14 Countries You Should Visit If You're Dessert-Obsessed (2024)

One of the best parts of traveling is getting to eat new and different cuisine you wouldn’t normally be able to try. Pasta never tastes quite as good as it does when you’re in Italy, and salsa just isn’t as good if you’re not eating it in South America. Checking out new restaurants and exploring different types of food is an essential part of a vacation for many people — so it makes perfect sense to choose where you’re going based on the kind of food they have. That’s especially true when it comes to dessert, because let’s be real: We all know that’s the best meal of the day. If you’re dessert-obsessed, there are a few countries you should absolutely visit.

While it’s hard to find a bad dessert out there (even bland ice cream is better than no ice cream!), there are definitely some places that do it better than others.

Certain countries are known for their decadent and delicious dessert selections more than anything else, but they aren’t the only contenders out there. Some spots around the world have amazing options that are a little bit more underrated and deserve more attention.

So if you’re on a mission to try the best desserts in the world, you should definitely plan trips to the below countries:

1. France

Of course we’ll think of France when it comes to dessert. This European country is so well-known for their incredible desserts that it’s almost impossible to choose just a few to highlight. There is crème brûlée, eclairs, Napoleons, macarons,mille-feuille,crêpes, tarts, mousse, meringues, profiteroles… the list goes on and on.

When you’re in France, especially Paris, you can find bakeries on almost every corner, and they are all perfection.

If you’re obsessed with dessert, this country really should be at the top of your travel list. Just beware: Once you eat authentic French desserts, they’ll never taste as good anywhere else. After eating a real French eclair, the American versions have been completely ruined for me!

2. Italy

Italy is a food-obsessed country that you will literally eat your way through. Honestly, I’ve never eaten so much as I did when I was in Rome and Florence. While Italy is known for pasta and pizza, their desserts my just top those.

Gelato is delicious and amazing, but it certainly isn’t the only dessert in the country worth trying.

There’s also tiramisu, panna cotta, tartufo, zabaglione, sfinci, and cannolis, just to name a few. Everything is good, and you won’t be able to stop at just one.

3. Belgium

Belgium might not be the first country you think of when you think of a foodie place, but it should be, primarily because of the desserts they have.

Belgian waffles are, of course, their most well-known item, and should absolutely be eaten there, but certainly is not the only dessert to try.

Mattentaarten pastries are super popular and delicious,Stofé is a great cheesecake, and the apple pastries are amazing.

4. Germany

Among the many things to do in Germany is to eat their incredible desserts.

The country is known for wonderful pastries and cakes that are impossible to ignore.

Schnecken, their version of a cinnamon roll, can be enjoyed at any time of the day. Then there’s marble cake, berliner (basically jelly-filled donuts), apple strudel, andkaiserschmarrn, which is like a shredded pancake. You can’t go wrong with anything you pick!

5. Switzerland

The first thing I think of when I think of Switzerland is chocolate, and for good reason. The chocolate fondue there alone is more than enough of a reason to travel to this beautiful country.

There are tons of pastries to try, like meitschibei (a long, nut-filled pastry). You can try tirggel, which are honey cookies.

The Swiss also make great cherry pie and gingerbread cake.

Working in a Greek restaurant during high school introduced me to the world of Greek sweets — and wow, have they figured out desserts. If you go to Greece, you have to eat absolutely every dessert you see.

You should definitely try the very popular baklava and rice pudding dishes, which they are really well known for. Other must-haves?

Galaktoboureko (a custard pie),bougatsa (a custard pastry), loukoumades (little donuts), and halvas (semolina pudding). It’s hard to go wrong with any dessert you choose there.

7. India

One of the best things to do in India is to explore and eat all of the desserts offered, because there are so many.

If you’re really passionate about dessert, India will be a fun country for you to visit, since so many of the options are on the more unique side.

Laddu, one of their more popular options, are cake balls. Then there’s kheer (a kind of pudding), gulab jamun (deep-fried sweet milk powder),rasgulla (sweet dumplings), and kulfi (like Indian ice cream). This doesn’t even come close to covering everything.

8. Austria

Austria is known for their world-famous chocolate cake, which alone makes it a great destination for dessert foodies. You could go there and spend a few days eating just that, but there are plenty of other things to try as well.

Another classic is their apple strudel, as well as topfennockerl, which are like little dessert cheese balls made from quark.

There are also lots of delicious pastries, and you should definitely try the linzer torte.

9. Spain

If you travel to Spain in search of dessert, you won’t be disappointed.

You need to make time to try the churros (dipped in melted chocolate). There is also the classic almond tarte, which is popular and so good.

Spain is also known for really good flan, crema catalana (which is the Spanish version of creme brulee), and some truly wonderful pastries.

10. Turkey

If you’re looking for more unique desserts, visit Turkey — they have a seemingly endless amount of options. You definitely need to try lokma, which is fried dough with honey, sugar, and syrup. There is also maras ice cream, bread pudding,kaymakli kayisi (dried apricots rolled in pistachios),kesme dondurma (ice cream you eat sliced!), and kunefe (a cheese pastry). Your taste buds will be shook.

11. Mexico

Mexico is known for delicious food and beautiful beaches, but a lot of people forget to mention all of the incredible desserts.

The tres leche cake alone is more than enough of a reason to visit the country! There are also authentic churros, Mexican chocolate cakes, lemon tarts, flan, and Mexican cheesecake.

12. Denmark

There are so many wonderful desserts to try in Denmark, and it’s also such an interesting country to visit. Make room for theaeblskiver, which is like a little round, puffy pancake with a sweet filling.

There’s also sweet rice pudding and pebernødder, a dry spiced cookie.

Denmark also has great dessert drinks, like licorice tea and gløgg, which is mulled wine.

13. England

I went to England last year, and I was honestly shocked at how delicious all of the food was.

When it comes to desserts, there is so much to eat. You can choose from trifle, Christmas pudding, tarts, Arctic rolls,Banoffee pie, bread pudding, and spotted dick, just to name a few.

14. America

Even if you’re already from America, you’ll want to put certain states on your travel list to visit to try the desserts.

The United States has some pretty amazing dessert options!

Of course, you can’t forget about apple pie, which is an American classic. Then there’s chocolate chip cookies, peach cobbler, bananas foster, Boston cream pie, baked Alaska, coconut cake… the list could really go on for a very long time.