Travel blog - Tips to explore the world on a budget: Free Tour Awards

FREETOUR.com looked at booking data and traveler reviews from over a million trips to rank the best walking tour cities for 2026. Budapest took first place (again), followed by Rome and Vienna. Europe still dominates, but cities like Mexico City, Tokyo, and Medellín are rising up the charts. What's really happening? Travelers are getting tired of overcrowded landmarks and gravitating toward smaller historic cities where they can pay guides what they want and have real conversations instead of just taking photos.

Today we’ve announced the winners of our annual FREETOUR.com awards, which identify the top bookable free tours listed on our website globally and serve to highlight the hard work and dedication of the people behind these travel experiences. Winners were determined based on users' reviews and ratings over the last year.