Europe

The old continent and the mother of 44 countries, stretching from Asia to the Atlantic, and from Africa to the Arctic. European countries welcome more than 480 million international visitors per year, more than half of the global market, and 7 of the 10 most visited countries are European nations.

Many European countries are members of the European Union (EU), which has its own currency (the Euro) and laws. There are no border controls between signatory countries of the Schengen Agreement (only at the outside borders).

Not all EU members adopted the Schengen Agreement (open borders) or the Euro, and not all countries that adopted Schengen or Euro are European Union members.

below map clarifies EU / Schengen / Non EU countries

European Union - Schengen and Non-EU countries
European Union – Schengen and Non-EU countries

The European countries that are not part of the Schengen zone are Albania, Andora, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Georgia, Ireland, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, The United Kingdom, and Vatican City.

1RussiaEastern Europe
2GermanyWestern Europe
3United KingdomNorthern Europe
4FranceWestern Europe
5ItalySouthern Europe
6SpainSouthern Europe
7UkraineEastern Europe
8PolandEastern Europe
9RomaniaEastern Europe
10NetherlandsWestern Europe
11BelgiumWestern Europe
12Czech Republic (Czechia)Eastern Europe
13GreeceSouthern Europe
14PortugalSouthern Europe
15SwedenNorthern Europe
16HungaryEastern Europe
17BelarusEastern Europe
18AustriaWestern Europe
19SerbiaSouthern Europe
20SwitzerlandWestern Europe
21BulgariaEastern Europe
22DenmarkNorthern Europe
23FinlandNorthern Europe
24SlovakiaEastern Europe
25NorwayNorthern Europe
26IrelandNorthern Europe
27CroatiaSouthern Europe
28MoldovaEastern Europe
29Bosnia and HerzegovinaSouthern Europe
30AlbaniaSouthern Europe
31LithuaniaNorthern Europe
32North MacedoniaSouthern Europe
33SloveniaSouthern Europe
34LatviaNorthern Europe
35EstoniaNorthern Europe
36MontenegroSouthern Europe
37LuxembourgWestern Europe
38MaltaSouthern Europe
39IcelandNorthern Europe
40AndorraSouthern Europe
41MonacoWestern Europe
42LiechtensteinWestern Europe
43San MarinoSouthern Europe
44Holy SeeSouthern Europe

Entering Europe

Citizens of the United States with a valid US passport can travel to 26 European member countries of the Schengen Area for a maximum of 90 days without having to apply or obtain a Schengen visa for short-term tourism or a business trip.
Note: (Starting January 1, 2021, US citizens will have to apply for an ETIAS prior to their travel towards Europe, in order to be allowed to enter the territory.)

Citizens of Which Countries Need a Schengen Visa to go to Europe?

The countries whose citizens are required to obtain a Schengen visa in order to enter any member country of the Schengen Area are:

Afghanistan, Gabon, Oman, Algeria, Gambia, Pakistan, Angola, Ghana, Papua, New Guinea, Armenia, Guinea, Palestinian Authority, Azerbaijan, Guinea-Bissau, Philippines, Bahrain, Guyana, Qatar, Bangladesh, Haiti, Russia, Belarus, India, Rwanda, Belize, Indonesia, Sao Tome And Principe, Benin, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Bhutan, Iraq, Senegal, Bolivia, Jamaica, Sierra, Leone, Botswana, Jordan, Somalia, Burkina Faso, Kazakhstan, South Africa
Burma/Myanmar, Kenya, South Sudan, Burundi, Kosovo, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Kuwait, Sudan, Cameroon, Kyrgyzstan, Suriname, Cape Verde, Laos, Swaziland, Central African Republic, Lebanon, Syria, Chad, Lesotho, Tajikistan, China, Liberia Tanzania, Comoros, Libya, Thailand, Congo, Madagascar, Timor-Leste, Cote D’ivoire, Malawi, Togo, Cuba, Maldives, Tonga Dem. Rep. Of Congo, Mali, Tunisia, Djibouti, Mauritania, Turkey, Dominican Republic, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Ecuador, Morocco, Uganda, Egypt, Mozambique, Uzbekistan Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, Vietnam, Eritrea, Nepal, Yemen, Ethiopia, Niger, Zambia, Fiji, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, North Korea, Northern Mariana’s