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Recognised places

Officially recognised places in Europe and Japan

By Gallivanting GadaboutResearched, not travelledSources: European Commission, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Ministry of the Environment, checked 1 Oct 2026
TL;DR

The European Commission lists 85 Capitals of Culture from 1985 to 2030, 18 Green Capitals, 21 Green Leaf winners, 80 Heritage Label sites and the smart tourism winners since 2019. In Japan, the Agency for Cultural Affairs lists 104 Japan Heritage stories and the Ministry of the Environment 35 national parks.13691116

Which official lists are on this site?

Six lists, each from the public body that publishes it. Each has its own page with the full list; the counts are our own counts of the official lists when we checked them.

Officially recognised places: the lists on this site
ListPublished byIn the listLatest
European Capitals of CultureEuropean Commission (designated by the host country)85 title holders, 1985 to 20301Oulu and Trenčín (2026)
European Green Capital and Green LeafEuropean Commission18 Green Capitals and 21 Green Leaf winners, to 20273Heilbronn; Assen and Siena (2027)
European Heritage LabelEuropean Commission80 sites, 2013 to 2025613 sites (2025)
European Capital of Smart TourismEuropean CommissionTwo winners a year, 2019 to 20269Tampere; Dubrovnik (2026)
Japan Heritage (日本遺産)Agency for Cultural Affairs104 stories, 2015 to 2025111315#105 (2025)
National parks of JapanMinistry of the Environment35 parks, 1934 to 202416日高山脈襟裳十勝 (2024)

European Capitals of Culture

The Commission describes the title as a yearlong celebration of art and culture with EU support. In each host country, a panel of independent experts recommends one city and the national authority formally designates it, four years before the title year; the Commission makes sure the EU rules are followed.2

Its list runs from Athens in 1985 to the cities designated for 2030. In 2026 the capitals are Oulu (Finland) and Trenčín (Slovakia); for 2031 only the host countries, Malta and Spain, are named.1 See every Capital of Culture.

European Green Capital and European Green Leaf

Two Commission awards for cities' environmental work: the Green Capital for cities of over 100,000 inhabitants and the Green Leaf for smaller cities from 20,000.4 For the 2028 titles, independent experts assessed the applications and the finalists then present to a jury.5

The list runs from Stockholm in 2010 to the 2027 winners, Heilbronn (Green Capital) and Assen and Siena (Green Leaf). The 2028 winners were due to be announced on 8 October 2026.35 See every winner.

European Heritage Label

Sites the Commission describes as milestones in the creation of today's Europe.6 In the 2017 and 2019 selections, participating countries pre-selected sites, an independent panel recommended which to add, and the Commission decided.78

The Commission says 80 sites have been designated between 2013 and 2025.6 See all the sites.

European Capital of Smart Tourism

A Commission competition for achievements in smart tourism in European cities; the 2024 winners were chosen after a European jury met in Brussels.9 Winners run from Helsinki and Lyon in 2019 to Tampere and Dubrovnik in 2026; for 2027 the Commission's page shows only a shortlist.910 See every winner.

Japan Heritage (日本遺産)

The Agency for Cultural Affairs recognises stories that tell Japan's culture and traditions through a region's history, each linking a group of cultural properties.12 Its portal lists 104 stories. Most were recognised between 2015 and 2020, and one in 2025.11131415 See every story.

National parks of Japan

The Ministry of the Environment lists 35 national parks, designated from 16 March 1934 to 25 June 2024.16 Its list page and its overview disagree on whether one park, 瀬戸内海国立公園, includes Osaka; our page shows both.1617 See every park.

For national parks in other countries, each from its government's own list, see national parks around the world.

Why are some well-known lists not here?

We include a list only when its publisher's terms allow it to be reused on a commercial website like this one. Some well-known international lists are not here because their terms do not allow that, or do not say that they do. We would rather leave a list out than use it without permission.

Can these lists be reused, and how are they credited?

The Commission's legal notice says its content is licensed under CC BY 4.0 unless otherwise indicated: This means that reuse is allowed, provided appropriate credit is given and changes are indicated. Logos and trade marks are excluded, so we use none.18

The Agency for Cultural Affairs applies the MEXT website terms, which allow commercial use if the source is shown.19 The Ministry of the Environment's pages are under the Public Data License (PDL1.0), which also allows commercial use with the source shown.20 Each page credits its sources and says what we changed.

What this page cannot tell you

  • Lists change. New titles are added and future ones confirmed; we list what the official pages showed when we checked them.
  • A title is not a rating. These titles serve each programme's own aims, such as culture, the environment or heritage; they do not say a place is better to visit.
  • Researched, not travelled. We compiled these lists from official sources, not from visits.

Related: European Capitals of Culture: every city · European Green Capital and Green Leaf winners · European Heritage Label sites · European Capital of Smart Tourism winners · Japan Heritage stories · National parks of Japan.

Key takeaways

  • Four of the lists here come from the European Commission; Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs and Ministry of the Environment publish the other two.
  • In 2026, Oulu and Trenčín are European Capitals of Culture and Guimarães is the European Green Capital.
  • Each list has its own page with every entry, its source and its licence credit.
  • What we would skip: reading a title as a ranking. These titles reward what a city or site plans or has done for the programme's own aims; they are not ratings of places to visit.

Sources

The European lists come from the European Commission's pages; the Japanese lists from the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Ministry of the Environment. All were read on 1 October 2026. See how we research.

  1. European Commission, Designated European Capitals of Culture (list of all years, and the page of designated capitals). Read it on the Commission's website. Accessed 1 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; list reformatted and text summarised by Gallivanting Gadabout.
  2. European Commission, European Capitals of Culture. Read it on the Commission's website. Accessed 1 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; list reformatted and text summarised by Gallivanting Gadabout.
  3. European Commission, Winning cities – European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Awards, with the Commission's city pages and news releases linked from it, used where the list does not name the country. Read it on the Commission's website. Accessed 1 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; list reformatted and text summarised by Gallivanting Gadabout.
  4. European Commission, European Green Capital Award. Read it on the Commission's website. Accessed 1 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; list reformatted and text summarised by Gallivanting Gadabout.
  5. European Commission, Sustainable cities: Eight finalists announced for 2028 European Green Capital and Green Leaf Awards (news, 30 June 2026). Read it on the Commission's website. Accessed 1 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; list reformatted and text summarised by Gallivanting Gadabout.
  6. European Commission, European Heritage Label sites, with three of its site pages and news releases, used where the list does not name the country. Read it on the Commission's website. Accessed 1 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; list reformatted and text summarised by Gallivanting Gadabout.
  7. European Commission, Commission decides to give the European Heritage Label to nine heritage sites (news). Read it on the Commission's website. Accessed 1 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; list reformatted and text summarised by Gallivanting Gadabout.
  8. European Commission, Ten new sites awarded with European Heritage Label (news). Read it on the Commission's website. Accessed 1 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; list reformatted and text summarised by Gallivanting Gadabout.
  9. European Commission, European Capital and Green Pioneer of Smart Tourism: previous competitions, and its winners page for each year. Read it on the Commission's website. Accessed 1 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; list reformatted and text summarised by Gallivanting Gadabout.
  10. European Commission, Cities 2027 (European Capital and Green Pioneer of Smart Tourism website). Read it on the Commission's website. Accessed 1 October 2026. © European Union, licensed under CC BY 4.0; list reformatted and text summarised by Gallivanting Gadabout.
  11. Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁), 日本遺産ポータルサイト「ストーリー検索」 (Japan Heritage Portal, story list). Link to the Japan Heritage Portal (日本遺産ポータルサイト). Accessed 1 October 2026.
  12. Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁), 「日本遺産（Japan Heritage）」について (About Japan Heritage). Link to the Agency for Cultural Affairs website (文化庁ホームページ). Accessed 1 October 2026.
  13. Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁), 「日本遺産（Japan Heritage）」認定ストーリー一覧（平成27年度）. Link to the Japan Heritage Portal (日本遺産ポータルサイト). Accessed 1 October 2026.
  14. Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁), 報道発表 別添1（令和2年度認定）. Link to the Agency for Cultural Affairs website (文化庁ホームページ). Accessed 1 October 2026.
  15. Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁), 令和6年度における日本遺産の点数評価プロセスの結果について. Link to the Agency for Cultural Affairs website (文化庁ホームページ). Accessed 1 October 2026.
  16. Ministry of the Environment (環境省), 国立公園一覧 (List of national parks). Link to the Ministry of the Environment website (環境省ホームページ). Accessed 1 October 2026.
  17. Ministry of the Environment (環境省), 国立公園の概要 (Overview of national parks, 10 April 2026, PDF). Link to the Ministry of the Environment website (環境省ホームページ). Accessed 1 October 2026.
  18. European Commission, Legal notice, and Creative Commons, Attribution 4.0 International (licence summary). Read the Commission's legal notice; read the licence. Accessed 1 October 2026.
  19. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (文部科学省), 文部科学省ウェブサイト利用規約 (website terms of use, which the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the Japan Heritage Portal apply). Link to the MEXT website (文部科学省ホームページ). Accessed 1 October 2026.
  20. Ministry of the Environment (環境省), 利用規約・免責事項・著作権 (terms of use), and Digital Agency, 公共データ利用規約（第1.0版） (PDL1.0). Link to the Ministry of the Environment website (環境省ホームページ). Accessed 1 October 2026.

Changes made. The lists on this site come from the European Commission's pages named under Sources. We reformatted them into tables, added links to our own pages, and summarised the Commission's text in our own words. © European Union; the Commission's content is reused under CC BY 4.0. We use no logos, emblems or images from these pages. Gallivanting Gadabout is not connected with the European Commission, which does not endorse this site. Japan. 出典：日本遺産ポータルサイト「ストーリー検索」（文化庁）（https://japan-heritage.bunka.go.jp/ja/stories/）および文化庁「日本遺産（Japan Heritage）」認定結果の各報道発表（https://www.bunka.go.jp/seisaku/bunkazai/nihon_isan/）（2026年10月1日に利用）。日本遺産ポータルサイト「ストーリー検索」（文化庁）（https://japan-heritage.bunka.go.jp/ja/stories/）等をもとに Gallivanting Gadabout が加工して作成。出典：環境省ホームページ「国立公園一覧」（https://www.env.go.jp/park/parks/index.html）、「国立公園の概要」（https://www.env.go.jp/park/doc/data/national/np_1.pdf）（2026年10月1日に利用）。環境省「国立公園一覧」「国立公園の概要」（同上）を加工して作成。 We translated or summarised the Japanese text in our own words and compiled the tables ourselves, so they are edited data, not the government's own list. We use no logos or images. Gallivanting Gadabout is not connected with, or endorsed by, any Japanese government body.