Travel expert and UEFA Champions League Official Supplier Expedia® Live has analysed travel searches on the Expedia website and uncovered that Dortmund is the footballing city driving the highest travel demand, with PSG fans appearing the most dedicated.   
These findings have been revealed as part of Expedia Live’s “Travel the Beautiful Game” report*, released ahead of this year’s UEFA Champions League Final in London.  

The report delves into the most dedicated away fans, this season’s most in-demand UEFA Champions League journeys and favourite matchday cities.  

Fixtures Fans Flocked To 
With 125 games making up this season’s UEFA Champions League, Expedia’s Travel the Beautiful Game report reveals the fixtures that are driving the most travel demand. 

FC Barcelona vs. Paris Saint-Germain in the quarterfinal topped the list, driving a 360%¹ increase in travel searches on Expedia’s website. Paris Saint-Germain fans are proving to be the most dedicated, as three of their away fixtures made it into the Top 10. 

Copenhagen came out as one of the most popular destinations to visit to watch a game, claiming two spots in the Top 10, with Manchester United and FC Bayern München fans driving the biggest interest in the Danish capital. 

It was, however, the draw of Borussia Dortmund’s yellow wall that dominated the list, taking three spots in the Top 10. Borussia Dortmund’s UEFA Champions League games this season drove on average 145%¹ of increased interest in the city, with a high of 260%¹ around the Paris Saint-Germain group stage game and 185%¹ for the opener against AC Milan.  

Further data from Expedia revealed that Dortmund and Barcelona are the only two cities from this year’s UEFA Champions League season run that have seen travel searches spike for every single home fixture. Unexpectedly, the footballing cities of Munich and Paris are down on average 5%¹. 

Footballing City Rivals 
The footballing rivalry intensifies when clubs share a city. In Madrid, it is no surprise that this year’s finalists Real Madrid CF are attracting fans, but the most enthusiastic visitors were unexpectedly from FC Union Berlin in the group stage — driving a season high 100% increase in travel demand, with the Real Madrid CF vs. Manchester City FC quarterfinal coming second up 85%¹. 

In Manchester, the blue side won out, with the game driving the biggest spike in travel searches for the city up 60%¹. Surprisingly, that game wreaks Manchester City FC against Serbian side FK Crvena zvezda in the group stages. 

Arguably, the biggest European game in Manchester was Manchester City FC vs Real Madrid CF in the quarterfinals. Yet demand for travel to the city was less than half¹ of what it was for the Manchester United vs. Sevilla FC game, which took place on the same date the year before. 

Pilgrimage to the Final 
Expedia has analysed the journeys fans have made to UEFA Champions League Finals over the past 10 years, uncovering that it is the Spanish fans who are the most journeyed in recent history, as six of the last 10 finals featured a Spanish club, with Real Madrid CF taking part in five finals in the last 10 years.     

Michele Rousseau from Expedia said: “If European football fans have taught us anything this season, it’s that Dortmund and Copenhagen need adding to your travel wish list. That yellow wall of Dortmund, along with the well-travelled fans of Real Madrid, will descent on London for this year’s Final, and nothing beats being there to experience matchday in the city. Our Expedia study showed that fans are most looking forward to visiting the iconic Tower of London and Big Ben but also want to check out London’s foodie scene — the number one activity fans like to experience when travelling to away games.”  

London Locals 
With London bracing for an influx of football fans for the UEFA Champions League Final on June 1, Expedia has enlisted the help of two London locals to offer visiting fans inspiration on where to go and what to do when they visit the Capital for the final. 

Ex-footballer and London local Joe Cole gives his advice on how to make the most of the footballing weekend: “I played over 50 games in the UEFA Champions League and the European away journeys were some of my favourite trips. The focus was always on the football but occasionally we got to experience a destination like fans. Rome was a personal favourite, I traveled there with Chelsea and visited the Vatican City, the Colosseum and the food was simply incredible.

“As a born and bred Londoner, I really think my city offers one of the best matchday experiences anywhere in Europe, so it’s great to be partnering with travel experts Expedia to offer top tips about my hometown.  

“London has some of the most beautiful parks for a kick about, Regent’s Park is my favourite, I play padel there. I grew up in Camden, so Camden market is also a must visit. I love cycling around the city, there is so much to take in. Fans need to see the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace as they are so iconic, but don’t miss the Natural History Museum or the Science Museum.” 

London artist Kelly Anna is also collaborating with Expedia and has curated a special artwork and limited-edition jersey that brings to life travelling the beautiful game across Europe, all the way to London. The artwork will be unveiled at Expedia Live’s activation at the UEFA Champions Festival in Trafalgar Square, taking place from 30 May to 2 June, with the limited-edition jerseys up for grabs during the weekend. 

Kelly explains: “We’ve been on an amazing journey across Europe to the greatest footballing cities on earth, and finally arrived here in London. From the food to the culture, to the parties, this is more than just a game, it’s moments you remember forever. I wanted my artwork to depict all of that, and as someone who’s lived in London more than half my life, it was important to me to capture the real essence of our Capital. Key features of the design include powerful, exaggerated figures adorned with flags, and fans watching and cheering from the side lines. Footballers striking out from famous football stadiums and scoring goals into the sky represent the joy that the UEFA Champions League brings to us all.”  
 

For more inspiration on where to visit in London, head to Expedia Live HERE. 

References: 
*Report is a combination of internal travel searches made on Expedia and consumer research conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Expedia. 

¹ Data based on travel searches on Expedia. Group stage searches from August 31, 2023 (the date the draw was made), up to the corresponding matchday for each game. Round of 16 searches from January 1, 2024, to March 13, 2024, quarterfinal searches from January 1, 2024, to April 17, 2024, semifinal searches from January 1, 2024, to April 25, 2024. All check-in dates are the same day as corresponding matchday. All searches are compared to the same dates from the year before. 

² Data based on lodging searches made between April 9, 2024, and May 9, 2024, for Wembley for check-in on June 1, 2024, compared to the same dates the previous year. 

³ Based on the total number of miles travelled to play the eight away games in each season’s UEFA Champions League. Based on return miles travelled and calculated using Distance.co.  

⁴ Survey of football fans who have travelled to a game, commissioned by OnePoll on behalf of Expedia.