More Americans traveling to Europe are moving beyond the traditional city circuit, choosing destinations where more of the trip can happen in one place. Instead of building itineraries around multiple urban stops, travelers increasingly stay in a single region and use it as a base for everything from outdoor activity to dining and downtime.
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Search patterns back that up, with data from Expedia Group showing several lesser-known European destinations have seen notable increases in interest for 2026 travel, including Sardinia in Italy, Savoie in France and the Cotswolds in the United Kingdom. The gains suggest demand is moving beyond established hubs, as travelers look for trips that are easier to manage and less reliant on multiple bookings and internal transfers.
Interest expands beyond Europe’s major cities
The destinations seeing the strongest gains are not scaled-down versions of major cities. Places like Sardinia, Savoie and the Cotswolds offer a mix of outdoor access, local food culture and smaller towns within a defined area rather than a single urban center.
That same pattern shows up in alpine regions such as Tyrol, where travel centers on a connected landscape instead of a single destination. Visitors do not move from city to city, but within a region, shifting between villages, terrain and activities without changing their base. Major cities still play a role, but more often as arrival points or short stays rather than the focus of the trip.
Alpine regions show how single-base travel actually works
In Tyrol, that approach is already built into how travel works, with ski areas operating as connected domains rather than separate resorts, which allows visitors to cover a wide stretch of terrain without relocating. The same setup carries through the rest of the year, with trails and outdoor routes taking over once the snow melts.
At Schlosshotel Fiss, that system is easy to see. The hotel sits at about 4,718 feet in the Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis area, with on-site equipment and lift access directly tied into the network. From the hotel, getting onto the mountain does not require transportation or extra coordination, as lodging, gear and lift systems are all connected.
Despite its alpine setting, the region is relatively straightforward to reach. Innsbruck is about an hour away, with Zurich and Munich accessible within a few hours, keeping transfers manageable once in Europe.
A single base replaces multiple bookings
At Schlosshotel Fiss, much of the trip happens in one place: ski access and equipment are handled on site in winter, while in warmer months, the same base connects directly to trails and outdoor terrain. Dining, wellness and family-focused spaces are part of the stay rather than spread across different locations.
That setup reduces the layers that often define U.S. travel, where lodging, activities and meals are booked separately and tied together through transportation. Here, those pieces are already aligned, reducing both planning time and day-to-day coordination.
Extended seasons and built-in rhythm support longer stays
Higher elevations in parts of the Alps allow ski seasons to extend into mid-April in some years, giving travelers more flexibility in planning a trip. Outside of winter, the same destinations shift to hiking and mountain travel, keeping the region active beyond a single season.
At Fiss, days tend to follow a steady pattern, with mornings focused on outdoor activity and afternoons opening up for dining or time in the spa. Wellness areas, pools and family-friendly spaces make it possible to stay on-site without planning additional outings to fill the day.
A shift toward fewer stops and more depth
The broader shift is not only where Americans are traveling in Europe, but also how those trips are structured. With more travelers choosing to stay in one place and move within a region, destinations like Tyrol show how a single base can support a full itinerary, reducing the need for multistop trips that have long defined European travel.
Zuzana Paar, a co-founder of Food Drink Life, is a seasoned traveler and writer who has explored 62 countries and lived in St. Lucia, Dubai, Vienna, Doha and Slovakia. Her work has been featured on Fox News, New York Daily News, MSN and more; she has also appeared live on Chicago’s WGN Bob Sirott Radio Show. When she’s not discovering new destinations, she shares travel tips and insider insights to help others experience the world in a unique and unforgettable way.