Vatican

The city is also considered one of the most beautiful places in the world

A recent study by Go2Africa named the most overcrowded destinations in the world by analysing the number of visitors and comparing them with population figures. The experts said: “This gives us a better idea of where tourism might be overcrowding local areas.”

The data revealed that Vatican City is the most overcrowded place in Europe, with “an incredible 7,709 tourists to every resident”. The experts explained that “while this ratio is extreme, it comes with context: Vatican City, based within Rome, is just 0.44 square kilometres in size and is a place of pilgrimage and cultural significance for many people around the world”.

They added that its tiny population of 882 “consists mainly of clergy, diplomats, and officials, making it unlike any typical country”.

However, tourists describe the city as “too crowded to enjoy”. On TripAdvisor, one person said: “I have never seen crowds as big. We saw approximately 1,000 people lined up outside waiting to buy tickets.

“We had booked ahead, so we thought we had skipped the queue. We had, but when you get into the Museum, you join a line of more than 1,000 people filtering through, crammed together like sheep. It’s like this for the entire visit. It’s so busy that you don’t even get a chance to stop at any of the exhibits.”

Other people said it was “horrifically crowded” when they visited. “We went to the Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel and could not believe how unbelievably crowded it was.

“There was no way to see, let alone enjoy the art. For about three hours, everyone inched forward, carried by the mass crowd.”

Why are some destinations so overcrowded?

According to experts at Tourism Analytics, one of the main factors is that “the cost of international travel has dropped in recent years, making quick trips more feasible and frequent”.

Budget airlines have kept airfare “artificially cheap,” which encourages “more weekend city-breaks and long-haul vacations”.

At the same time, “accommodations via home-sharing apps are readily available, and package tours remain inexpensive”. This affordability, combined with flexible booking platforms, has lowered barriers to travel, leading to mass tourism.

VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV has named Father Mario Leon Dorado as a successor-in-waiting to the current archbishop of Rabat, Cardinal Cristobal Lopez Romero, who is being investigated over accusations of sexual assault revealed by AFP.

A statement from the Vatican on Saturday said Dorado was made the Moroccan archdiocese’s “coadjutor archbishop,” a title for a church official appointed to assist a sitting archbishop which also confers automatic succession in the event the incumbent retires or dies.

Dorado, a 52-year-old Spanish priest and member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, had been serving in Western Sahara for nearly 25 years, ultimately becoming apostolic prefect there.

In August he was named Rabat’s apostolic administrator, an official tasked with provisionally governing a diocese whose sitting bishop is “impeded or suspended,” after the accusations against Romero came to light.

On July 8, AFP revealed that at least five women were accusing Romero — who was among the prominent cardinals considered in 2025 as potential successors to Pope Francis — of sexual violence and inappropriate behavior.

No complaint has yet been filed with the Moroccan judiciary, the prosecutor’s office and police told AFP recently.

In response to AFP inquiries, Romero has said he “committed neither assault nor violence nor sexual harassment,” while announcing that he was stepping aside pending a Vatican investigation.

Romero’s mandate as archbishop of Rabat is officially due to end in 2027.

After Dorado was named apostolic administrator, two Vatican investigators went to Rabat to speak to some of Romero’s alleged victims and members of the diocese.