’ used in American-English. All board count totals correct as of 10th September 2020.